GOP Candidate Switches Parties After Attack

[Judi Lynn]

GOP Candidate Switches Parties After Attack
Rants Defends Flier

POSTED: 3:26 pm CDT September 18, 2006
UPDATED: 4:04 pm CDT September 18, 2006

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A Republican challenger for southern Iowa's House District 94 has changed his party affiliation after the state GOP distributed a brochure criticizing his Democratic opponent.

Kevin Wiskus said in a letter to Democratic incumbent Kurt Swaim that he knew nothing about the mailer and apologized to Swaim and his family. Wiskus said he will continue running in House District 94 as an independent. The district includes Wayne, Appanoose and Davis counties. The state Republican Party sent out a mailer accusing Swaim of coddling child sex abusers.

It cited Swaim's work as a court-appointed public defender of an accused sex offender who was only served four days in jail. Swaim said he has received support from Republicans, Democrats and independents and that people see through the mailing.

House Speaker Chris Rants defends the flier, saying it contains nothing that is untrue.
(snip/...)

http://www.kcci.com/politics/9878030/detail.html

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

Longer version:

Candidate switches parties after attack
Published: 09/18/2006 2:53 PM
By:
Mike Glover - Special to The Gazette
~snip~
Wiskus apologized in the letter to Swaim and his wife.

"Though I had no knowledge of this vicious attack on you, I ask that you please accept my most sincere and humble apologies to you and Julie,'' Wiskus said.

Wiskus planned to publish his apology this week in the The Daily Iowegian newspaper.

Swaim said the voters see through the mailing.

"I'm very appreciative of all the support I've received from Republicans, Democrats and independents alike,'' said Swaim. "This just goes beyond the pale and the good people of this district realize it.''

House Speaker Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, defended the mailing.

"I understand that some people don't like that piece. It makes them uncomfortable,'' said Rants. "Unfortunately, Kurt has done some things his constituents ought to know about. There's nothing untrue in that piece and there's absolutely nothing misleading.''
(snip/...)

http://www.crgazette.com/2006/09/18/Home/gop.htm



Three faces of Republican House Speaker Chris Rants.

[KingFlorez]

1. They are really collapsing now

Attacking people viciously and then losing a member because of it is not a good sign for them

[Erika]

2. Are the GOP being vicious, throwing the knives

and then saying they are now different with a new affiliation? Weird people.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

3. The Repukes have exhausted the negativity meme. It will not

work because the entire nation already is in a very negative mood, they pushed it there and now blow back is happening because the people aren't fooled anymore!

[Mythsaje]

4. Ummm...

It's an ethical breach for a lawyer to do anything LESS than everything in his or her power to defend a client. If Swaim was appointed by the court to defend the child molester and did his job well, then nothing more needs to be said.

Had he NOT done his job, he could have been disbarred, or at least censured. Public defenders don't get to pick and choose their clients.

[Hepburn]

13. Exactly...

...Public Defenders do a very thankless job. They work long and hard hours and get the very worst of clients. Some who are demanding and a total pain in the ass and who lie they assess off and act like they are above it all. Totally thankless for the job the PD is doing for them. My late husband was a major criminal defense atty. When people said to him remarks about how could he represent someone who was accused of <fill in the blank>, his response was, "It is trial by judge or jury and not trial by attorney." There usually was no response.

[Ilsa]

14. And that is what is so misleading about this garbage mailer. I wonder if

Rants could be prosecuted for sending filth through the U.S. Mail? :)

[mrreowwr_kittty]

5. Okay is it just me?

Or does Rants look like a major pedo?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[onenote]

10. then don't

suggesting that you can tell that about someone by the way he/she looks is about as dumb and offensive as it gets

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[davidinalameda]

18. what does AIPAC have to do with anything

[xchrom]

8. this is how folk in the republick party fight.

and they are good at it.

notice how the republick guy stands by his heinous act.

[Gman]

9. Henry B. Gonzales once punched out a guy for calling him a

Communist. The guy filed assault charges and Gonzales' defense was that he was compelled to defend his honor because of this insult. Gonzales was acquitted.

I cannot imagine a jury that would not vote to acquit if Swaim were to punch out the speaker on the House floor for this.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. Yes.

I believe a cage match is in order.

[CanonRay]

12. This crap is going on all over the country...

Here in Southern Colorado, the GOP through a 527 is spending 250,000 to trash our two term representative to the Colorado House. A state House race!!!! No slime is too low, including a push poll that asks if the respondent would still vote for the Democratic incumbent if they knew she'd been arrested in Mexico. What a load of crap. Fortunately, I think our citizens are seeing through this as well, and getting pissed off.

[Ian David]

15. You know who DOES coddle child sex abusers?

The Franklin Coverup Scandal
The Child sex ring that reached Bush/Reagan Whitehouse


http://www.thelawparty.org/FranklinCoverup/franklin.htm


See also:

Roman Catholic sex abuse cases
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_sex_abuse_cases

[warrens]

16. If you would like to reward simple decency

[e-mail]

[rocktivity]

17. If the defendant served only four day, isn't that the judge's fault?

It was up to the judge to approve the deal. And what happened afterwards--surely the defendant was put under some kind of house arrest or probation. It may not be untrue, but it certainly isn't the WHOLE truth.

:headbang:
rocknation

[sandnsea]

19. "heavily Democratic district"

I'm smelling a political ploy to get people to take a second look at this Wiskus guy. I don't trust anything these Republicans do.

[Schema Thing]

20. A perhaps smart if desperate ploy. Possibly even well intended

in any case, it's nice to see the pressure being brought to bear on anyone with the label "republican" this voting season.