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McCain Pennsylvania Communications Director Says: "B is for Barack"
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by Karen Hatter | October 25, 2008 at 05:12 am
533 views | 36 Recommendations | 13 comments
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Brian Williams: McCain Campaign Spread 'B' Hoax To Reporters
sourced by Karen Hatter
When contacted by a reporter from KDKA, a station in Pittsburgh, in an attempt to get information concerning the reported attack on Republican Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania campaign worker Ashley Todd, the McCain-Palin campaign's Pennsylvania Communications Director, Peter Feldman, provided the detail about the 'B' on Ms. Todd's cheek, including the detail of the now known to be fictious assailant saying, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson."
At the time this was being provided by the director, details were not confirmed, with those details possibly lending themselves to inflaming the situation.
There are 33 known active White nationalist/supremacist groups found in parts of Pennsylvania, with this type of incident possibly providing the potential for escalating racial tensions.
Within hours, this version of events had spread across the internet.
From the article:
A source familiar with what happened yesterday confirmed that the unnamed spokesperson was communications director Peter Feldman. Feldman was also quoted yesterday making virtually identical assertions on the Web site of another local TV station, WPXI. But those quotes, which we also preserved here, are also no longer available on WPXI's site, for reasons that are unclear.
This is problematic because the McCain campaign doesn't want to have been perceived as pushing an incendiary story that not only turned out to be a hoax but which police officials said today risked blowing up into a "national incident" and has local police preparing to file charges against the hoaxster.
There's no evidence that anyone from McCain national headquarters put out a version of events like this.
After the story appeared on KDKA's site and this and other pieces in the local press started flying around the political world, an Obama spokesperson in the state angrily insisted to KDKA that it was irresponsible for the station to air the McCain spokesperson's incendiary version of events before the facts were fully known, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
Click here to read the original article.
Also at NowPublic:
UPDATE: McCain Volunteer Attack a Hoax
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Karen Hatter
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (13)
at 05:39 on October 25th, 2008
Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff. (And I see you triumphed over the publication-error bug. Nice.)
at 05:48 on October 25th, 2008
Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.
To let you know Karen I voted for Obama today. I mailed out my overseas ballot..costing me 184 rmb to have it flown to the USA on time. No one can say voting is free...in this case I think it was worth the money. Just to let you know.....this is no hoax.
Rev. Jermano
at 05:59 on October 25th, 2008
I sent my registration with a return receipt "racommandé" and received a confirmation. My Official Absentee Ballot was accepted at the USA embassy, but they said they had no delivery confirmation possible. I dropped it off anyways - apparently the Embassy brings the mail over in diplomatic pouch, and then it passes it over to the Post Office system. Why do we have such technologically-backward voting system?
at 06:07 on October 25th, 2008
The possibly incendiary nature of this hoax is deeply rooted in the historical fact that thousands of Black men, for over a century, met their deaths through lynching and murder, without a trial, based solely on the word or rumor of a Black man attacking and ravishing a White woman.
It would not have been anticipated this would occur today however, there appears to be evidence racial tensions are heating up in parts of the nation and this had the potential to cause problems.
My highest praise goes to the law enforcement community for the professional manner in which this case was handled.
at 06:10 on October 25th, 2008
Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Well their first clue was that it was written backwards....it's not rocket science lol
at 06:13 on October 25th, 2008
Rev. Jermano, I did not doubt your word.
at 06:15 on October 25th, 2008
There was an attempt at adding a sexual nature to the attack just before the story cratered. I think it was one of the different stories she told.
This makes it difficult to give the McCain campaign the benefit of the doubt.
I agree the police get high marks for their work.
at 06:44 on October 25th, 2008
Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:05 on October 25th, 2008
At least the paper doesn't malfunction, but I agree that untraceable ballot traffic is worrisome. If it weren't for 2000 and 2004's election irregularities, I wouldn't have thought twice about it.
at 09:35 on October 25th, 2008
It's automatically a national story.
at 09:39 on October 25th, 2008
at 12:24 on October 25th, 2008
Karen Hatter, I can't believe there are that many White Supremacist groups in Pennsylvania. That is terrible.
at 17:35 on October 25th, 2008
I know.....I am trying to stay on topic for you. smile.
Rev.