Several months ago, Politico published a news story pointing out that there were internet shenanigans afoot against several Democratic candidates. At the time, Pete wasn't polling that high, and the main names were Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Kamala Harris, and Bernie Sanders. The political landscape has changed a bit since then, but the misinformation and destruction campaigns remain the same. (‘Sustained and ongoing’ disinformation assault targets Dem presidential candidates)
Yesterday, a Medium article (since removed) was posted by a man named “Hunter Kelly”. It was only a few paragraphs long, but in it he said he was going to be revealing how he was assaulted by Pete Buttigieg over the “coming days and weeks.” For those of us who have been around the block, we looked at it with a sideways glance because it smelled like a set-up. The accounts were all recent, within a day or so. The only people the Twitter account (now deactivated) had followed were Bernie organizers.
It took less than 24 hours for that skepticism to be borne out. People had found other social media accounts for Hunter that showed he was a Trump supporter and a “Log Cabin Republican” who held nothing but disdain for Senator Sanders. Even more damning, the real Hunter issued a statement that said he had been used by a “political figure” and that this was all a set-up. He had never met Pete Buttigieg, he had never been assaulted, and he had never made any accusations of such. (Hunter Kelly: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know)
The news broke last night that Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman had set up the account and the accusations. They had coerced the real Hunter Kelly into Burkman's home and then set up the accounts while he was there. Kelly was appalled and horrified to see what he thought was a legitimate political meeting turn into identity theft and defamation. A scheme Wohl told Kelly was part of a “task force” set up by the Trump administration. Eventually, Kelly had to pretend to take a nap so his parent’s could rescue him from his imprisonment in Burkman’s home. (Jacob Wohl & Jack Burkman Claimed to be Funded by Trump Admin, According to Alleged Buttigieg Accuser, Hunter Kelly)
And, apparently this wasn't even the first time Wohl and Burkman had done this. The Daily Beast reported that a second person had come forward saying Wohl and Burkman had approached them with the same idea. The duo tried to hide behind fake names, but the unnamed source recognized Wohl from his other misadventures and recorded the conversation. (Far-Right Smear Merchants Try to Slime Pete Buttigieg with Bogus Sex Assault Claim)
At one point, Wohl referred to Buttigieg as a “terminal threat” to Trump, and the attempt to divide the Democrats by using both Bernie and Buttigieg shows that the GOP operatives tried to mount a two-pronged attack. Divide and separate the progressives from the centrists. Wohl and Burkman are absolutely useless at this, luckily. They failed with Mueller, and they failed in their attack on Buttigieg and Sanders.
What it does show is that the GOP operatives are content to promote the party over people, and they expect everyone to do the same thing. I choose to focus on the positive policies my candidate has to offer. We're going to be fighting threats from within and without. We must be capable of very real discussion on the policies and issues without accusations of divisiveness, or we are going to continue to see attacks like these. Next time, the Republicans may use someone more capable than Wohl.
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