McConnell Aide Acknowledges That He Tried To Spread Bogus Smear Of Graeme Frost

[babylonsister]

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2007/10/mcconnell_aide.php

McConnell Aide Acknowledges That He Tried To Spread Bogus Smear Of Graeme Frost
October 16, 2007 -- 9:34 AM EST // //


Check this out: An aide to GOP leader Mitch McConnell has acknowledged in an interview with Kentucky's Courier-Journal that he actively sought to alert reporters to the wingnut smearing of 12-year-old SCHIP posterkid Graeme Frost:

WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's spokesman acknowledged yesterday that he alerted reporters last week to questions bloggers raised about the financial circumstances of a 12-year-old boy Democrats had used to urge passage of an expanded children's health insurance program.

It has been reported already that an email from a McConnell aide went out to reporters telling them of the winger attack. But this appears to be the first time that McConnell's people are publicly acknowledging their role in trying to push mainstream reporters into joining the attack on young Graeme. Stewart acknowledged to the paper that he'd done this as "part of regular conversation with reporters."

What makes this story even better is that after McConnell's aide tried to get reporters to push the story, he quickly realized a few hours later that the whole thing was a big sham and tried to call reporters off.

This is significant, because it shows that McConnell's operation cheerfully urged mainstream reporters to pick up the winger attacks without even bothering to fact-check them first. When Michelle Malkin pointed her finger at the Frosts and started howling, McConnell's staff immediately joined in the fun -- that is, until they realized that they had a big dud on their hands. More from the Courier-Journal:

Hours later, he said, he sent two follow-up e-mails waving reporters off.

"Forgive me if I already told you this, but a blogger that I trust (and who hadn't written anything on this issue yet) tells me that after spending a lot of time on this, they now believe there's no story there, that the family is legit," Stewart wrote in one e-mail, according to the text he provided to The Courier-Journal. "So I'm passing that along to the folks I wrote to this morning. Fair is fair."

In the other follow-up e-mail, Stewart wrote, according to the text he provided: "I just heard from a blogger I know who did some research. Says it's not a story, they're the real deal."

So, just to recap: This story was too bogus even for McConnell and the gang to push. You'd think this would be chastening to Malkin and her pitchfork mob. But it won't be, because nothing ever is.

At any rate, the office of the top Republican in the U.S. Senate has now publicly admitted that it actively tried to get mainstream reporters to participate in the smearing of a 12-year-old and his family -- before it was even known whether there was any truth to what the wingers were writing. Lovely.

[RufusTFirefly]

1. Silly Mitch! Hiring an angry mob would've been soooo much easier

It's been done before, after all



Here are the identities of the protesters:
1. Tom Pyle, policy analyst, office of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).
2. Garry Malphrus, majority chief counsel and staff director, House Judiciary subcommittee on criminal justice.
3. Rory Cooper, political division staff member at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
4. Kevin Smith, former House Republican conference analyst and more recently of Voter.com.
5. Steven Brophy, former aide to Sen. Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.), now working at the consulting firm KPMG.
6. Matt Schlapp, former chief of staff for Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), now on the Bush campaign staff in Austin.
7. Roger Morse, aide to Rep. Van Hilleary (R-Tenn.).
8. Duane Gibson, aide to Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) of the House Resources Committee.
9. Chuck Royal, legislative assistant to Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
10. Layna McConkey, former legislative assistant to former Rep. Jim Ross Lightfoot (R-Iowa) now at Steelman Health Strategies.

[Supersedeas]

4. disgusting lil' Freepers

[Quantess]

5. What a waste of youth. (eom)

[MissWaverly]

2. they always step back after dropping the anvil

oh, there's absolutely nothing to the story now that it's on all the major airwaves and all the newspapers have it. It is CYA so
they don't get blamed. They are despicable and I plan to donate to the dump Mitch campaign.

[riderinthestorm]

3. Too bad, so sad, mea culpa, oops!

Oh well, another day, another dollar. Buck up kid! Move on!

Do I need to insert a sarcasm tag? I mean what the fuck?! This was a child this guy was smearing?! Even if he DID feel the family wasn't legit, a senator's spokesman felt that it was okay to attack a 12 year old brain trauma victim!! How fucking low can you go? This CYA pisses me off no end.

:argh: Fucking assholes!!!

[NewJeffCT]

6. I'm sure McConnell will be all over the airwaves

apologizing to the Frost family and condemning Malkin, Limbaugh and the rest...

right after pigs start flying.

[JerseygirlCT]

10. Just what I was thinking. nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Will that staffer be fired?

[malaise]

8. I hope KO has this

Graeme Stewart is the worst person on the world - what a scum bag.

[malaise]

9. Coming up on KO

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!