'I'm Ellie Light,' California man says: Obama letter writer talks

[Newsjock]

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Ellie Light, the ubiquitous letter writer whose name appeared in newspapers nationwide praising President Barack Obama, appears to really be a male health care worker from California.

A man who identified himself as Winston Steward, 51, of Frazier Park, Calif., says he made up the name "Ellie Light" to protect himself from criticism and possible physical attacks, and used fake addresses across the country to get local newspapers to publish his letters.

"I am Winston Steward and have been sending the letters from Ellie Light," he told The Plain Dealer in an e-mail late Tuesday, following a phone interview in which he said the same. "I hope this ends any confusion and sets the record straight."

... News of the escapade also triggered suspicions in the blogosphere that Ellie Light was not a real name, and that the letter-writing campaign was directed from White House or the Democratic Party.

The man identifying himself as Steward scoffed at that, saying the letters were merely his way of speaking up for Obama when sensing that support for the Democratic president was waning. While a liberal, he said that too many people on the "ultra-left" are demanding ideological loyalty rather than seeking results.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/01/im_ellie_light_california_man.html

[FBaggins]

1. Careful there Ellie!

While a liberal, he said that too many people on the "ultra-left" are demanding ideological loyalty rather than seeking results

Wouldn't repeat that around here. You're likely to be called a corporatist shill for the RW.

[Forkboy]

2. The guy is a total phony willing to make shit up and you take his side against those to the Left.

There's a shock.

[FBaggins]

4. Not "taking his side"

I don't know anything about the guy.

Just using him to point out how pragmatic liberals are treated when the purity police are out in force.

[pattmarty]

6. Instead of just "talking shit", why don't you give us YOUR defination.......

.......of "purity police" (did you just make that up? So catchy) so all of us at DU can be on the fucking lookout for these evil creatures.

[FBaggins]

9. Pretty simple

and yeah... I just made it up... though the label seems to feet since MA.

It's the crowd who not only insist that our candidates toe the liberal line, but who accuse anyone who even questions whether this strategy is a good idea of being paid shills for the opposition... that every bad thing happening today is really their fault.

[pattmarty]

19. So in the words of your hero O'Reilley "most" here at Du are left wing loons.......

............YOU want to be the one calling names. Look, I'm 63yo and have been a liberal ALL my fucking life. Have believed in the same basic principles ALL my fucking life. I don't know when you walked into "liberalism", but the gold fucking standard is Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, reasonable regulations on ALL industries and medical care for all americans either free at point of service or for a (very) small fee. And, I ain't even begun to speak of civil rights, wars, rights in the workplace or the other thousands of worker gripes. Just so you know where the fuck I'm coming from. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but you seem to be the one calling for some kind of "purity police" since your the one that bought it fucking up.

[FBaggins]

20. Lol... thanks for proving my point yet again.

Now O'Reilley is my hero? and somehow I'm the "one calling names"???


I'm 63yo and have been a liberal ALL my fucking life.

Did someone question that? No... it's the people who are liberal but realize that we can't win absolutely everything we want in the first ten minutes of a ten year process whose liberalism is questioned.

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but you seem to be the one calling for some kind of "purity police" since your the one that bought it fucking up.

Yes. You're wrong. And it's a ridiculous comment at that. I guess that makes all the most liberal posters "shills for the RW"... since they're the one who brought it up?

[pattmarty]

22. You bought up the "purity police" I did not. I just responded to your.........

..........silly phrase that seemed like you implied most here were looking for "purity". Personally, I don't give a shit what you believe, it's just when you post about some kind of purist conspiracy or some shit that gets me pissed. You want to believe that I am some kind of "political purist" fine, have at it. It is really funny that all of a sudden that we are starting to hear this type of shit when some as citizens want to question the direction of our leaders.

[FBaggins]

23. I never said "most"

I seriously doubt it's anything like a majority... but they're a pretty vocal (and insulting) minority.

Personally, I don't give a shit what you believe,

And yet you chose to reply AND make your own assumptions about what I believed? How strange. Is there treatment available for whatever they call that? :)

You want to believe that I am some kind of "political purist" fine

Where did I ever say that you were one such? You WERE knee-jerk reflexively assuming that if I disagreed with you, I must be an O'Reilly fan (and that's a common symptom), but I haven't seen enough of your posts to guess.


It is really funny that all of a sudden that we are starting to hear this type of shit when some as citizens want to question the direction of our leaders.

I'm one of the ones "questioning the direction of our 'leaders' (sic)" - so I couldn't guess where that came from.

[superconnected]

34. At this point, I ignore you. Wacked out comprehension issues, lack of communication skills and all.

[No Elephants]

40. Pssst. Replying to a poster is the opposite of ignoring that poster..

[pattmarty]

41. You ignore by responding?

[sabrina 1]

42. Well, I'm not a liberal as it is defined on several issues.

I would say I'm mostly an Independent and I agree with those who believe this administration caters to the right and to corporate America.

