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GOP House Candidate Gives Himself Fictitious "Hero Of The Taxpayer" Award
What do you do if you're a GOP candidate locked in a brutal race for re-election and you need to hoodwink voters into embracing your tax policies?
Easy: Create a fictitious "hero of the taxpayer" award supposedly bestowed on you by a respected non-partisan watchdog group.
TPMmuckraker's Kate Klonick has a great find: Our pal GOP Rep. Don Young, who's fighting for his life in Alaska, is running a new ad saying that he received such an award from a group called Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it just so happens that this is, well, entirely false, as the group tells Klonick. But the real beauty of the tale lies in its kicker.
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This doesn't seem that dramatic. "Americans for Tax Reform" gave him that exact reward a few weeks ago, says the link you provide. He didn't invent something he just mixed up the organization that had given him the reward.
July 25, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
americans for tax return is a right-wing pro-gop group. he attributed it to a nonpartisan group -- pretty dishonest
July 25, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
whheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! I'm a heroooooooooo!!!!!!
http://strategy08.wordpress.com
July 25, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
This trick has long been a mainstay of GOP politics, although possibly not this brazenly. This is very similar to the so-called "grass roots" tort "reform" groups, which are heavily funded by industry.
July 25, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, just like that piece of junkmail from the "Social Security Association" that says "Not to be opened by anyone by the addressee"
July 25, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Clearly Ted Stevens needs to explain to Mr. Young how people can now verify this information by plumbing the tubes.
July 25, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink