Charlotte Pritt takes the stand - Testifies against the RNC.

[Lt. Governor 2B]

http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/News/2006030737

FAYETTEVILLE — Charlotte Pritt took the stand Tuesday in Fayette County Circuit Court and disputed Republican ads that she said distorted her patriotism and her beliefs when she ran for governor.

In a series of ads that ran in the final days of the gubernatorial race, Republican-paid consultants wrote that Pritt wanted to dishonor West Virginia veterans, teach first-graders how to use condoms, prevent the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance and allow flag burning, among other items.

One by one, Pritt took aim at each ad. She substituted what she called the illogic of the language of the ads and replaced it with an explanation of her legislative record. Before she ran for governor, Pritt was a member of the House of Delegates and the Senate.

For example, one ad said she voted against honoring West Virginia’s Gulf War veterans, she said.

“I was a Marine Corps wife ...” she said. “My high school sweetheart came back in a body bag.” She voted to give veterans a bonus, but she voted against a resolution to authorize the president to send people to war, she said.

[BOSSHOG]

1. "Conservatives" practicing the Politics of Personal Destruction?

Paying money to do so? Tom Delay says "conservatives" don't do such things.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. And Tom Delay is a proven liar

Just like so many "conservatives."

[Judi Lynn]

3. Sure hope she wins this suit. Democrats have NEVER gotten this dirty.

It's S.O.P. for the Republicans. Unbelievable!

It's good to see a Democrat confronting them, and it's a damned shame there was ever a need for it. Hope it starts a trend.

[Just Me]

4. This is an important case. If she prevails,...

,...we may see a wave of these lawsuits, which would be a really REALLY good thing for purposes of curbing misleading and false campaign advertising. Seriously, there needs to be some limits on those damn things.

[DoYouEverWonder]

13. I hope she wins

But I won't hold my breath hoping Betty Castor goes after them for this one. Betty lost FL by 1.1% of the vote and she choose to walk away.

[The Wielding Truth]

23. It's slander. Illegal and harmful .I don't know why Kerry didn't take Rove

and Swift Boaters to court. It disgusts me to see them get away with this junk.

[anotherdrew]

25. because Kerry owes his allegiance to Skull and Bones not America

He could have and should have shut that shit down, but he just let it stand. Fuck Kerry, if he won't even fight for his own honor, how could americans expect him to be a good president?

[Just Me]

30. I respect Kerry's decision on picking his battles.

Sorry to read you hate him so much. ;(

I find him an honorable man because he has invested a great deal of courage and energy in ending abuse and exploitation by the most corrupt of men.

At any rate, libel and slander cases are generally quite difficult to win. A sympathetic jury is THE most important aspect of such cases. I hope Ms. Pritt prevails and that others will consider following her lead on deceptive/false campaign ads.

[anotherdrew]

35. 1. he didn't need to win 2. his fellow crewmen could also have sued

he could have had a discovery phase, and dragged them thru courts for months.

He couldn't even do the same damn thing to bush. picked his battles? what did he fight on? not Ohio, can't even remember him saying anything about the obvious disparity in the wait to vote in some areas. How many thousands of voters walked away because they didn't have HOURS to stand in line. His team should have been raising bloody hell about that, but they did jack shit. I want to believe in the old Kerry that went after Iran/contra but hey, ever hear of a limited hang-out? who better to run the investigation than an old friend they could count on to take it nowhere while disclosing enough to make it look like something was happening. Nothing happened. The secret team now runs our nation in every way.

Maybe he'll come around and do something, I'm not gonna hold my breath

[Rose Siding]

5. Stations in TX wouldn't even run an ad linking DeLay to Abramoff

but repub groups had a green light for that trash? This deck is soooooo stacked.

[mom cat]

10. You are right. The deck is stacked. We have to grow our own media.

[wordpix2]

21. good idea

[Sydnie]

6. why are these threads NOT on the greatest page?

This is important people!

Drew, thank you so much for keeping us informed.

I read the rest of the article and I can feel Charlotte's pain clearly.

Those bastards made her cry and that is inexcuseable in my book. She is one of the most generous and gentle women I have ever met in my life!

BTW, does Mr. Rich have anything to do with this case at all?

[MH1]

7. You're right - K & R! n/t

[acmejack]

8. The Incumbent Governor who eventually won that race testified for her

yesterday and had some strong words against the people who made those ads. He said he publicly disassociated himself from them then and asked them to stop running them.

[stepnw1f]

9. This is Good

If she wins, this case could set a precedent against GOP smear tactics. It's all they have actually.

[LisaLynne]

11. Could you imagine in the GOP had to give up ...

these sorts of ads? If they couldn't make up outrageous and slanderous lies about their opponents, they wouldn't have anything to say!

[iconoclastNYC]

12. Good for her for fighting back!

[Uncle Joe]

14. Good for Charlotte,

it's seems ironic to have truth in advertisement laws on consumer products and then have ads promoting our future leaders come out of Alice In Wonderland.

Kicked and recommended.

:kick:

[brooklynite]

15. Can someone explain WHY this is a court case?

Republican tactics are certainly sleazy, but my non-legal impression is that, as a candidate, you're a "public figure" and open to almost anything opponents want to throw at you.

Also, why has it taken this case nine years to reach this point?

[Just Me]

16. As far as I know, libel and slander are still causes of action.

She may also be asserting some other causes: intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, misrepresentation et al.

[RazzleDazzle]

17. I dunno, but I was just thinking I sure as hell hope she wins

'cause I'm so sick of the lies....

[Laelth]

33. Why this is a court case:

The 1st Amendment guarantees your right to seek redress for grievances from the government, and that means access to the Courts. You can sue anyone for anything if you're willing to pay the filing fee. You may not win, but the Constitution guarantees your right to have your day in Court (or, at least, it does for the moment--many Repukes would like to severely limit the access of people to the Courts).

-Laelth

[tabasco]

36. It is not impossible for a public figure to sue & win for libel/slander.

Malicious, intentional lies are a wrong, even against a public figure.

The plaintiff must prove "actual malice." Political smears are becoming so abhorrent that actual malice is a given.

It is time for more victims of right-wing smear campigns to start standing on their rights, and sue the bastards.

[Judi Lynn]

42. You might enjoy reading the article posted Thursday about Charlotte Pritt:

Republican Consultant admits he lied about Charlotte Pritt in testimony.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2157280

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being a public figure doesn't mean you must allow them to spin filthy lies about you without challenging them.

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. Welcome to DU, Drew!

Am glad you're here on DU and running for Lt. Governor in AR! :hi:

[MsMagnificent]

19. Are any blogs covering this?

[wordpix2]

20. thank you, Charlotte from all of us--stop repuke dirty, lying thieves!

[HootieMcBoob]

22. kick n/t

:kick:

[Lt. Governor 2B]

24. We need help!

Carry this information to EVERY blog you know. Contact talk radio, etc. You can also help in many other ways.

One, that is shameless self-promotion, is I need to raise money for MY race for Lt. Governor now. I have an excellent chance to win and am the ONLY pro-choice candidate running. If any of you can help, you can contribute online at my website at :

http://www.DrewPritt.com/

[TreasonousBastard]

26. I don't know if you can sue for...

libel or slander for things said in a campaign. Worse lies have always been told over the years, and I don't know of anyone successfully suing.

But, I hope for the best in this one. If she wins, and then again through the appeals, it would be fantastic.

A win might have some chilling effect on speech, but I'm not sure I give a damn any more. They've been stomping on our speech for long enough and it's about damn time they got hammered.

[wordpix2]

27. self-delete

[wordpix2]

28. does Charlotte have a plantiff fund? This would be one to support

[wicket]

29. Give 'em Hell Charlotte!!!!

:kick:

[calimary]

31. Look at this, brothers and sisters. Another key to successful strategy:

The Strategy of Simple.

And I just verified it, reading farther into part two of that link. Look at the "...teach first-graders how to use condoms..." part. Another six or seven words. Simple concept WAY WAY WAY boiled down from the actual truth:

"Although condoms are not mentioned in legislation Pritt sponsored, one of the ads accused her of wanting to teach first-graders how to use one. Pritt said her legislation was about teaching human growth and development at the appropriate level in grades kindergarten through 12."

See how the slightly more complicated explanation is boiled down by some republi-CON strategist to "teach first-graders how to use condoms!" GASP! GNASH TEETH! REND GARMENTS! Simple. Short. Killer. Visceral reaction. All equalling BAD. With some amount of figurative flashing neon attached, I might add. Who, at first glance, wouldn't notice and react to that? And the reaction is SO strong and SO emotional that it immediately morphs into a "say no more! I've heard ENOUGH!!!" concept. And it burrows in like a tick in the skin. Boom. Message received. Deal closed. And there just won't be any further arguing about it, either. Look how some strategic thinker from the Dark Side manipulated the facts about teaching age-appropriate sex education in K-12 schooling into forcing first-graders to learn about condoms. The two DO NOT equate at all. But this MAKES them equate, nonetheless.

Just as the Saddam-al Qaeda connection was made.

And consider also - how WE now get this same manipulation opportunity - to benefit us on the Side of the Light. Short, sweet, visceral reaction like a punch in the gut? How 'bout THIS, then: "...they're selling our ports to the Arabs!!!" And you have to rattle around with an explanation which, by the time you do that, you've already lost because the listener/processor of this info has already moved on to - "I know what I know. Say no more. I've heard ENOUGH!!!" As another DUer here said very recently, "there's nothing a republican hates more than complexity." Or words to that effect.

on edit -

Aha! Found it: (from simskl)The part that's bothered me the most though is the line
They are "not so quick to agree with the preponderance of scientific evidence." It's not that they don't agree it's that they don't understand. The scientific evidence is overwhelming but it's complex and everyone knows that if there's one thing a republican dislikes it's complexity.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2153480#2153505

[salin]

43. great post. eom.

[MasonJar]

32. I for one am sick of the DU swiftboating of John Kerry. Kerry has

devoted his life to serving his country, including in a very dangerous and life threatening theater of war. He has spoken out for the little guy his whole life; he is a strong supporter of environmental protection. The list goes on and on. As a very young man, he took on the powerful forces of Richard Nixon to get the troops home from Viet Nam. His wife is just as devoted to improving the plight of those who cannot speak loudly for themselves. The two have raised very wonderful children. He was swiftboated and cheated. He won the election; Gore won the election. These Pugs are scum. Take them on; help save the world.

[creeksneakers2]

34. We need more suits like this

I think Hillary should file a hundred or so. That would give the fascists a pause to think.

[JudyM]

38. And taxpayers should sue for all the $ spent on investigating Bill&Hill

IMO, we just sit back and let them spend our $ in all kinds of unreasonable ways. They ought to be held to some standard.

[Trillo]

37. Sounds like a really unreasonable advertisement.

It sure would be nice if there was more 'truth in advertising' applied to politics.

[progressoid]

39. Here's hoping she wins!

:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

[KDLarsen]

40. Very disturbing reading

I mean seriously - if this was the standard 9 years ago, why couldn't anyone see the smearing of Cleland, Kerry, Clinton & the list goes on.

And Drew, from the bottom of a European Liberal's heart, I wish you the best of luck with your campaign.

[nodehopper]

41. Republicans are disgusting. This is like Bush & McCain.