Guest Post by Morbo
The right-wing campaign against CNN reporter Michael Ware is a textbook example of how their smear machine works: Make any manner of wild allegations, offer no proof to back them up and wait for the mainstream media to begin reporting it. There’s no need to be concerned that the allegations are bogus. The “controversy” over the claims becomes the story — and spreads the lies even further.
It usually works. And if an innocent person gets trashed in the process, oh well! Some collateral damage is unavoidable.
An interesting example of this is unfolding in Missouri, where Republicans have — with absolutely no evidence — accused Democrats of promoting a website that contains nude photos of Gov. Matt Blunt’s press secretary, Jessica Robinson.
Robinson’s husband took the photos in 2003. Robinson was pregnant at the time, and the couple wanted to document that event with a series of photos. Robinson’s husband had file-sharing software on his computer, and apparently a hacker stole the photos the following year and posted them on a pornographic site.
All of this has caused Robinson much pain — and the state’s Republicans are only too happy to exploit her discomfort if it will help them score cheap points against the Democrats. Reported the Kansas City Star:
The governor’s office on Thursday sent a memo to all 197 legislators explaining how the photos of press secretary Jessica Robinson were stolen from her home computer, apparently by a hacker, sometime in 2004. Personal financial information also was stolen.
Wasn’t that thoughtful of them? If there was anyone in the state unaware of the existence of these photos, they’re not in the dark any longer.
What evidence do the Republicans have that Democrats are behind this?
Ed Martin, Blunt’s chief of staff, alleged that a “Democratic operative” was spreading word about the site at the state capitol. This individual was not named. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who broke the story says her source was not a Democratic Party official.
In fact, at least one Democratic official knew about the photos a year and half ago — and kept mum about them. Roy Temple, a party consultant who runs a website critical of the state GOP, told the Star that a reader of his blog mentioned the photos on Dec. 1, 2005, and included a link to them. Temple removed the comment and the link as soon as he saw it and never brought the matter up again.
“Democrats know about these photos and exercised restraint,” Temple said. “Now, Republicans are out there trying to score political points. There had been no mention of these photos in the public domain for 16 months until Ed Martin and (Lt. Gov.) Peter Kinder put out statements. They say they are trying to defend her when actually they are exploiting her for political gain. I say shame on Ed Martin and Peter Kinder.”
Indeed, Kinder issued a statement implying that the release of the photos was a stunt by Democrats with “the intent of embarrassing the governor and his employee.” This is odd, since the main thing that has increased Robinson’s embarrassment is the statement the GOP put out blaring the existence of the Robinson photos to the world.
Here’s the final rub: The Post-Dispatch was not even going to report about the photos — until Martin sent that memo. “Frankly, there was some discussion,” Jo Mannies, the paper’s political reporter told the Columbia Tribune. “But that ended when Ed Martin put out that three-page memo on Wednesday around lunch time to every member of the legislature.”
Let’s recap. Nude photos of Robinson were stolen by a hacker. They were posted on porn sites by, I would guess, garden-variety pervs who probably had no political motivation. A Democratic consultant learned about the photos and took steps to keep them under wraps. The media saw this as a non-story, a private matter, until the Republicans issued a memo telling everyone about the photos and accusing Democrats of being behind it all.
I’m sorry Robinson had to go through all of this. It has undoubtedly been traumatic and embarrassing. Shame on the Republicans who have added to her grief. Perhaps, Ms. Robinson, it’s time to find another job.