College Republicans say Todd ran away and then mugger followed her back to car

[sabra]

edit: I meant to say she ran away after mugging...

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/10/23/mccain-supporter-maimed-for-her-politics-by-robber/

<snip>

Update VII: I spoke with two executives at the College Republicans on the record about this story. Charlie Smith, the National Chair, and Ethan Eilon, the Executive Director, both say the photo is legitimate and that it came from Ashley Todd, the victim in this case. The attack began at 8:50 pm ET and Ashley called the police at 9:30 PM ET. Initially, she was robbed, ran away after the robbery, and the robber followed her to her car. At that point, he became enraged at the bumper sticker and began beating her and scratched the ‘B’ into her face. Ashley went to the hospital early this morning after initially refusing medical attention last night, and had an MRI and/or a CAT scan. Doctors believe her cheek will heal fully.

Eilon spoke with her personally today about the incident and confirmed the above with me. He first met Ashley in June, when she came to DC for training with the College Republicans. She works for them as a contract employee. She does not work for the McCain campaign. Both Eilon and Smith expressed revulsion over an attack on a young woman just getting involved in politics, but they consider this the act of a lone lunatic.

BTW, if the name Charlie Smith sounds familiar...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=7495877

The Republican National Committee is sending around this Associated Press photo of overall-clad McCain supporters standing outside an Obama rally, clutching plungers and a sign proclaiming "I Am Joe The Plumber":


(AP)

The only problem? At least two of the members aren't quite as similar to the newly famous Joe Wurzelbacher as they might like you to think. As CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic, who is traveling with the Obama campaign, reports, the man on the right does say he's an actual plumber – though he is from Melbourne, Australia, and will thus not be casting a vote this November.

And the man on the left, plunger thrust high in the air, is Charlie Smith – the National Chairman of the College Republicans.

[Aqaba]

1. *snort* *guffaw* *wharbblargle*

The act of a lone lunatic indeed.

[yardwork]

2. So she works for the National Chairman of the College Republicans?

And he was photographed pretending to be a plumber in solidarity with Joe the Plumber?

[Quixote1818]

3. Wouldn't that be something if this was connected directly with the McCain campaign?

He might lose by 30 points if it is.

[LisaL]

4. If somebody attacked someone else at ATM, then it should

all be on tape, should it not?

[endthewar]

22. Supposedly it happened outside of the camera's view

How convenient. :eyes:

[Starry Messenger]

5. Ashley Todd and CRNC

http://lifeinthefield.com/blogs/ashley-todd

CRCN:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002075...

"The College Republican National Committee has raised $6.3 million this year through an aggressive and misleading fund-raising campaign that collected money from senior citizens who thought they were giving to the election efforts of President Bush and other top Republicans.

Many of the top donors were in their 80s and 90s. The donors wrote checks — sometimes hundreds and, in at least one case, totaling more than $100,000 — to groups with official sounding-names such as "Republican Headquarters 2004," "Republican Elections Committee" and the "National Republican Campaign Fund."

But all of those groups, according to the small print on the letters, were simply projects of the College Republicans, who collected all of the checks."

http://www.truthcaucus.com/index.php?id=405

More on the group that gave birth to Rove. Maybe she thought she had big shoes to fill.

[crossroads]

11. Wow! The gift that just keeps on giving!

What a tangled web this story weaves... very interesting!

:popcorn:

CR

[Cha]

28. In one of these articles on ashley it said

she's a "law student" in Texas. Big trouble if she's busted.

[anneboleyn]

31. Another tip-off that this is BOGUS -- she would NOT have a CAT scan or MRI done for this injury

as her "injury" is *extremely* minor, no significant bruising or swelling, no redness, no open wound, etc. (if there is an "injury" at all).

At most, an E. R. doctor would have ordered an x-ray. Let's see her release the results from the radiologist's report or else she is blatantly lying, and lying like someone who clearly has NO CLUE when and for what CAT scans and MRIs are prescribed.

An hour and a half MRI procedure for this? Absolutely no way in hell. These people are OUT OF THEIR MINDS. This is no way an MRI would be requested by the attending physician, after taking one look at this woman. Her presentation would actually be considered unremarkable, with a possibly minor bruise under her eye and light scratch on her cheek. I doubt that the physician (he/she) would have even requested an x-ray. It's obvious that no bones were broken because there would be numerous other conventional symptoms.

[kwenu]

6. She ran away and then he followed her to her car? That makes no sense.

[FVZA_Colonel]

10. If he was just a mugger, why the hell would he follow her?

That goes against basically every single description of a mugging in history.

[1corona4u]

12. Here's the area...

and here is the street view;



Something isn't right.....why was she down there.....I am looking through the street view...

[RamboLiberal]

26. Liberty Avenue is a main drag

and there is traffic on that street at all hours. Restaurants and bars open. Foot traffic. And Pittsburghers are not the types to walk away from a female in trouble. Unless she parked her car on some less traveled side street which could be possible this story smells.

[1corona4u]

7. (cough) Bullshit....

I don't buy that at all. There was a hospital not 2 blocks away from where this happened. Look it up on Live maps.

[AlCzervik]

8. yay college republicans covering up for her, how very Rove.

[HughMoran]

9. Oh good, I was hoping this story would never die

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Gman]

13. Sounds like a white Tawana Brawley

Where's Reverend Dobson? He needs to run around screaming for justice!

[Starry Messenger]

14. Self-fufilling prophecy?

From: http://blog.crnc.org/
Via: http://www.crnc.org/index.php#

[sabra]

15. wow - nice find...

[Starry Messenger]

18. Thanks. I'm beginning to think Ms. Todd's a bit of a performance artist.

I smell set up.

[NYC Liberal]

16. Sure the PHOTO is legitimate ... but the "bruises" and "cuts" are not!

It's clearly makeup.

[AlCzervik]

17. and who in the hell would believe the college republicans?

[Starry Messenger]

19. All the right wing blogs and fox news apparently.

This has gone viral like crazy. I hope Keith does a story on it tomorrow.

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. He won't have to...the Pittsburgh PD is going to make foolish young woman

confess.

She will be out with a lawyer for a public mea culpa by 11 EDT Friday morning.

[Starry Messenger]

24. Well...ok. Can we at least get a worst persons?

:) I did some crazy shit in college but I never thought, hey I'll try to incite hate violence today.

[Starry Messenger]

20. kick. n/t

[jsmirman]

21. I want this hot air guy to have egg all over his face

when it's revealed what a patsy he was for this story.

It bugs the crap out of me that his hogwash is prominently featured on Yahoo. Wth with that?

[sohndrsmith]

25. did she make a statement on whether the assailant told her what the "B"

represented, specifically?

This woman is, potentially, in a whole lot of misery that, if true, will make her wish she had been robbed of $60 and mildly scratched. That will seem like a dream in comparison if this proves to be false, I fear.

[Cha]

27. A DUer just called it the Mark of

Baracko!

[sohndrsmith]

32. I know you're joking but I'm not sure it's funny that this is connected to

Obama in any way - whether hoaxed or not : ). There seems to be zero evidence other than Ms. Todd's assumptions, which, at this point seem to be not so reliable (at best).

[progressivebydesign]

29. aren't they the Purple Bandaid people, too?? Scam o' plenty from those people! n/t

[chowder66]

30. She stepped away... and parked in front of ATM.......

"Todd handed the man $60 she had in her pocket and stepped away from him, investigators said. The man then noticed the bumper sticker on the woman's car, which was parked in front of the ATM. The man became very angry, made comments to Todd about John McCain and punched her in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground, police said."


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_594853.html