Rightwing candidate censors me after calling him out on his use of a push poll

It just amazes me that the positions of Republicans are so flimsily that they can’t stand up to the least bit of scrutiny, and that is why I have been banned from two rightwing blogs and now from the Facebook page of a Congressional candidate named Rob Steele.

My crime; making sense and putting up arguments they can’t defend. To me, debating with people I agree with is not much of a debate, so I tend to comment on the disinformation on rightwing blogs when I see such an outrageous lies that I am compelled to comment on. I have been banned from “Right” Michigan and the so-called “blogprof” for daring to disagree with them.

My latest run in was with a teabagger named Steele who is running against U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, one of the most beloved leaders in southeast Michigan. I met Steele by accident, and it was an amazing event; one that I have not seen in more than a decade around politics as a reporter and as a campaign volunteer.

Weeks after his attempt to provoke a confrontation with me, I noticed Steele was falsely attacking Dingell on his Facebook page with the lie that Dingell only talks to supporters. I knew that to be an absolute lie and I called him on out it. I had to click the “like” button to comment, but it was worth it to call him out. It wasn’t long before my comments were deleted.

Shortly after I began commenting, he posted this nonsense:

“Our campaign is gaining notice by Team Dingell and various professional liberal bloggers. To clarify the protocol for our Facebook page, non-supporters may post a comment to voice an opinion. Any further comments will likely be deleted.”

First, I’m not a professional blogger, and I haven't been for more than two years when I stopped working for the Michigan Messenger. Second, I am a non-supporter who posted a “comment to voice my opinion,” yet every single one has been deleted. The attacks on me stand, but my response is gone. The only other person calling him out on his lies was a Jefferson High School student.

I just discovered today that I was barred from commenting, and every single comment deleted.

Steele is now touting a poll by Public Opinion Strategies (PSO) that has him down by only nine points, by a count of 51-42. The problem is PSO is a Republican polling and lobbying firm notorious for conducting push polls. This push poll was bought and paid for by Steele, and it still has him nine points down. The real number is probably closer to 18 percent.

POS was responsible for the "Harry and Louise" ad that killed health insurance reform in the early 1990s. In 2001 it was charged with violating Virginia's polling disclosure laws, and it has also been accused of using push polls to influence elections.

The simple fact is his campaign can’t stand up to even the slightest bit of scrutiny, and that’s why he allows no dissent.

Well, you and your supporters are welcome to come here and know that you will not be banned or your comments deleted, at least without repeated warnings about refraining from specific personal smears.

Give me your best shot.

More fake outrage and lies over President Obama and Memorial Day

Just when you think the ridiculous fake outrage from Republicans over President Obama’s decision to mark Memorial Day at a ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill. Instead of at Arlington National Cemetery can’t get any more bizarre, it does.

Apparently, right-wing loon blogger and Anne Coulter-wannabe Pamela Geller has embellished a story that there was a “skirmish” between the Secret Service, representatives of Louis Farrakhan and the press pool during the Memorial Day weekend. She also claims that the press pool was held hostage by Farrakhan’s “Nation of Islam paramilitary” group until it was ended by a “Rev. Gary Hunter, a Baptist minister in Motown who writes and blogs for the Detroit Times.”

I have no idea who Gary Hunter is, but there has not been anything called “The Detroit Times” for more than 100 years. Geller has made up some truly outrageous and slimily lies about Obama in the past, and she has continually tried to connect Obama and Farrakhan and paint Obama as a Muslim.

This is just one more attempt to push that debunked lie.

We know what a slim ball Geller is, but it’s sad when other people pick up on it, like Michigan’s busiest rightwing blogger - the so-called “Blogprof.” You would think a guy from Michigan would know there is no such thing as the Detroit Times, but he has never let a few facts get in the way of a good smear.

It’s sad that a guy who claims to be a Christian engages in these kinds of false smears, but that is just as outrageous as his claim to be a professor. No one can put out that much copy without it being their full-time job. I know some good, motivated reporters who don’t put out that much copy in a day. Granted, it’s easier to write fiction than actual factual stories, but it still leaves little time for anything else.

He knows he can put out these fairly tales and never be challenged because the first time anyone does, he bans them.

Reagan to skip Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery

Reagan to skip Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Actually, I stole that headline from Michigan’s busiest rightwing blogger - “the Blogprof,” and I just substituted Reagan for Obama. Both headlines are accurate.

But the Republican noise machine has picked up on it to try and paint President Obama as anti-military. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

According to the AP, “The White House says Obama and his family will travel to their hometown on Thursday and stay through the weekend. It will be their first trip back home since a visit for Valentine's Day weekend in February 2009.
On Monday, Obama is scheduled to participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill.
In Obama's absence, Vice President Joe Biden will participate in the customary wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington.”

Wow. His first time home in 15 months. How many times were Presidents Reagan and Bush II at their ranches clearing brush? I guarantee they never stayed away for 15 months. But, the Republican noise machine ignores that fact to falsely attack the President, just like it ignored the fact that at least two other Republican Presidents had their Vice-President or a proxy lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

In 1983 Deputy Secretary of Defense W. Paul Thayer laid a wreath at Arlington Cemetery during the Memorial Day ceremony, according to a May 31, 1983, Washington Post article. The AP reported that President Reagan attended a "summit meeting in Williamsburg, Va., with leaders of the industrialized democracies.

Vice President Dan Quayle laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, according to a May 26, 1992, Boston Globe article. The Globe reported that President George H.W. Bush attended a wreath-laying ceremony and made brief remarks at an American Legion hall in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he also played a round of golf.

I guarantee this; Soldiers, Sailors and Marines killed in battle are not just buried at Arlington, and their ultimate sacrifice is just as great as those buried at Arlington.