Charlie Melancon

Vitter Web Ad: My Opponent Voted For Government Health Care! (He Actually Voted Against The Health Care Bill)

Eric Kleefeld | August 13, 2009, 1:34PM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) has a new Web ad against his likely Democratic opponent Charlie Melancon, attacking the Dem for voting for government-run health care. The fun part here is that Melancon is a Blue Dog who voted against the current health care bill in the committee:

Vitter's ad uses as its citations two votes by Melancon, against amendments offered by Republican House members that would have presumably limited government health care in some fashion or another, using this as a vote in favor of government health care.

"It's odd that David Vitter put out an ad attacking Charlie for voting for government-run health care," Louisiana Dem spokesman Kevin Franck told TPM, "when I get a lot of calls complaining that Charlie voted against government-run health care."

Franck also put out a press release with a rather suggestive line: "Maybe David Vitter has been pampered so much by the company of those who are paid to agree with him, that he can't tell the difference between the truth and a lie." Franck had no comment when asked whether he was endorsing certain rumors.

David Scott

Rep. David Scott (D-GA) Shows Off Some Hate Mail

Eric Kleefeld | August 12, 2009, 4:23PM

Rep. David Scott (D-GA) just appeared on CNN, discussing the swastika that was recently painted on his district office. And he also shared some very disturbing hate mail that he said he'd received lately -- before the swastika incident.

Scott showed a letter similar to one received by Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), showing the President Obam-as-Joker picture with the message, "Death to all Marxists! Foreign and Domestic!" The letter contained a message for Scott, who is black: "To: NIGGA DAVID SCOTT / You were / You are / And / You shall forever be a nigga!" It added, "The Ethiopian cannot make himself white."

Another letter said that Scott will go down in defeat at the next election, "and any of your colored constituents ain't gonna stop it. The folks are not going to stand for socialized medicine, even though most negroes refuse to stand on their own two feet."

"But we have to understand is," Scott said, "we can't let these kinds of racist things, or that swastika, win this debate. And that is not gonna happen."

David Scott

Limbaugh On Swastika Vandalism: "Ha Ha Ha, How Convenient!"

Eric Kleefeld | August 12, 2009, 2:52PM

Rush Limbaugh today briefly discussed the swastika that was spray-painted at Rep. David Scott's (D-GA) district office -- tying it back to his own predictions that liberals would stage hoaxes to paint conservatives as bigots:

"I go to the Drudge page, and I said, whoa, Congressman David Scott, sign outside the office, swastika painted on it," said Limbaugh. "Ha ha ha, how convenient! How absolutely convenient!"

He did immediately add a disclaimer, however, that we don't know all the facts in this particular case.

David Scott

Weekly Standard Blogger Says Swastika Vandalism At Dem's Office Could Be "Fake Hate Crime"

Eric Kleefeld | August 11, 2009, 4:39PM

The Weekly Standard's John McCormack has an interesting take on the swastika that was painted on the main sign at Rep. David Scott's (D-GA) district office: That it's most likely a "fake hate crime," a hoax perpetrated a Scott supporter.

McCormack wrote a blog post called "Beware of Fake Hate Crimes," saying: "It's possible that a neo-Nazi actually vandalized Rep. Scott's offices. But given the fact that the Nazi imagery so neatly dovetails with the left's smearing of health-care protesters as fascists, isn't it more likely that this act of vandalism was committed by one of Scott's supporters?"

Of course, the Nazi imagery is now a part of a right-wing smear campaign, and was introduced into the debate by Rush Limbaugh and others. But, hey, this is still an open case that is being investigated by the authorities, so who knows?

When asked for comment by TPM, Scott's press assistant Jennifer Wright was a bit taken aback -- but mainly amused. "Personally I think it's funny that he thinks a David Scott supporter put the swastika on the sign," said Wright, "especially given what's been happening in the media with the Congressman."

(Via Media Matters)

David Scott

The Swastika At David Scott's Office

Eric Kleefeld | August 11, 2009, 1:38PM

Here's a photo of that spraypainted swastika at Rep. David Scott's (D-GA) Smyrna district office, provided to us by his office:

David Scott

Dem Congressman's District Office Vandalized With Swastika

Eric Kleefeld | August 11, 2009, 11:06AM

Rep. David Scott (D-GA) told Fox News that his district office in Smyrna, Georgia, was vandalized with a four-foot swastika.

"We woke up this morning and my staff called me and said there was a swastika, a Nazi sign, painted on the sign," said Scott. "Which of course is very unfortunate, and I just feel very bad about it -- and really feel bad about the person who did it."

Scott -- who pointed out that he is the only House member to belong to the Blue Dogs, the New Democrats and the Congressional Black Caucus -- had a widely-viewed tumultuous town hall meeting late last week: