Dean campaign faked medical emergency incidents?

[cryofan]

You may recall the publicity Dean got when he went to the aid of a collapsed bystander during a recent campaign appearance? Well, turns out the collapsee was a Dean volunteer. And it was the FOURTH time a volunteer has collapsed during a Dean campaign event, and the 4th time Dean has been Johnny-on-the-spot and went to the volunteer's aide in front of the cameras.....

See more here:

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=5795

[Stuckinthebush]

1. That's a little too stupid to believe

I don't think that Dean would be that dumb to set up something like this. I'll wait for more evidence before I accept that.

Of course this guy was a supporter/volunteer. He was at a Dean event, for goodness sake!

[denverbill]

4. It's the American Spectator for god's sake.

It's good to know Democrats are trying to spread Scaife lies though.

[cryofan]

13. RTFA--Spectator not original source, KERRY is original source

did you not RTFA?

[helleborient]

17. An admittedly desparate Kerry supporter...

"This is going to get nasty real fast. It's the only way we can stay in it."


So you support desperation tactics? Why not identify them as such in the beginning of the thread? The supporter is clear that is what they are...if you read the entire article.

[lastliberalintexas]

20. *Supposedly* a Kerry supporter

Don't even trust Scaiffe's publication to get that right!

[LuminousX]

21. I don't think the supporter exists

I think this is an effort to create more animosity between the two camps.

[Kahuna]

47. No. An "unnamed" Kerry supporter? C'mon. No such

thing ever happened. They made the whole thing up and conveniently cited and "unnamed" Kerry supporter.

[lastliberalintexas]

18. So says the Spectator

in another attempt to drive a wedge between the Kerry and Dean camps. Until there is some other, independent news source reporting this allegation supposedly from the Kerry camp, I'll give both campaigns the benefit of the doubt. Not like i'm likely to believe anything a Scaiffe publication reports without some other news source.

But you go ahead and buy into it if you like. Not like that helps Kucinich, but go ahead.

[LuminousX]

19. Proof Kerry is the source

This looks more like a set-up piece. I doubt Kerry's campaign is looking into this at all. I am willing to bet that this is a smear job and the GOP are trying to pin it on Kerry.

Provide evidence that the Kerry campaign is 'looking into this', provide evidence of the other three incidents (I can't find any articles relating to any other incident other than the one that occurred at his birthday party) - and make sure it isn't from the GOP Enquirer.

[blm]

44. They pulled this same crap saying Kerry tried to smear Dean's wife

by digging up dirt on her. It's always pushed by Spectator or Newsmax and the intended target is ALWAYS Kerry.

[LuminousX]

45. This is equally anti-Dean

by implying Dean is staging 'medical emergencies' and then claiming it is Kerry's campaign that is bringing up that point.

It is all Bullshit. Two incidents have been identified and one is just a woman smacking her head. Not exactly a medical emergency but definately something a Dr. would have to look into if he was around when it happened.

[9119495]

59. Is this a post by a freeper?

[Skwmom]

52. Dean's campaign is all smoke and mirrors.

So I wouldn't be surprised.

[lastliberalintexas]

54. Would you like me to show you what Scaiffe's people

say about Clark? Sorry that your hatred of Dean clouds your ability to decipher real news vs. repub propaganda.

BTW- Do you *ever* post anything good about Clark, or do you just spend your entire time posting unsubstantiated opinions about Dean?

[CMT]

2. the anti-Dean people are desperate

and can't or won't post anything postive about their candidate so they have to resort to this type of trash. That campaign worker was taken to a hospital where he was further examined and if it was a staged incident I'm sure we would be hearing about it. The American Spectator is a right wing rag by the way. But watch how some of the more hostile Dean people on DU will cite this over and over again because everything else has failed thus far.

[realFedUp]

3. This is from The American Spectator....

EDITOR IN CHIEF
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

PUBLISHER
Alfred S. Regnery


so where are your allegiances cryofan?

[cryofan]

11. Where are my allegiances? Look at my avatar, genius! n/t

....

[helleborient]

14. Kucinich supporters look to the American Spectator...

For journalism?...or simply for repeating right-wing attacks if they think they may help launch a stealth nasty campaign?

[cryofan]

24. I take my weapons where I find them. My country's future is at stake n/t

....

