Memogate 2? and Dan nowhere to be found!

The Sunday Washington Post published a article about a GOP talking points memo regarding the Terri Schiavo Case. Much like the ill fated memos during the Presidential campaign, these memos appear to have some holes in it. From the misspelling of Terri's name to a bill number that does not correlate. Several newspapers such as the LA Times and others have proclaimed it as a GOP staff memo. Republicans have of course denied that they issued the memo in the first place. It has not yet been reported in mainstream media as of yet. The only link so far is from this one site, and I did see a bit about it on MSNBC just now.

On March 21, Robert G. Kaiser, Washington Post Associate Managing Editor, was conducting an online chat when someone from New York asked about the explosive “GOP talking points memo” on the Terri Schiavo case. Kaiser said that the memo, which reportedly referred to the Schiavo case as “a great political issue” for Republicans, was the subject of a Sunday Washington Post article by Mike Allen. Kaiser was asked: Why haven’t we seen the memo? He replied, “Good question…Mike is not here now so I can't confirm my hunch that his sources read him the memo but didn't give him a copy. That happens quite often these days.”
Memogate 2

[edit on 3/23/05 by FredT]

This is the same "Memo" that was supposedly circulated in Congress by Republicans, but no one has actually seen the memo? And the Post didn't actually verify that the memo exists? Hmmm...From your article:

Kaiser (Robert Kaiser, Associate Managing Editor, Washington Post)was asked: Why haven’t we seen the memo? He replied, “Good question…Mike is not here now so I can't confirm my hunch that his sources read him the memo but didn't give him a copy. That happens quite often these days.”

Read him the memo but didn’t give him a copy? And that “happens quite often these days?” It’s no wonder the media get into trouble when they rely on documents in their stories. Is it possible that this anonymous memo is a fraud?

But I got ask Fred - why wouldn't republican leadership be all over this? After Rathergate, they could score a heck of a lot more points with another fake memo than could ever hope of gaining from Terri. Especially considering that public polls think the Republicans have misused their power in passing Terri's Law. Makes me think there is a memo.

But it's definitely got me interested - something I'll be looking into over the next few days.

B.

Originally posted by Bleys
why wouldn't republican leadership be all over this?

It's wise to wait a while to give the liberal media enough rope to hang themselves on. In the rathergate scandal, the White House actually made copies of the "memos" and passed them out to the press.

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by Bleys
why wouldn't republican leadership be all over this?

It's wise to wait a while to give the liberal media enough rope to hang themselves on. In the rathergate scandal, the White House actually made copies of the "memos" and passed them out to the press.

Exactly.

It is very clear that the media will eat this up (if it were a democrat they would too, just not to such an extent).

It is better to make the asses that are the national media look like idiots, and have what little credibility they have taken away.

If they are not willing to look into this to make sure it is real, they deserve every bit of humiliation they get. They will have totally and completely failed as jurnalists, and deserve to be fired just as Rathergate "I am the democrats lie machine" was.

[edit on 24-3-2005 by American Mad Man]

Does it seem a tad coinicidental that even Fox is getting
it's share of flak in that dept? [/shrugs]


[edit on 24-3-2005 by Crysstaafur]

If it does turn out to be false I will be very annoyed. I'm tired of being made a fool of by some bum who feels the need to con America with a hastily created forgery. Whether or not this bum is related to the last bum is irrelevant to the issue in my opinion. What matters is that there is a concerted effort being made out there to make fools of the media and by extension the public as well. Well we shall see what becomes of this.

Looks like the Republicans got a little too confident in their power and are now going to get feces smeared all over their dirty political faces by their "base", the conservative Christian.............



Fred, we don't have special agents.....we have covert agents.....MUHAHA! MUHAHA!

[edit on 25-3-2005 by National Security Agency]

What the fooey does this memo even say? Are you telling me I could pass around some memo that could or could not mean what it says and it would get this much attention when noone even knows what the hell it says? I could write "Terri Shiavo" on it and it would turn into some sort of scandal and then a whole bunch of political morons would argue all over it saying "republican this" "liberal that"? Wow, politics are even more gay than I thought. to all of you!!!





















[edit on 3-26-2005 by ProudAmerican]

Originally posted by Bleys
But I got ask Fred - why wouldn't republican leadership be all over this? After Rathergate, they could score a heck of a lot more points with another fake memo than could ever hope of gaining from Terri.

Here is my take on it after taking a look at the events of the past few days. MSNBC was the only media outlet I saw this one one. Nothing from the Republicans etc etc etc. I agree where is the public outcry? The investigations?

