Somewhat surprised no one has blogged about this yet. Being that this is an area of Texas where I have some contacts and knowledge I thought I would try and assemble all the pieces.
For those of you who haven't seen the pictures or the articles on Huffpo or Swing state. Blake Farenthold, Republican for Congress TX-27 appeared on the cover of We the People an alternative monthly in Corpus Christi wearing full body ducky pjs with an attractive young woman(not his wife) dressed in lingerie. The pictures came from an entertainment site called thecrushgirls.com.
The article inside was titled "Does Blake Farenthold Share Your Values?" in reference to Farenthold's campaign slogan of "I share your values".
What followed the first publication was one of the more interesting tales of news cycle mismanagement.
The morning after the issue hit news stands, John Kelley, editor and publisher of We the People attended the Wednesday Morning Group at a Mexican Restauraunt named Kiko's with a stack of papers.
Wednesday Morning Group is reportedly a pretty eclectic group of political viewpoints and professions. Most of the people are politically active. It is said to be a required stop for political candidates.
Present at the meeting were Farenthold and his political consultant Steve Ray. Kelley proceeded to pass out the papers in front of Farenthold and Ray.
A portion of the meeting is dedicated to going around the table and giving a minute or two update to the group about what you are up to. Politicians use this time to lobby for votes. On Farenthold's turn he offered a short request to everyone asking for their vote. Ray came next and according to Kelley explained the picture as being from an event fundraising for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Apparently charity events mean you can do this stuff?
At about that point the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters came in and was asked if the picture was taken at one of their fundraisers. He empatically denied that it had been a fundraiser for his organization.
About the same time Blogs started picking up and linking the article and Congressman Ortiz cut a new ad including the cover and began airing it on local news stations.
Republican bloggers went to work in earnest alleging that the image was photoshopped and it was a charity fundraiser for four non-profits.
The photoshopping allegation was quickly refuted. The original was cropped to fit on the frontpage and to exclude an unidentified woman with an M on her hand(signifying a minor in a bar in Texas) and another man later identified as the husband of Farenthold's campaign manager.
The "it was a charity fundraiser" took a little longer to unravel. Some of the promoters of the event circulated the original flyer which did in fact list Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Women's Shelter, The American Heart Association, and the Humane Society. Problem is that when asked the Executive Directors of all four denied knowledge of the event, consenting to the use of their name, or receiving any proceeds.
Who could blame them since it was billed as lingerie party and in the pictures on Crush Girls a bunch of the lingerie clad gals were paddling one of the promoters.
Updates as the story continues. Keep the ducky pjs in mind for Halloween but watch for cameras.