The attempt to label people has never worked. I've always been fascinated with people who use 'talking points' such as 'purity troll', 'concern troll' etc. Used almost exclusively by operatives on Daily Kos for several years and yes there are plenty of them on that board they only served to identify the DLCers and made it easy to ignore their opinions/propaganda. Did you know that you identify yourself with a certain DLC group of operatives by your use of those childish words.

Anyone who parrots the words of others, reveals themselves far more than they probably want to. Just letting you know, most intelligent independent people have no use for other people's silly talking points. I would definitely drop the 'purity' 'concern' troll nonsense if I were you. I'm sure you would not want to be identified with the now pretty much infamous DLCers most associated with those really stupid attempts at labeling others. People just dismiss your opinions as soon as they see them.

[superconnected]

32. Gawd, some people just beg for a fight.

[pattmarty]

43. They sure do don't they? I just don't like the fucking insinuation that...........

............my views are "fringe" and because of my beliefs I am some kind of authoritarian. As I stated with "Mr purity" I personally don't give a fuck what he/she believes and that pertains to you also. So quit with the bullshit of trying to pigeon hole everybody that responds to a post.

[Forkboy]

8. LOL...using a known liar to make a point about how bad percieved purists are is pretty funny stuff.

That will clearly help to bolster your argument about the wonders of "pragmatic liberals".

[Bluenorthwest]

10. When did lying and cheating become 'pragamtic'?

He represented himself falsely on many levels. He's a liar. Claimed residence in dozens of places, a gender and name that were not his own.
You defend that?

[FBaggins]

13. I'm not calling HIM a pragmatic liberal

I'm identifying with liberals who recognize that "too many people on the 'ultra-left' are demanding ideological loyalty rather than seeking results"

[nyy1998]

24. +1

[superconnected]

33. +1

[No Elephants]

38. "Ultra left" is bullshit, unless you are referring to someone advocating Marxism.

In fact, "ultra left" is bullshit no matter what. It's as meaningless and made up as "purity police."

The center right does not choose to admit that it is the center right. So, to call itself left or liberal, like this dishonest hero worshipper does, it has to pretend that the classic Democrats are almost the equivalent of raving anarchists.

It's bullshit when this drooling loon does it. It's bullshit when Republicans talk about Obama having governed from the "hard left." It's bullshit when Rahm refers to the "left of the left." And it's also bullshit to use terms like "far left" when referrring to expectations as to timing, as opposed to ideology.

[FBaggins]

46. Don't be ridiculous.

There's a spectrum from left to right. Call it "far right" or "all the way right" or "uber right" you're still talking about the 5% of people at that end of the line. I'm talking about the people at the end of our side of the line. Call them "far left" of "true left" or whatever you like... labels aren't that important. I've never cared for the "liberal" vs "progressive" debate either.

The "center" of DU is to the left of the Democratic party as a whole. There are obviously plenty of people here to the left of that median point and other to the right of it (but still politically progressive).

What's dishonest and unfair is for one part of the left (call it whatever you like) to treat another part of the left as if they are really "center-right" opponents of progressive ideals. The "drooling loon" was no centerist (at least not in the letter I read).

And it's also bullshit to use terms like "far left" when referrring to expectations as to timing, as opposed to ideology.

Yet whatever you call them... they are ANXIOUS to call other progressives "far RIGHT" for merely disagreeing on timing. Surely that's even more than "BS"?

[No Elephants]

37. You missed that he is a dishonest, swooning asshole?

[Dogmudgeon]

17. Q.E.D.

That only took about three hours.

Certain people are above criticism, a moral status they defend with rage and defamation. And it's not confined to any one political faction or tendancy.

--d!

[FBaggins]

18. Oh heavens no.

You're absolutely correct that it isn't confined to one political faction, but it is more common at the extremes.

They just don't realize how much they resemble the far right (in tactics) while they accuse other Democrats of being far right (in position). It's like watching them lambaste someone with a NARAL rating of 5, calling them "pro-abortion" because he would allow an abortion in the case of incest. I can't tell you how many people I saw who would not support McCain because he was in favor of killing babies (all because he opposed Bush's freeze on stem cell funding restrictions).

Such people may have thought they were the base and conscience of the republican party... but they're really a big reason why their party lost (and not just the WH).

I would prefer to avoid such purity demands causing the same electoral losses for our side.

[Dogmudgeon]

25. It's the voice of frustration

It isn't pretty, but I understand it.

--d!