I am beginning to come up with another theory that kind of jives with my OP/ED on the the Religious Right and its takeover of the GOP.

1) It was a false flag run by the Republicans. They realized that they overplayed thier hand on the Schivo case and were looking for something to move attention too.

or

2) Take note of this quote "Republicans at all levels will have "hell to pay" for cynically using the "pro-Life" movement if they don't "save" Terri Schiavo."
Randall Terry, Founder Operation Rescue and The Society for Truth and Justice

Could this be a attempt by groups like this to embarrass or threaten GOP leaders?

You know it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Randall Terry and his little minions were behind this. The GOP sold it's soul when it began catering to the far right and abandoning it's base. Just desserts IMO. Because no matter how much you support these people, it will never be good enough. Look at the Schiavo case -after everything Jeb and co. did it still isn't enough. Have you seen this?

Mary Schindler pleaded with Gov. Jeb Bush to "please do something," while her husband accused the governor of putting their brain-damaged daughter and the rest of their family "through a week of hell by not acting."

Not good enough - he and Congress upset 200 years of jurisprudence and it's not good enough. Not to mention that this probably will kill his chances in 2008. But hey, they did the right thing, the moral thing in spite of what 10 courts and 70% of this country thought. Get with it GOP - you've been punked.

Kudos on your theory Fred.
B.

Thanks Bleys

Randall Terry and do not forget Ralph Reed, both are the same sort of terrorist im my book. I am a Republican but a moderate California one. Thats why I am amused when someone slaps the old "neocon" lable on me

From Raw Story a look at the "talking points" memo itself. If you look at it - it does not appear to be the real deal. Couple of things off hand - Schiavo's name is spelled incorrectly and Senate bill 529 has nothing to do with Terri Schiavo. Something about anti-doping agencies. You would think that if this was an actual repub. talking points memo - it would have been more accurate. Lends a lot a support for Fred's theory.

The other link is from intheagora They have been providing updates as new information is uncovered and providing links to others who are also watching this. An excellent site to get a bigger picture of this scandal. From the site:

Most of the memo seems to have been copied (typo and all) from this post at the Traditional Values Coalition site. Is someone at TVC responsible, not the Republican Senate?

and

I'm hearing several rumors that Sen. Santorum's office allegedly penned the memo. If this is true, Santorum has an incredibly stupid staffer that can't get bill numbers straight, doesn't know Senate protocol, and can't spell correctly. But Santorum denies any involvement with it: "Sen. Santorum's office did not circulate nor has knowledge of any 'GOP' talking points regarding Terri Schiavo." The ball is now in the court of media sources who claim it had Republican origins - offer proof.

The amateurish quality to the memo has me leaning towards some of these R2L groups, but I want to watch and wait, see what develops over the next couple of days.

B.



[edit on 3/26/05 by Bleys]

CNN is reporting that Florida Republican Mel Martinize (US Senate?) has just accepted his "aides" apology for the memo and resignation.

So it was a Republican staffer. And everyone's hands are clean. And we'll never hear another word about it.

ah....but there's alot of interesting things being said about Senator Martinize.

www.whereisthemoney.org...

So is this scandal no longer interesting? It just got interesting. So we drop it.

Now that Senator Martinez is blaming one his top level staffers for the memo (a "pass the buck" theme he's perfected since his 2004 slander campaign)...

Long after leaving Republicans embittered by his appeals to bigotry and his vulgar attacks on former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, Martinez used his general election campaign to tar Castor, a distinguished former legislator and education leader, as a terrorist sympathizer.

When challenged, Martinez was too eager to assign blame to his staff or to groups he said he couldn't control. As a senator, he will need an office and a staff that speaks with the measured and centrist tone he says will be his own. He can't pretend to be above it all if the people he employs are not.

And openly admitted the reality of the not forged memo by accepting the resignation of Brain H. Darling, now revealed to be more than slightly up the rectum of Tom DeLay...

WASHINGTON – The Campaign for America’s Future today challenged House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to explain his relationship to corporate lobbyist Brian H. Darling. Darling is the author of the Republican strategy memo that said the personal tragedy of Terri Schiavo presents a “great political issue” for Republicans.

Rep. DeLay last month told the conservative Family Research Council that "God brought to us" the Terri Schiavo tragedy and linked it to a strategy to defend the conservative movement.

Darling worked for the Alexander Strategy Group, a Washington-based corporate lobbying firm heavily connected to Rep. DeLay. Darling’s clients included Universal Bearing, Inc., a company owned by the Hanwha Group, which has direct ties to the foreign agent that paid for Rep. DeLay's improper trip to Korea. The Korea-U.S. Exchange Council was created to promote Hanwha Group Chairman Seung Youn Kim, according to the New York Times.

