New Smears That Are Building

Hello Erik,
You all came through in a big way, signing up to create what's already a large army of truth-tellers. We got tens of thousands of people signed up, and you submitted hundreds of smear reports.

One obvious conclusion: you all are still seeing a lot more smears on the Presidential race than on Congressional races. The vast majority of reports we got were about smears on Barack Obama.

But the smears at the Congressional level are starting. And we'll try to keep you updated on what's happening.

Mark Udall in Colorado is under concerted attack by a wide variety of rightwing groups, and a coalition of big business is going after Tom Allen in Maine for believing in removing barriers to organizing. And there are some big groups already planning to spend tens of millions of dollars tarring Democrats, so keep an eye out on your local races for House and Senate! There will be an avalanche of sleaze over the next couple months, and we need to keep up with it.

At the Presidential level, there are two smears that have ramped up a lot in the last week or so, both of which popped up into the mainstream conversation. The first is from the anti-choice groups distorting a vote from Barack's Illinois days. The rightwing is even throwing around ridiculous charges of "infanticide" in an overheated attempt to divide us.

This is a perfect illustration of the way these issues are used to create divisions. The vote was set up to be a "gotcha" vote. The provision about "infanticide" didn't do much in a practical sense, and it was surrounded by provisions that created a lot of instability and confusion about legitimate reproductive health practices. One version probably undermined other regulations on the right to privacy in the state, and another had provisions that intimidated doctors with possible liability exposure.

But when Barack voted against the bill because of these other provisions, the rightwing tries to pretend it was about "infanticide." It's just a classic case of distorting a bill to try to whip up emotions and distract people from the facts.

You can go to the page for this smear to fight back with the truth.

The other smear about Barack that's popping into critical mass is an oldie: William Ayers. Here's the truth: Barack Obama went to one meeting at William Ayers's house early in his career. They have had very little contact through the years. But since William Ayers was part of the 60s-era radical group The Weatherman, John McCain's campaign continues to try to make an issue of him.

Personally, I think it's time we get past the battles of the 60s and move on to focusing on the 21st century. We'll be monitoring any new developments on this one, though, giving you the tools to fight back.

As always, keep you eye out, report back any smears you see, and push back with the truth whenever you can!
Thanks,
Brian Young
TruthFightsBack.com