Pro-Nickels Mailer Cites Rumor As Fact
by September 4, 2012 5:54 pm 80 views
Last week, Talk Business reported on a mailing from the conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, which hit several Democratic state legislators for their vote to raise billions in taxes in last year’s legislative session. One of their targets, Rep. Jim Nickels (D-Sherwood) hit back with a mailer of his own from a group called, “Friend of Jim Nickels.”
The mailing — first posted on the liberal Arkansas Times blog — quotes from the Times’ chief blogger Max Brantley in trying to discredit AFP. However, the mailer conveniently omits that Brantley was repeating a rumor not a fact.
The post from back in July begins with the headline “RUMOR OF THE DAY” and goes on to say that “It’s going around that…”
However, Friends of Jim Nickels leaves out this disclaimer from Max and goes straight into his attack of AFP instead where he claims that AFP is promising $50,000 of ad support if candidates will sign a no-tax pledge, as if this was fact.
Interesting that the Nickels camp is hitting back against the truthful claim that he voted to advance a measure raising billion of dollars in taxes by incorrectly repeating a rumor from a liberal blog as if it was fact.
Nickels faces Republican challenger Alan Pogue and Independent Jim George in November.
AFP responded to the push back from Nickels as well as other candidates today calling for the politicians to defend their record.
“In typical fashion, politicians cry foul when the people they represent find out how they voted,” stated Teresa Oelke, AFP State Director. “Politicians advance things with which they agree. They should have protected Arkansas taxpayers and our jobs by simply voting against these bad economic policies.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Arkansas began a coordinated attack over the weekend against Republican candidates. Web ads on Facebook and other websites direct to a cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all attack against state legislative Republicans without any support to back up their charges – just a general evil Republican message.