John Kerry - you know I love you. But this is what you should have done to John O'Neill and his lying swiftboat scumbags. Drag them into court. Seek and injunction. Do not let them continue to operate with impunity.
Rob Brading, running for State Representative in Oregon's District 49, shows how you fight back against outrageous and malicious false attacks.
A state race you say (District 49 is in eastern Mulnomah County - east of Portland, and includes Fairview, Wood Village, Troutdale and parts of Gresham)? Not interested? MAKE NO MISTAKE - District 49 is the epicenter of Left v. Right for the State of Oregon this November. And if we don't win, the next book Lakoff will write will be called "What's the Matter with Oregon?" - we are definitely that close to red shift.
I want to cover three things here:
1. The attempted swiftoating.
2. The Brading campaign response.
3. Background on this race and why it's so important to the entire state (and really the country, as we can't afford to let right-wing extremists strangle one state legislature after another).
And I'll bookend with this - CONTRIBUTE TO ROB. Here's a link to Markos' and Jerome's visit with Rob on the Crashing the Gate book tour.
1. The attempted swiftoating.
Karen Minnis is the extreme right-wing speaker of the Oregon House. (much more below) Her political goons set up a purported "independent" PAC to accuse her Democratic opponent, Rob Brading, of making pornography available to children on computers at the public library - because he volunteers on the library advisory board!
This PAC, called "Friends for Safer Libraries", sent out an absolutely loathsome flier to voters in the District. Here it is (courtesy of LoadedOrygun (see below)):
VIEW 1
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VIEW 2
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VIEW 3
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A few choice quotes about Rob from the flier:
"a strong record of protecting pornography"
"This man is responsible for children viewing porn in our county library."
"gained heavy support from extreme liberal groups, like the ACLU, gay rights organizations and donations from the Portland elite."
"sides with pornographers"
From local KATU (and see the video there): LINK:
Cindy Gibbon, who oversees Internet access at Multnomah County libraries said the advisory board Brading is a part of doesn't set the filtering policy for county libraries; instead, it is the Board of County Commissioners that sets policy.
Gibbon said it is unfortunate there is inaccurate information being disseminated to the public.
"The only people who would ever be responsible for people viewing porn at the library are adults who make very poor choices in violation of our rules about what they view on public search stations," Gibbon said. "If they do that, and if we find out about it, we will enforce our rules."
The Karen Minnis campaign says it was not involved in the making of the flier and that Friends for Safer Libraries is not associated with their campaign. But the two people who helped set up the group are longtime consultants and strategists for Minnis.
DID YOU CATCH THAT? The Library Advisory Board on which Rob serves does not even set the filtering policy at issue here! Mistake? Nope. Minnis herself made this exact same accusation against Rob Brading when he ran against her two years ago - and on the DAY AFTER the election she apologized for wrongly accusing that the Board had the power to set the policy:
Excerpted from the BlueOregon blog:,
Two years ago, this same attack was so absurd that Karen Minnis actually apologized for it (but waited until the day after the election):
I apologize to the members of the Library Board, and in particular my opponent, Rob Brading, for this error. Gresham Outlook, November 3, 2004.
Stop and think about this. Can you imagine the utter lack of personal integrity, the uttler lack of an internal moral compass, the utter contempt for decency, voters, the democratic system, fair elections and Rob's family that someone must have to engage in this type of smear - TWICE?
From my prior diary (Minnis' Friends Play the Porn Card - Again), here's more information on who is behind this ostensibly independent Friends for Safer Libraries PAC:
For the past two years, a woman has been accusing the Multnomah County Library of not taking enough precautions to prevent children from inadvertly viewing pornography on library computers. There's a backstory here - the library does have filtering and safety procedures (all detailed here on the library's web site for the world to see). Not good enough! This person wants all machines filtered, even thought the library argues that no filter has yet been made that achieves the result the person wants - and that computers available to children do have filters now!
As we approach election season, a small army of "other concerned people" apparently descended on this woman. This "army" also happens to represent the extreme right-wing of Oregon's political activists AND are Minnis' LONG TIME big money supports and close advisors. This is the crew that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to vilify gays in Oregon and amend the state Constitution to discriminate against them.
So, SOMEHOW, the idea of a PAC comes up. This woman confesses - she really does not know that much about politics or fundraising (see the KATU story above). She's not a web designer - she's a nurse. Nevertheless - in July 2006 a PAC was set up and suddenly after two years she is the Executive Director of a PAC with a very slick website weeks before the election.
The stated purpose of the PAC: fighting pornography in libraries.
It's first order of business - single out and attack Rob Brading, one of 15 members of the library advisory board.
Out goes the filer. The only name on it is the new PAC - not the other right-wing groups who were involved. And not the name of Chuck Adams, who works closely with Karen Minnis and who is the person who set up this PAC's slick website as reflected in the WHOIS information. Chuck Adams has a history of doing this sort of thing and is referred to in print as a "flack", "hit man" and "pit bull".
Here's a link to the story from the Oregonian's political blog: link. Minnis claims she is not involved, although she is joined at the hip with Adams and the others.
