And it seems very possible that is the case in a new set of suspicious mailers being sent to conservatives around the state.
An organization called the Ohio State Tea Party is sending mailers to Republicans recommending they vote for Libertarians in races where one exists. In some cases, this could split the conservative vote and win the seat for the Democrat.
Here's a sample...
Binsky happens to be the Libertarian candidate.
Now I'm all for free speech and pushing whomever you want for office, except there is one problem.
No one in the Tea Party chain of command in Ohio has ever heard of this organization sending out mailers.
In fact, the Ohio Liberty Council, the umbrella organization that helps coordinate the Tea Party organizations around the state, sent out this message to their members today in response to the above mailer:
"The Ohio State Tea Party" was registered with the Secretary of State after the 10/14 financial reporting deadline so they won't have to disclose donors until AFTER the election is over. Make your friends aware that they should be suspicious of fliers like this.
Considering the number of false Tea Party organizations sprouting up around the country as the election draws closer, it seems clear that the Ohio Liberty Council is onto something.
One thing in particular makes this Ohio State Tea Party suspicious. They filed on the same day as the anonymously funded Our Future Ohio PAC registered. As you'll recall, OFO has poured millions of dollars from unknown sources into the gubernatorial and statehouse races. See the two documents below:
Both created on October 15th. Convenient, eh?
So, will this strategy work? Possibly. But not if we inform our friends and neighbors and make them aware to not pay attention to such blatant abuse of the political process.
Yes, it's legal.
Yes, it's dirty.
Yes, it's desperate.
And we're gonna beat them anyway.
If you see anymore mailers like this, please contact me at djtablesauce@gmail.com
UPDATE: Apparently similar items are sprouting up all over the state, including mailers about congressional races like Bob Gibbs race versus Zack Space. Is this all Space and his allies have left? Rather than damaging the chances of Republicans statewide, they may have awoken a beast that will work its tail off to get out the vote these last four days.
I must say I was a bit surprised when i heard all this!
ReplyDeleteIt's actually called on the mailer the Ohio State Tea Party, not the Ohio Tea Party.
ReplyDeleteAnd they sent it to the wrong frickin people cause all it did was piss us off more.
I have been waiting eight months for this particular dirty trick. It crosses a line that both sides have avoided crossing for good reason. Whoever is responsible should be taken down for it. It may or may not be legal. We will have to see when the post-general filing comes out.
ReplyDelete(and if it is legal, it's something the legislature should take a look at next year.
So because they were formed on the same day (and have no other similuarities) the same people must be behind them? Couldn't it just be a coincidence? Are these the ONLY two PACs that formed that day even?
ReplyDeleteThe Libertarian Party has been a constant third-party voice in Ohio politics. Given the Tea Party movement, it's not surprising to see that someone is excited about getting a Libertarian message out to compete with the corporate Republican message. Over in gun rights groups throughout Ohio, gun voters are talking about voting Libertarian to protest the ORP's nomination of untrustworthy politicians like John Kasich and Mike DeWine.
This is the weakest tea you've ever served yet. You got any ACTUAL evidence or are you just trying to keep liberterian Republicans from realizing they have a third option on the ballot?
@Modern Esquire:
ReplyDeleteYou're way off base here.
This mailing went to Republicans. It listed prominent candidates who are running as Republicans for offices in other states and said the candidate mentioned was endorsed by the (nonexistent) "Ohio State Tea Party." (This "Ohio State Tea Party" and its treasurer Mr. Jeffers are total unknowns, both to the Tea Party movement and to the media --nothing comes up when you google them.)
Whether it was the Libertarian Party or the candidate himself, or Democrats or their allies doesn't matter: inventing a fake organization and sending out an endorsement purportedly from them is false and misleading and a violation of Ohio law.
Would you be equally nonplussed if I invented a nonexistent "Ohio State Democratic Organization" and sent out mailings mentioning prominent national Democrats and saying candidate XYZ (who happens to be a Republican) is endorsed by the "Ohio State Democratic Organization"? Of course not.
Saying that candidate XYZ supports Tea Party values is fine. Saying he or she is better than the Republican is fine too. fPretending that you are some tea party group and that you endorse candidate XYZ (by implication, in some endorsement process) when you made all of that up just to mislead voters is not fine.