And practically every axe grinding media pundit still angry at Dan Rather (who apologized and quit by the way) went on a week long rampage blaming every Democrat they could shake a stick at for forging what turned out to be a real document from real Republicans...

Sen. Bennet:

Sen. Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, said the issue "stinks" of a news fabrication similar to the one that engulfed CBS anchorman Dan Rather during the 2004 presidential campaign, after he reported that President Bush did not fulfill his duties while in the National Guard, citing documents that CBS later admitted could not be authenticated.

Tucker Carlson:

"Last week a memo surfaced, reportedly written by the Republican members of Congress explaining how to make hay with the Terri Schiavo case, the Talking Points Memo, Ah, I think within a week or two it will become clear that that memo was a forgery, possibly written by Democrats on the hill in an effort to discredit Republicans. Bloggers are saying that now and it sounds like they may be right."

Fred Barnes:

"So rather than an example of aggressive reporting, the memo story turns out to be yet another instance of crude liberal bias, in this case against both Republicans and those who fought to have Schiavo's feeding tube restored. Naturally, the memo had a second life when the story was picked up by other news outlets, pundits, and columnists. How did ABC and others get wind of the memo in the first place? It came from 'Democratic aides,' according to the New York Times, who 'said it had been distributed to Senate Republicans.' Not exactly a disinterested source."

Newsmax:

There was just one problem: Closer examination by The American Spectator, talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, The Weekly Standard, and Accuracy in Media (AIM) indicates that the memo is a fraud - a political dirty trick, if you will, specifically aimed at causing public revulsion at Republicans.

Rush Limbaugh:

"Truth Detector: Supposed GOP Schiavo Memo Forged by Democrats."

Michelle Malkin:

I suspect that no one at the Post or ABC News still believes the amateurish, unsigned, misspelled memo was circulated by Republican Party leaders.

FredT:

Just kidding.

And yet, now nobody cares...

MediaMatters tracks the Anatomy of the Right Wing SMEAR on Trumped Up Forgery Charges, but who's tracking the apologies and resignations in the scandal more appropriately known as:

DeLay-Darling-Martinez-Bennet-Carlson-Barnes-NewsMax-Limbaugh-Malkin-GATE!!!

Accountability? Not just for "liberals" anymore.

Tell 'em what it takes Dan.

Yeah, the memo actually was written by Martinez. Talk about morally bandrupt! All those idiotic right-wing zealot bloggers are looking pretty bad right about now. The sh** on their faces is just about too thick to wipe off.

I wonder if ol' Rush "pill-daddy" Limbaugh will have the ballz to acknowledge his mistake on air?

Originally posted by EastCoastKid
Yeah, the memo actually was written by Martinez. Talk about morally bandrupt! All those idiotic right-wing zealot bloggers are looking pretty bad right about now. The sh** on their faces is just about too thick to wipe off.

I wonder if ol' Rush "pill-daddy" Limbaugh will have the ballz to acknowledge his mistake on air?

Did any of them manage any retractions?????

Personally, I believe that the 'fake memo' that torpedoed Dan Rather had a similar beginning......albeit a slicker packaging. If resources were brought to bear on the origins of the 'Rathergate' memo, it might come out that it was intentionally fed to him, in order to discredit that whole 'line of questioning'!

If that trick worked once, why not try it again???? HA! It was handled a little too ham-handed this time, and back fired.

Tom DeLay is about half a step from being TrentLotted or completely Gingriched.
The fund raising has the GOP Cabal support, but once those corporate entites who are shilling out the money are hip to the OJ-tification of the DeLay brand, they are going to drop the Hammer !

Re: Rather - lost in all of that was the simple fact that what he found out about Bush's guard "service"....was true.

[edit on 8-4-2005 by Bout Time]

Originally posted by frayed1
If resources were brought to bear on the origins of the 'Rathergate' memo, it might come out that it was intentionally fed to him, in order to discredit that whole 'line of questioning'!

It probly was fed to him by Rove, or by way of Rove. Just look what happened. Everyone was soooo focused on the thing being a fake, everyone took their eyes off the main point: Bush's AWOL from the Nat'l Guard.

Understand this: one of the oldest tactics in the book (when someone's got you nailed) is to change the subject and attack some other aspect. In the case of Rathergate, it worked like a charm. Everyone got so distracted, they totally forgot the main issue.