2. Brading Campaign Response.
Part I - Respond to the Smear - Quickly, Publicly, Firmly
I'm going to take here from the excellent (and perhaps one-of-a-kind?) blog by a caucus of a state legislature - the Oregon House Democrats blog. The Oregon House Dems have done a stellar job of supporting Rob and I could not be more pleased about it (it's long but the details are good):
Rob Brading Sets the Record Straight: He's the only Candidate in House District 49 with a Plan to Protect our Kids.
This week, Karen Minnis launched one of the ugliest and most dishonest attacks ever seen in Oregon politics. The attack was so low that Minnis has attempted to convince voters that she had nothing to do with it even though her principal campaign strategist is the principal strategist behind the attacks (he owns the website.)
Well, this week while Minnis and her hatchet men have been busy doing damage control explaining their desperate tactics, Rob Brading and his wife got to work making sure families in East County know that in fact, Brading is the only candidate with a detailed plan to protect our kids.
You can help Rob put an end to Minnis' destructive politics by volunteering or contributing to his campaign today.
On Saturday, Rob's wife, Karen Wood, the Associate Chaplain at Willamette University, called and mailed thousands of east county voters expressing her outrage at Minnis' desperate attack, an attack the Gresham Outlook called, "Ridiculous on its face."
Karen wanted to make sure that east county voters know Rob the way she does - A local leader. A preacher's kid and a seminary graduate who knows right from wrong.
You can read Karen's letter here: Download falsewitness.pdf
This week, Rob aggressively pushed his plan to protect our kids. In fact, Rob Brading is the only candidate in House District 49 with a detailed plan to protect our kids.
Rob Brading's Common Sense Plan to Protect our Kids
-Rob Brading will push for a new tax on the profits of the pornography industry to fund new programs to protect our kids from dangerous content and help keep sexual predators off the streets.
-Rob Brading will support tough new laws to help parents protect their kids from violent and sexually explicit video games.
-As the CEO of Multnomah Community Television, Rob Brading succesfully removed shows from the air that were indecent and posed a threat to our children and families. As State Representative, he will help community television across the state keep their programming safe for our families.
You can read the plan Rob sent to east county families here: Download bradingplan.pdf
By helping Rob Brading win you can help elect a real leader who will put an end to the politics of personal destruction and provide real leadership for our kids and our families.
Visit RobBrading.com and join his campaign today.
Part II - Hold those responsible for the lies accountable in court - and seek a prospective injunction.
The Oregon blog LoadedOrygunis reporting that Rob Brading's campaign is dragging those behind the flier into court and holding them accountable for the flier's content:
Attorney Jeff Merrick is filing a request for a restraining order on behalf of the Rob Brading campaign. Its against Karen Minnis' paid attack dog Chuck Adams and front group Friends For Safer Libraries. The request for the order is in response to the mailing accusing Brading of wanting little kids to view porn on Multnomah County Library computers.
More information on which court, the exact nature of the request/complaint and anything else I can dig up as it makes it to me.
Update (11:20): The court filing is with Multnomah County Court for the State of Oregon, according to initial sources.
Update (11:42): A hearing on the matter is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 PM at the Multnomah County Courthouse.
Update (4:08): Janie Har at the O's political blog has more detail on the specifics of the filing:
The complaint, filed by attorney Jeff Merrick in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleges the political committee and consultant Chuck Adams are responsible for "a false statement of material fact" in violation of state campaign finance law.
O's (the Oregonian's) political blog:
Brading sues Minnis consultant
Rob Brading's campaign has sued to stop Friends for Safer Libraries from sending out campaign mail saying the Democrat "is responsible for children viewing internet porn in our county library."
The complaint, filed by attorney Jeff Merrick in Multnomah County Circuit Court, alleges the political committee and consultant Chuck Adams are responsible for "a false statement of material fact" in violation of state campaign finance law.
Adams is a longtime paid consultant to House Speaker Karen Minnis, a Wood Village Republican being challenged by Brading for the second time this fall.
"There has to be a bottom to the campaign attacks. And this lawsuit will define what is Oregon's bottom," Merrick said. "The point is, somebody's got to stand up to this vicious kind of baloney."
Yup. How glad are we that someone is finally standing up?
3. Background on this race.
Please see my prior diaries on the race:
House Speaker Karen Minnis: Oregon's Tom DeLay (Minnis rides rough-shod over the legislative process, including contorting House rules to defeat civil union legislation that otherwise would have passed. That's right! Because of Karen Minnis, and only Karen Minnis, Oregon does not allow civil unions. She brags about this now.)
Why is East Coast Big Pharma funding OR House Speaker (Every big pharma you can name in New York and New Jersey practically has made big contributions to Minnis - a STATE HOUSE RACE - and it's been a really really good investment for them.)
Minnis' Friends Play the Porn Card - Again
CALL TO ACTION
Everyone, can we please show Rob that we've got his back? It costs money to send out mailings and calls, pay lawyers, and mobilize other campaign resources, to respond to this garbage. Minnis is raising ONE MILLION DOLLARS for this race. Brading will raise less than a third of that.
CONTRIBUTE TO ROB. Volunteer if you can. Thank you.