Topic: Newsmax
A June 15 Newsmax article regurgitated a list, provided by John McCain's campaign, of "prominent Democratic and unaffiliated leaders and activists who have joined Citizens for McCain, a new grassroots effort headed by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to rally Americans of all political parties to support McCain's candidacy." Newsmax made no effort to dig further into the list to provide evidence these McCain supporters being Democrat, unaffiliated, or even prominent.
TPM Election Central did, however. Their conclusion:
The list is a bit of a sham. A look at some of these "Democrats and independents" shows that it's a stretch to tout their support for the Republican as anything at all unusual.
Some of the "Democrats" and "Independents" on the list already have often supported Republicans in the past, suggesting that there's little if any meaning to their support for McCain over Obama. And others have a history of hostility towards the Democratic Party that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to take them seriously as genuine cross-over supporters.
Of particular note is list member and "former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Philip Frye." As TPM describes him:
Here's why he ran in the first place: Dem Gov. Bob Wise had been damaged after having been caught having an affair with Frye's wife. (When Wise withdrew from the race, Frye's star faded and he received less than one-percent of the vote.)
The Charleston Gazette has more on Frye, as does Wonkette and The Daily Show.
But will Newsmax tell its readers about the sham aspect of McCain's list? Somehow we kinda doubt it.
