A spokesman for Rep. Todd Tiahrt said the e-mail that links Tiahrt’s opponent to a communist organization should be taken as a joke.
The e-mail, titled “Moran picks up endorsement from Communist Party USA,” was send to Tiahrt supporters last Tuesday. The claim centers around Rep. Jerry Moran’s support of legislation that would open up trade with Cuba and possibly help Kansas’ agricultural industry. The bill is also supported by Communist Party USA.
While the communist organization is urging supporters to call their representatives, it does not endorse political candidates. It is highly unlikely it would endorse a Republican like Moran anyway.
Tiahrt spokeswoman Michelle Schroeder told the Wichita Eagle the e-mail was sent to remind supporters of "the good conservatives who support Todd and Todd's campaign."
Aaron Trost, a spokesperson for the Jerry Moran campaign told the KSN-TV news, “Congressman Tiahrt is down in the polls and this is a desperate attempt by their campaign. The assertion that Jerry Moran would somehow be associated with communists is outlandish, excessively negative and an outright desperate publicity stunt Kansas voters are going to see right through.”
Both Senate and House versions of the bill, which would open travel and trade to Cuba for the first time since 1960, have support from both sides of the political aisle.
Comments
So is your title, and the body of your article not the same type of play on words that the email used? Your title reads, "Tiahrt claims Communist comment about Moran just a "joke", yet in the body of your article, Todd is not quoted once. You are saying that a spokesman for the campaign made that comment.
The title and the body of the e-mail sent by Tiahrt staffers is the same thing. The title said one thing, but the body of the e-mail mentioned Jerry's legislation.
This sounds and looks hypocritical to me!
Jerry Moran gets a shout out from the Communist Party and you focus an entire blog post to semantics? Pointing out that Moran won the approval of communists for his legislation is simply the truth. The real story is watching this self-proclaimed conservative team up with Boxer, Feingold, Waters, and 100 more Democratic legislators on a bill "endorsed" (i.e. supported) by the Communist Party. Not exactly a red state crowd Moran has chosen to align with. Moran's missed the mark again. Instead of manning up, he cries foul and puts the condemnation on Tiahrt for a witty subject line and you take the bait. Don't just write the easy blog, write the real story.
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