[bitchkitty]

28. Are you speaking from experience? n/t

[FBaggins]

45. Yep.

And I've seen it happen dozens of times to people I have no reason to believe are anything but loyal Democrats. They simply disagree on some issue or other and like Pavlov's dogs people assume that if you disagree on anything... you disagree on EVERYTHING.

It's really quiet sad... especially since we need each other BADLY this Fall if it isn't going to be '94 all over again.

[naaman fletcher]

3. nothing annoys me more than people who pretend they are brave..

"Ellie Light" to protect himself from criticism and possible physical attacks

Give me a break. There are people in this world who do brave things and put their safety on the line every day. Writing letters the editor is not one of them.

[FBaggins]

5. Yep...and how stupid is it...

...to make up a name to "protect yourself" and the OUT yourself as soon as there is some publicity?

[Bluenorthwest]

11. that is how 'pragmatic liberals' are, according to you

[FBaggins]

12. Two different points

The guy may be a nutcase. He certainly isn't very smart He could, for instance, have changed his name with each letter as well as his address. He also could have declined to identify himself as he did here. The combination of the two errors makes me think that he WANTED the press coverage and his 15 minutes.

That's entirely apart from my comments about liberals who continue to support the President (despite moderate-to-extreme disappointment in his record to date) and recognize the dangers involved in missing the message of recent elections. He may not be one such "pragmatic liberal" - but the article labeled him as such so it appeared a reasonable jumping-off opportunity to make that point.

[pattmarty]

7. Well, we all can't be fucking Rambo can we? I personally don't................

............give a shit about "Ellie Light", but your statement sounds like you may be just a little naive.

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[No Elephants]

39. Moreover, whoever told this loon that he should never be criticized?

Oh, heavens. I just had to misrepresent, lest I be--Oh, the humanity!-- criticized!!1111!!!

And just how obsessed do you have to be to write letters to papers all over the country because--gasp!--the President of the United States is being criticized by the press? Isn't getting criticized by the press part of the job description?

[izzybeans]

14. The rightwing has been doing this for years. Now one man decides to do it

and all the sudden Obama invented the practice.

[tom_paine]

36. Yep. Welcome to the Soviet Union, Americccan style.

How many of us screamed and shouted, sent letters, or made calls to protest the practice? Dozens, possibly hundreds, making thousands of calls, letters, etc.

I guess these corporations only hear it when OTHER corporations/propaganda ministries talk to them.

I see it and still don't believe it?

How can the Bushies have set up such an iron-clad double-standard Orwell machine WITHOUT having Bushie thugs pointing guns at people?

Amazing. But from the Focus on the Family Super Bowl Ad (the NFL and affiliated stations dont run advocacy ads on the Super Bowl, don't you know?) all the way back to the Soviet-level insanity of pillorying Condit while at the same time the Klausutis murder literally had all the earmarks of newsworthiness (a crooked coroner brought in from out of state, caught lying about an injury to Ms. Klausutis, not to mention enough inconsistencies and weirdness from Scarborough's office - such as lying about her "infirmity" when she was a marathon runner in excellent condition), one thing is clear...I WORKS.

The Bushies have set up a Soviet double-standard that is truly as effective as anything the Soviet or Nazis set up for themselves.

Creepy and horifying to watch in action, but no more so than watching the same things happening in the Soviet or Nazi Media decades ago.

[jgraz]

15. I wonder what his DU handle is.

:eyes:

[NashVegas]

16. I Bet I Know ...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

26. You mean "handles" plural?

[NashVegas]

35. You Show Me Yours

I'll show you mine

[CatFancy55]

21. So if he was afraid of physical harm

Why did he use his wife's name? That doesn't sound like something you would do if there was really the threat of violence.

[jgraz]

27. Rahm said he'd punch him if he used his own name

[bitchkitty]

29. What a sleazy thing to do.

"While a liberal, he said that too many people on the "ultra-left" are demanding loyalty rather than seeking results."

A liar, lying about being left, lying to and about the left.

I can't believe there are people who are actually defending this astroturfer. Not only that, he's fucking stupid. Way to go, "Ellie".

[Arkana]

30. Bahahahaha.

Noble, but stupid.

Plus, if he was a Republican we'd be all over him.

[Bluebear]

31. What is noble about propaganda?

Also...'Plus, if he was a Republican we'd be all over him.' - what does that mean?

[MisterP]

44. the comments are alarming in their illiteracy:

story: "centrist" Obama loyalist blasts lefties in standard "Father Knows Best," Alabama Governor language
Freepers: attack "Ellie" as being a far leftie because he supports Obama, ignoring that he's speaking from the same insanely-resentful right wing that they're coming from. It's like creationists: just try asking 99% of them what "evolutionists" believe, and they'll either stare blankly, rant, or shove a tape in a VCR that they hope makes your questions go away.