A DO-OVER IN KOCH-CONNECTED WENDY ATTACK

"Citizen Anderson": Editor and AFP Policy Analyst

The characters carrying out the latest attack on Wendy Davis have now reacted to my expose about their gross violations of journalistic ethics. Have they decided to drop the complaint brought to the Texas Ethics Commission, embarrassed for getting caught red-handed trying to foist this unsavory goober on the public? Hardly. They've done a do-over. The original attack was so compromised that they've handed the "story" over to another "reporter." 

Nice that the do-over discloses the relationship between the subject/source of the "story" and the "news organization" that is "reporting" it. Thanks for acknowledging that you've already thrown away any semblance of journalistic credibility.

Does that really help legitimize this attack? 

I have no doubt that these folks, many tied to Americans for Prosperity (the notorious Koch brother front group), are scrambling to get enough online coverage from the usual not-too-choosy Far Right sites. With that, Fox News can justify picking up such a fetid tidbit. Some call that success. Others call it dirty tricks, bullying and intimidation.  

Now, for those interested in reality-based reality,  a few simple questions about the complaint itself.

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If this were substantive why didn't "AFP" Lou Ann Anderson, the "reporter" that filed it, simply REPORT her research findings as news? Then, others would have filed the complaint based on her reporting, right?  What did it serve to compromise whatever little credibility she and her "news organization" had by making the complaint herself? 

Let's Anderson explain.

“What I found were questions — questions that it doesn’t take being a CPA, a lawyer or other government policy analyst to recognize,” Anderson said. “Information (for the cited years) provided to the IRS is far more detailed than information provided to the Texas Ethics Commission as mandated by state law."

Anderson: "I Am AFP!"

So she compared the different filings - those to the IRS and those to for the Texas Ethics Commission.  Do you suppose that she checked to see if what's required for the IRS is DIFFERENT than the Texas Ethics Commission? Would ANYONE be surprised to discover that what's required by the IRS is more detailed than what the TEC requires? Texas is not noted for its rigor here. The State Integrity Investigation gave Texas a D+. One shortcoming?  Asset disclosure forms:

When average Texans request asset disclosure forms for state officers — known as personal financial statements — filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, they may be left with unanswered questions, said Smith of Public Citizen. “They lack essential detail,” he said of the reports.

Maybe Anderson isn't looking to sell this smear to "a CPA, a lawyer or other government policy analyst."  The less informed, the better.  

Oh, still no reply from the public relations handler at Franklin Center about my interview request with her. 

As I've mentioned before, I've encountered this kind of abuse before with folks connected to this crew. What we're watching unfold is a textbook case of a Far Right hit.

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