[LuminousX]

26. A sword made of aluminum

Far better to attack with something more solid, or do some research and make it more solid.

So far, I can't find any evidence other than that GOP Enquirer piece you posted of a)the Kerry campaign even commenting on the incident and b) the other three incidents mentioned.

For this to be an effective attack, it would need to have corraborative evidence to bolster the flimsy source. A source that is known to lie (anybody remember the Clinton Era?)

[helleborient]

28. Dennis Kucinich would be appalled (n/t)

[LuminousX]

29. I'd like to see this thread locked

[9119495]

60. So a pic of Dennis makes this guy a Dem and not a freeper?

[helleborient]

62. The deafening silence of Kucinich supporters...

And unwillingness to point out the American Spectator for the garbage it is does bother me.

[9119495]

66. All I'm saying is 34 posts and a DK pic does not make you a

Democrat. What the heck was a DK suporter reading AS(s) for? Most DK supporters here are nice and rational so I'm suspicious. If I were to sign up on some Repub discussion board to get info and piss people off, damn straight I'd have a pic of bush, cheney, and falwell. What do others think?

[TennesseeWalker]

5. This is an American Spectator article.

This is a Scaife right wing rag. You know, I haven't been a Dean supporter, but attacks from trash like Scaife make me like him more and more. Keep it up, guys. I'm starting to believe the Deanies when they say you're afraid of DEAN.

[no name no slogan]

6. Uh-oh, I dunno about the source

The Spectator is a pretty well-known right-wing rag. If there's a second or third source with the same info, I might start to believe it. I'd be curious to find out who their source is within the Kerry campaign, and about the other three incidents that were mentioned in the story.

[helleborient]

10. I think we would all be curious about the Kerry source (n/t)

[LuminousX]

7. Oddly Enough

I don't recall the publicity of these incidents. I remember the Frist thing, but not these.

And looking at the reports right now, they all acknowledge it was a staff member who had the epileptic seizure.

A google search only pulls up news articles on this one incident.

[helleborient]

8. So we're expected to trust the American Spectator...

In an article referring to Howard Dean as "Howie Dean" and the only person interviewed is a John Kerry supporter?

Hmmmm...any independent verification?

[Democrats unite]

Either the anti Dean people are desperate or

Dean supporters are just like... & can't see the truth right in front of their face.

[LuminousX]

15. Proof of multiple incidents would be nice

I can only find articles relating to one incident which happened at his birthday party. Where is evidence of the other three?

[Rose Siding]

48. I remember another

But with half a million "volunteers" that's not too suspicious, is it?

The very fact that another campaign is named is enough of a reason to discount this. No one would want to be associated with making such a petty charge.

[CTLawGuy]

9. .

:tinfoilhat:

[RandomKoolzip]

12. You don't see us talking that shit about Bill Frist coming to the aid of

people in the need, do ya? Did anybody on here say, "Oh, I'm sure all the incidents where Bill saved somebody were PR stunts?" I don't think so! Herein lies the difference between Republicans and Democrats: Republicans do evil things and thus expect their enemy to engage in said practices while citing higher motives. What a crock of shit.

I don't need this obviously false right wing propaganda in my life. American Spectator, fer crissakes!

[Jerseycoa]

35. You are so right

No Democrat's campaign should approve of nonsense like this. We have enough real enemies as Democrats without this bullshit. :puke:

[AP]

16. Spectator spins this to criticize Kerry, not Dean:

This volunteer said the campaign is now looking into each of the times Dean assisted fallen supporters, and is looking back to Dean's time as Vermont governor to establish a pattern, which all sounds just a bit desperate and petty on the part of the Kerry campaign.

"You know what they say about desperate times," says the volunteer. "This is going to get nasty real fast. It's the only way we can stay in it."

Kerry is rolling out a new, get-tough image that he tested out in Jefferson-Jackson remarks on Saturday. The press spotlighted the speech, and initial reviews were good, thought internally, some Kerry supporters say it is too little too late.

[helleborient]

22. Yes, a Kucinich supporter spun it to attack Dean in the opening of this

thread.

So, basically, a Kucinich supporter is trying to spin American Spectator slams against Kerry as a slam against Dean...do we have it right now?

Why would Kucinich supporters be protecting Kerry?

[LuminousX]

23. It's a double smear job

Which is why I don't think this volunteer even exists.

[JI7]

38. the spectator did this before

accused kerry of doing something in an attempt to hurt dean. the spectator is run by a right wing asshole. they have something against kerry.

[Khephra]

25. Ahhhh, but see...it's because Dean has the Elvis vibe

He makes people go into fits because they're so excited to be near him.

(He says with tounge firmly in cheek)

[sandnsea]

27. Well this is goofy

And I sincerely hope the campaign isn't wasting time on crap like this.

On edit:

I emailed a volunteer in Iowa to try and find out if there's any truth to this.

[Ediacara]

30. Hmmm...

Let's forget for a minute that this is from the American Spectator, and let's forget for a moment that the only incident I remember is the recent seizure.

Let's think about it for a moment. Dean has HUGE crowds, and with crowds of tens of thousands over 6 months, you'd imagine that there would be some medical emergencies, right? That's why paramedics are at stadiums, and why cruise ships have doctors.

And guess what, Dean's a doctor! I am sure there are other doctors on his staff, but I'd rather have Dean provide medical attention - probably with the other doctors on his staff - than have him ignore the medical emergency of someone in his audience and let other doctors help.

[LuminousX]

31. The First Test of Rapid Response

The American Spectator
1611 North Kent Street, Suite 901
Arlington, Virginia 22209

Tel: [phone] Fax [phone]

Editorial business: [e-mail]

Letters to the editor: [e-mail]


What kind of response would be the most effective? This is how it starts. Tiny lies that don't seem to really matter but then they get embedded. Gore invented the internet. And it becomes an albatross that can't be removed. Right now, as we wait, conservative bloggers all over the country are repeating this lie.

We need to counter it. We need to counter it at the source and through our own channels. We need to write all the bloggers we know to get them to counter this. We cannot allow it to get a uncontested foothold.

[helleborient]

32. Dean has rapid response teams across the country.

Signups to participate began months ago.

Don't worry...they will be on top of it.

[cryofan]

33. news report on these incidents

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Dr. Dean to the Rescue!!!
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Democratic presidential candidate and physician Howard Dean on Friday aided a woman who collapsed and struck her head outside an ice cream shop.

The woman, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment, fell and "hit her head on the way down, which worried me," Dean said. The candidate, who practiced internal medicine before entering politics, advised her to look for signs of a concussion and waited with her until an ambulance came. When it arrived, however, she declined to take it.

The incident happened when Dean, on his way to the South Carolina Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson dinner, stopped at a Ben & Jerry's, appropriate for the former Vermont governor. Dean was in town for Saturday's Democratic presidential primary debate.

Dean said it was the first time he had attended to a medical problem while on the presidential campaign trail, although he has aided accident victims during his tenure as governor.
....


posted by Matt Bailey Saturday, May 03, 2003 | Comment (0) | Forum
............................


Last Updated: 12:40 am, Sunday, November 16th, 2003


Democrats descend on Des Moines for Jefferson Jackson dinner
By Todd Dorman

.
DES MOINES — In a packed and rowdy downtown auditorium, at raucous rallies and even on ice, Democratic presidential hopefuls searched for support Saturday as Iowa Democrats gathered for the year’s biggest fund-raiser.
....

.
Dean, a physician who dropped his practice to pursue a political career, was called back into action Saturday.
.
A Dean campaign volunteer suffered a seizure and collapsed outside the site of an afternoon rally <b> just as Dean arrived</b>. According to his campaign, Dean gave aid to the man, Jake Edwards, 49, of Spencer, until an ambulance arrived. Dean’s campaign said Edwards was in good condition Saturday afternoon at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.
....

Todd Dorman can be contacted at [phone] or tdorman@willinet.

[helleborient]

34. Two incidents 6 months apart???

This proves?

Dennis Kucinich is the candidate who most vociferously supports fair campaigning and avoids smear tactics.

He definitely wouldn't stoop to gutter tactics like this.

[LuminousX]

36. The first doesn't come up in Google News searches

and the second refers to the incident that just occurs. So at best we have two, though one is unverified because you didn't even provide a link to the site where you got this information.

[helleborient]

37. It's a blog post...not a news report...look at the bottom

"O responses" Clear that it's from a blog or forum.

