ATTITUDES & ABBOTT BEHIND BRUTAL ABORTION STUNT

The Abbot supporter behind the LA hit

What's the Texas connection behind the instantly infamous "Abortion Barbie" stunt that even the Abbott campaign (but not Abbott himself) denounced?

Kolten Parker at the San Antonio Express-News and Wayne Slater at the Dallas Morning News have provided tantalizing glimpses. But there's more to the story... 

Parker unearthed the Texas connection through some sharp reporting in "Conservative Midland woman funds 'Abortion Barbie' posters in Hollywood." 

Kathryn Stuard told the San Antonio Express-News she donated an undisclosed amount to conservative street artist “Sabo” to create the posters.

“It hits people with the truth,” said Stuard, 53. “The artist is very edgy… I do support (Greg) Abbott but the campaign had nothing to do with these (posters).”

But then, after Parker published his piece, Stuard publicly requested a correction via Twitter where she goes by "#DUDE! I'M#BOSSY!!

"I said I helped fund the artist's ongoing project. I never commissioned or asked him to do this 'for me.' Please correct."

How Parker found her

Did Parker misrepresent Stuard's involvement? Was she something of an unwitting party here? She supported "ongoing work" but not this specific, tasteless prank. Can you really blame a patron of the arts when a beneficiary of their largess steps over the line? 

Parker responded to defend his work. "I see no reason for a correction, nothing is inaccurate and the info is attributed correctly. Am I missing something?" 

He also provided an email from the prankster (see right) that pointed to his benefactor. It also provided the needed clues to track her down to Texas from her otherwise obscure name on the posters. 

With this, Stuard immediately backed down from her request for a correction. But I still had some questions. So I tweeted her.

INTO A TWITTER TIZZY:

A cordial discussion until...BURP! 

Unfortunately, Twitter isn't well-designed to handle a back-and-forth, especially with more than two people involved. Let's unpack this.

Basically, Stuard continued to distance herself. How is it that her name ended up on all of the posters? A misunderstanding. "I did not ask for any approval or review. They are his expressions He is the artist"

Then, an associate - apparently the person who connected Stuard to Los Angeles - jumped in. More about "Bossy Rock Princess" ("Rock Prin" on Facebook, but let's just call her BRP) and her expletive-laced "style" later.

"Thanks for being our voice"

Now, the problem here is that Stuard's statements and actions elsewhere seem to contradict this. On Facebook, she said "I donated to get these up. Have had press calling this afternoon." A friend replied "Wow. Thank you for being our voice...Hope it doesn't backfire on Abbott."

I posted this for her response (see right). Still, in the back-and-forth, she insisted that there was an arms-length relationship here. 

I donated. Gave money. No ROI... Just like if you had a message I liked I'd donate to your cause. To support artist so he can get his work out. It's always a secret. Ya don't know....All I knew it was art going up where she was speaking....

Let's take her at her word. 

Blasted out all through the day on Twitter

But what about her hands-on work promoting this once it was out? As the posters hit the streets Thursday morning, Stuard was hammering away all day on Twitter marketing it. "Look what went up all over LA!" she declared, over and again, including an image of the posters and the prankster. She posted this some twenty-seven times in the hours after it hit the street, with innumerable other postings to promote it. She did not, however, disclose her direct connection.  

Now, looking back in her Twitter feed, it seems that she made other contributions to the effort. On May 16th, she put out a call for general support, then a very specific pitch. She retweeted BRP's message "Need funds to plaster Los Angeles with posters when #AbortionBarbie comes to town next week!"    

WHY THE BACKPEDALING?

The May 16 pitch

Given all this, it's hard to imagine a greater level of commitment short of helping put up the posters herself. Still, there was no direct connection until Stuard confirmed it when she spoke to the reporter that afternoon. The back backpedaling started after Parker's story hit the street, when it became clear that the Texas connection with funding from an Abbott supporter would be of great interest - and concern.  

Also, it is worth noting that Stuard had received negative feedback during her promotions. Some conservatives didn't think that was appropriate. "Benghazi Sentinel" wondered "Do little girls need this?" 

"It's a smack in their (Liberals) face," she replied. 

"That's really over the top and seriously wacky...hate to be the mother who has to explain this stuff," he answered.

Then, there was her Facebook friend's concern, "Hope it doesn't backfire on Abbott."

Now, Stuard had a compatriot throughout this entire experience, and certainly during our Twitter exchange. 

The Princess doth protest too much, methinks

BRP's part here is telling. "Attacking an innocent citizen funding art cuz u can't tie it to Abbott or GOP PATHETIC" 

First, "an innocent citizen funding art"? Stuard knew this was a donation for negative messaging against a political opponent. She had made her opinions about Wendy Davis plain in rehashes of the fracas about her biography in January. And now? She'd paid "...to plaster Los Angeles with posters when #AbortionBarbie comes to town..."

And "can't tie to Abbott or GOP"? Stuard did that herself the moment she identified herself as an Abbott supporter. What's worse, her friend thanking her for "being our voice," while having concerns for the campaign's exposure makes the connection clear. Is the prank's "message" some aberrant attitude, or does it reflect views embraces by Abbott's supporters? Tellingly, the Facebook post disappeared shortly after I posted it.  

