It's always amusing when wingnuts try to grow a conscience. Like a beard on an alligator, you know it's fake from jump.
That's why I cracked a smile today while perusing far-right wing blog Sonoran Alliance, where moral relativist-in-charge Shane Wikfors is demanding an apology from Carolyn Cooper, a supporter of the recall of state Senate President Russell Pearce. This, for having the temerity to point out that Pearce operative Matt Tolman had posted a creepy pic of his teenage daughter's behind on his Facebook page.
Well, first off, if you ask me, it's Tolman who should be doling out an apology -- to his kid, who objected to the photo herself in a comment to the pic.
Not only is Tolman an idiot, who has openly prevaricated about Pearce-foe Jerry Lewis and is now breaking the law in Mesa with his illegal signs, he's so clueless that he posted a suggestive photo of his daughter on a public site, one where he was dishing out political invective to all and sundry.
Cooper did the child a favor by shaming the dad, who finally made the photos of his kids private after earning a boatload of Bronx cheers for his boneheadedness. Cooper had posted the pic to her FB page, but later took it down after the point was made, maintaining her criticism of Tolman.
Which shows she's a classy lady with steel in her spine.
As for Sonoran Alliance, which has zero shame in its game, allows writers to post anonymous articles, puts up press releases verbatim, and has sided with likely-to-be-disbarred ex-County Attorney Andrew Thomas despite all of his alleged illegal activities, its moral high horse is more of an ancient mule inching toward the glue factory.
Case in point: SA's reprint of pseudo-reporter Linda Bentley's column in the Sonoran News (different pub, similar name and wingnuttiness) wherein she slimed an innocent American citizen, held her up as an example of "massive voter registration fraud," and suggested she had committed bigamy.
All false, BTW.
So will Wikfors be issuing a retraction? Taking down the offending article? Offering an apology to Mesa resident Benita Lantigua, an upstanding woman who merely signed the Pearce recall petition and ended up the target of right-wing calumny as a result?
I asked Wikfors about this in a comment to his SA attack on Cooper. The response? Crickets.
Not surprising, of course. When folks like Wikfors get religion, keep an eye peeled for the cloven hoof, and your nose cocked for a whiff of brimstone.
UPDATE: After much back and forth on the comments to the SA post about Cooper, Wikfors reluctantly agreed to take down the Bentley article on his site.
Here's the "uncle" from Wikfors and my reply. Despite his cavils, he's at least doing what Bentley and Sonoran News are refusing to do. Though, I think he owes Lantigua an apology as well.
Stephen, I'm going to pull the post not because I believe you but because there are too many loose ends and conflicts between Linda's post and your post. Your post is very convoluted. There are also several conflicts between your post and what the Maricopa County Clerk of the Court and Maricopa County Recorder has listed regarding her cases/voter file. I could probably do a dedicated post on what I've discovered chronologically (and still discovering) which would have included information you have omitted from your findings. At this point, I'm not 100% who is correct and I don't have time at the moment to dig any further into the matter. I also don't think its fair to put scrutiny on Benita given the fact that I don't think the story is complete. So the post will go down unless/until I have the time or desire to write my own version. I will congratulate you though on causing enough conflict and confusion to force me to pull it. Congratulations. "Your post is very convoluted. There are also several conflicts between your post and what the Maricopa County Clerk of the Court and Maricopa County Recorder has listed regarding her cases/voter file." Sorry you're confused, Shane. The situation is a complex one. Though I laid it out here as plainly as possible. But there are no conflicts between what I've written and the record. None. Zip. Zero. Moreover, I did not do the poor reporting to begin with. Bentley did. I have merely corrected the record. That said, I give you points for removing the Bentley article. Though, in the future, you may wish to refrain from posting unedited articles authored by a devoted Birther. Just saying. "So the post will go down unless/until I have the time or desire to write my own version." Heh, would love to see Shane Wikfors at the clerk of court pulling docs. If you need a tutorial, give me a call.