[LuminousX]

39. I saw that

but the blogger has to be copying from a news article. If it was a mainstream story, it would come up in news.google.com or if it isn't, a link to that blog would be nice so we can evaluate the source first hand.

[helleborient]

41. Here's where it came from.

A pro-Dean blog

http://dean2004.blogspot.com/2003_04_27_dean2004_archive.html

[LuminousX]

43. So we have accounted for 2 of the four

both seem perfectly reasonable, especially seeing that the first one wasn't even a medical emergency, it was someone smacking their head.

[helleborient]

42. Here's the AP article...

http://www.seattleactivist.org/Dean/DEAN-MAY-02-2003-2228e-Democratic-Candidate-Helps-Woman-Who-Fell.html

[Padraig18]

40. Thanks for posting this RW flame bait.

:eyes:

[Kahuna]

46. Isn't the Spectator that Scaife rag? You know,.

Richard Mellon Scaife of the "Arkansas Project?" I don't like Dean but this is obviously another Scaithe whisper campaign.

[cryofan]

49. Thou doth protest too much....

Truth hurts, huh? Well, I am not saying it is the truth. Certainly it would have to be investigated further before it could be said to be anything more than interesting speculation.

However, there is something a little bit funny with just 2 incidents, never mind 4. Continue on with looking for the other 2 incidents, and we may make this stick to Dean....

Carry on .... :-)

[helleborient]

50. Sliminess in support of Kucinich...

Something I hoped I wouldn't see.

[diamondsoul]

63. Unfortunately not all Kucinich supporters

possess the Congressman's level of integrity. Some of us put more effort into living up to his standards than others do.

Mind this is not a slam of the original poster, because if I believed there were any truth to the report, I would be inclined to look into it. Dishonesty is a pet peeve of mine at the moment and particularly in politicians. I have my personal opinion that Dr. Dean is not exactkly forthright, however that's a personal interpretation and has no bearing on my campaign efforts for Congressman Kucinich.

[LuminousX]

51. In my life (32 years)

I've witnessed two seizures and at least four people fall and smack their head. Thus far, only the latest incident received a lot of press which means the Dean campaign certainly weren't using the incidents to boost their campaign's appeal.

Keep searching all you want, even if you pull up all four incidents it only proves that among the throngs of people Dean is around, accidents happen. And since he is a doctor, he kind of sort of has to pay attention to such things. It isn't like he is a Texas oilman or career politician who doesn't have medical training.

[neuvocat]

53. I'm surprised this even came up, honestly.

Its WAY too ridiculous. Why aren't there any other sources than someone else's campaign spokesman?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

55. Gimme a break.

I'm certainly no fan of Dean's but this theory, and from 'The American Spectator' no less...
and of course they quote an unnamed 'Kerry staffer' -right.

Don't you folks know RW propaganda when you see it? :eyes:

[beyurslf]

56. I am not surprised by the AMm. Spectator printing this

crap but for a Dk supporter to be the one pushing it.... DK always seemed like the one least likely to resort to such trashy politics. He would not be amused.

[helleborient]

58. Maybe Dennis Kucinich is in secret cahoots with Am. Spectator?

Yeah, I know it makes about as much sense as the media having "anointed" Howard Dean as the Democratic nominee

[Feanorcurufinwe]

67. Your comment has all the sophistication of a Bazooka Joe comic.

I hope you at least got a piece of gum out of the deal.

[killbotfactory]

57. Four incidents

One time in SC it was a lady in a ben & jerry's who fainted and smacked her head. She wasn't a Dean supporter.

Another time in NH a supporter got bit in the ass by a dog while canvassing for Dean, and Dean gave her medical advice.

Another time in NH a supporter got into an accident while driving off and Dean made sure she was okay.

Then this time it was a guy who had an epileptic fit.

And there are always camera's around him now.

[LuminousX]

61. Wow, what staging

Thanks for the research!

Yep, this looks real bad.

[redqueen]

64. cryofan IMO you should apologize

Obviously if Dean were trying to capitalize on these incidents, we'd have heard of more than one.

Even his most hardcore supporters had to search to find more than two.

This is sad.

[helleborient]

65. Thank you very very much....

You brightened my day, redqueen.

[Jonte_1979]

68. Flame bait

I'm locking this.