Margaret Krome writes: Smearing with mud, lies also smears democracy



The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once asserted, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." Lamentably, this is a year when candidates nationwide are testing that sound tenet of democratic discourse. Journalist Margaret Krome served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon.

Margaret Krome writes: Smearing with mud, lies also smears democracy

Margaret Krome: Smearing with mud, lies also smears democracy
By Margaret Krome, Oct. 26, 2006

"Voters should be able to choose between qualified candidates based on individual merits. At no time should voters have to make a choice based on which candidate can throw the most mud."

Thus wrote my nominee for Decent Candidate of the Year, Kevin Wiskus of Iowa, who was so offended by an Iowa Republican Party brochure mailed on behalf of his candidacy in September that he left the Republican Party in protest.

The flier accuses Iowa state Rep. Kurt Swaim, a Democrat, of accepting $963 to give a child molester whom he represented as a public defender a "sweet deal" and obtain early release. It criticizes Swaim's aggressive defense of his client, asking, "If we can't trust Swaim to keep child molesters behind bars, how can we trust him with our vote?"

Since public defenders can't choose their clients and don't decide sentencing, the smear makes no sense, and Wiskus apologized publicly to Swaim, saying, "Though I had no prior knowledge of this vicious attack on you, I ask that you please accept my most sincere and humble apology to you and Julie."

Years ago I worked in Washington, D.C., for an organization that was angry at a political appointee who we thought abused his role in overseeing a federal agency to undermine the agency's work. I was asked to review his travel expenses to see if I found any compromising expenses. Principally, I discovered that he didn't like to fly, but instead traveled by train, which seemed irrelevant. My boss, however, gleefully ignored my scruples, and a big media commotion emerged about his slightly higher travel reimbursements. This was my first exposure to public lashings for citizens who participate in public service in whatever role.

Unfortunately, misinterpretation of facts, innuendo and personal attacks based on irrelevancies have become especially awful during election seasons, and this year is worse than most.

A Republican campaign used in many districts nationally accuses Democratic candidates of voting against curbing the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games, even when Republicans themselves voted the measures down based on First Amendment rights or other flaws.

Not all offenders are Republican. A review of faulty ads by the nonpartisan, nonprofit group FactCheck shows that several Democrats around the nation, though none in Wisconsin, accuse Republican incumbents of having voted against military troops. . In many cases, these characterizations misrepresent the nature of the votes at issue, such as the fact that active duty National Guard and Reservists already get health care equal to active duty troops, so the vote cited wasn't really a vote against their health benefits.

Here in Wisconsin, J.B.Van Hollen has twisted facts in his effort to win the attorney general's office. Van Hollen touts his handling of high-profile prosecutions as U.S. attorney, including an investment fraud case and a famous mall rapist case. However, the plea agreement on the investment fraud case was actually signed two weeks before Van Hollen was sworn in as U.S. attorney, and Falk's campaign notes that "the Dane County District Attorney's Office filed six times as many charges against (the mall rapist) as the U.S. Attorney's Office including all the rape charges."

Furthermore, the case was handled not by Van Hollen, but by an assistant U.S. attorney. Such misrepresentations are disturbing since the attorney general and candidates seeking that office should be especially dedicated to scrupulous adherence to facts.

The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once asserted, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." Lamentably, this is a year when candidates nationwide are testing that sound tenet of democratic discourse.

Margaret Krome of Madison writes a semimonthly column for The Capital Times. E-mail: mkrome@inxpress.net

When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here.

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Election 2006: Top Races for RPCVs Congressman Chris Shays in Connecticut Shays not afraid to differ with Bush 21 Oct Maybe it's time for Shays to depart 29 Sep Shays says US should have gone into Iraq sooner 20 Oct Shays slams National Republican Committee 13 Oct Shays says Abu Ghraib more pornography than torture 14 Oct Chris Shays calls for Rumsfeld to resign 4 Oct Shays says his faith has been shaken 15 Sep Governor Jim Doyle in Wisconsin Doyle started with service in Peace Corps 8 Oct Margaret Krome writes: Doyle helps Wisconsin 27 Sep Doyle has a slight edge in the polls 20 Oct Kinky Friedman in Texas - Candidate for Governor Kinky Friedman—singer, writer, governor? 31 Aug Friedman No. 2 in polls as election day nears 16 Oct "I want to be your good shepherd" 12 Sep Congressman Jim Walsh in New York Walsh facing his first serious challenge in a decade 11 Oct Walsh points with pride to his earmarks 27 Sep Congressman Sam Farr in California Sam Farr and the case of the missing opponent 16 Oct John Garamendi in California - Candidate for Lt. Governor Garamendi best for lieutenant governor 13 Oct John Kefalas in Colorado - Candidate for State House John Kefalas is waging a determined campaign 3 Oct

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October 22, 2006: This Month's Top Stories The crisis over North Korea's nuclear bomb test 14 Oct Hill faced strong opposition for denuclearization agreement 8 Oct John Coyne writes: The first Peace Corps book 20 Oct Thomas Tighe moderates discussion with President Clinton 17 Oct PC announces Community College degree program 18 Oct Donna Shalala expresses dismay over football brawl 16 Oct Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley defends Lebanon policy 16 Oct Jan Guifarro elected Chair of NPCA Board 15 Oct Carl Pope writes: From the pump to the polls 13 Oct Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez Says Africa a Priority 12 Oct Chris Dodd opposes Bush terrorism bill 10 Oct Isaac Edvalson is founder of Africa's Tomorrow 9 Oct The Man who turned down Shriver 8 Oct Mae Jemison tells girls to reach for the stars 6 Oct Loren Finnell receives Shriver Award 4 Oct Matt Sesow paints onstage during opera 2 Oct Film examines anti-malaria drug lariam 29 Sep Blackwill dismisses Musharraf's claims 27 Sep Ron Tschetter sworn in as 17th Peace Corps Director 26 Sep Rape Victim Student Gets $1 Million From City College 26 Sep Ricardo Chavira narrates Public Service Announcements 25 Sep

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory or leave a message on our Bulletin Board. New: Sign up to receive our free Monthly Magazine by email, research the History of the Peace Corps, or sign up for a daily news summary of Peace Corps stories. FAQ: Visit our FAQ for more information about PCOL.

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Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

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He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

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Meet Ron Tschetter - Our Next Director Read our story about Ron Tschetter's confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that was carried on C-Span. It was very different from the Vasquez hearings in 2001, very cut and dried with low attendance by the public. Among the highlights, Tschetter intends to make recruitment of baby boomers a priority, there are 20 countries under consideration for future programs, Senator Dodd intends to re-introduce his third goal Peace Corps legislation this session, Tschetter is a great admirer of Senator Coleman's quest for accountability, Dodd thinks management at PC may not put volunteers first, Dodd wants Tschetter to look into problems in medical selection, and Tschetter is not a blogger and knows little about the internet or guidelines for volunteer blogs. Read our recap of the hearings as well as Senator Coleman's statement and Tschetter's statement.

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Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq Timetable In a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense.

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Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

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The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

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Support the US-Peruvian Trade Pact Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, the Peace Corps President, has been lobbying both Democratic and Republican legislators to support the US-Peruvian trade pact before July 28, when his term ends and a US congressional recess begins. If President Bush fails to get approval before Congress goes on recess, it will be a case study proving that the United States does not reward its friends. Please call your representatives.

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PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

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History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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