WHERE STUARD SURPRISES

All that being said, Stuard should not be dismissed altogether as some blind ideologue. Instead, she's an example of the ills Far Right ideology has brought to the cause of good governance.  She is not a media professional. She's an occasional blogger and introduced herself online last year as a "Stomping Mad Mom in Midland." A mother of five, in fact. 

Now she finds herself unexpectedly in a media frenzy. I don't imagine that this attention was exactly what she was hoping for, much less expecting.Reading Wayne Slater's take in the Dallas Morning News (“Abortion Barbie” posters depicting Wendy Davis as a pregnant Barbie doll appear in Los Angeles), I found myself wondering about her opinions. He quotes her as saying “...If we’re going to have abortion, can’t they just be safe?” 

Now, that last intrigued me. Does she actually have a nuanced view on abortion?

So I Tweeted her about this. Here initial reply wasn't promising.

"I'm certainly not in support of unsafe, non hospital privileged clinics. Hear of Gosnell?"

But I persisted. I pressed her again. "Gosnell is a criminal. We're talking about LEGAL abortion. So you are pro-choice?"

Then she surprised me. 

Was it possible that we could find common ground?

"We agree? REDUCING abortion requires good public policy/health. Attempts to "end" or ban not helpful/realistic.

Her reply?

Now, what if we really do stay planted in reality?  What if we start trusting public health to public health professionals and physicians with health care....and set aside ideology to focus on best practices, practical solutions and positive outcomes? 

Here's where today's radicalized GOP runs into problems. Traditionally, conservatives have operated in the realm of reality. What to do when radical politics and practicality intersects? The reality is that Kathyrn Stuard is NOT the stereotypical anti-abortion activist that some would see her as. Is it possible for Stuard to see that the stereotype she has of Wendy Davis isn't accurate, either?  Is it possible to set aside labels and look to practical solutions for reducing unwanted pregnancies - and with them, abortions - even if they come from Texas Democrats?

THE "BUT THEY DO IT, TOO" EXCUSE

Now, let's look at this from a different angle. Is there some way that Stuard's prank can, somehow, be justified? 

In our back-and-forth, Stuard repeatedly attempted to justify her actions by citing what she sees as the equally abhorrent attacks on Greg Abbott for his handicap. She suggested that I look them up. Well, I have already written about that, particularly in regard to James O'Keefe's part in cooking up these "offences" by doctoring footage. As Jonathan Tilove reported in the Austin American Statesman:

...the most egregious edit of all is the placement of the hacking laugh. In the video released by O'Keefe, it comes when the "old woman" says "he's in a wheelchair." But in the raw footage, it comes five seconds later, with the exchange about Abbott's hair.

In other words, the headline on O'Keefe's release - which read Breaking News Video: Wendy Davis Supporters/BGTX Mock Greg Abbott's Disability - would have better read, Breaking News Video: Wendy Davis Supporters/BGTX Mock Greg Abbott's Hair.

 
Also, there's an essential contrast here between Davis and Abbott's responses to these situations. When it seemed that the inappropriate conduct from a Davis supporter was real, the candidate herself stepped up immediately to denounce it. Abbott, however, distances himself with spokespeople as he did with Stuard's prank. 

"It's not affiliated with our campaign and we find it appalling," said Abbott campaign spokesman Matt Hirsch as Slater reported. 

Are Abbott and his supporters truly appalled, or is this just public relations posturing?  

WHAT ABBOTT SUPPORTERS SAY AMONG THEMSELVES

We get another glimpse at the reality looking at Stuard's associate, the Los Angeles conservative that apparently connected her to this nastiness. While Stuard took time to courteously respond on Twitter, the same could not be said for her anonymous associate. 

Twitter devotee

"Bossy Rock Princess" was offensive, insulting and could not restrain herself from using the "F-Bomb." I had to ask "Bad case of Tourette's - or incapable of having a civil discussion?"

"Princess" is apparently part of the Twitter subculture. With over 77,600 "tweets" up...let's do the math. She posted her first in July, 2012. So she's been averaging just under 100 a day. Day in, day out, she cranks them out to over 22,000 followers.

Big audience of followers for this

Though it's hard to imagine she has time for much else, BRP did make an appearance on an internet radio station, "We are America Radio,"  following the prank. This is part of the same site where Stuard blogs. BRP comes on for the last half-hour to detail what happened, and what it represents. 

"It's time to stop letting the establishment decide how we want to run our campaigns and how we want to support our candidates. We can go bold, edgy in your face...." she says. What's especially noteworthy, in light of James O'Keefe's manufactured video about Davis' supporters, is the laughter here from the host:

All this comes down to the question I raised earlier: 

Is the prank's "message" some aberrant attitude, or does it reflect views widely embraced by Abbott's supporters? 

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FOOTNOTE:

Unlike O'Keefe's claims about Davis' supporters, this is reality.  You can check the whole show, unedited, here on Soundcloud (the segment starts at 31:00. Listen esp. through to 33:15).

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