The Washington Post gives Sen. Perdue Four Pinocchios for deliberately making false allegations about the Communist Party’s “endorsement” of Jon Ossoff
The Washington Post: “Perdue apparently has not learned any lessons about how he should not fling outrageously false accusations at his foes”
The Washington Post: “Perdue should be ashamed of himself — and he should apologize”
Atlanta, Ga. — A new fact check from The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler finds the allegations Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) has been making about the Communist Party’s “endorsement” of Jon Ossoff are “outrageously false.”
The Washington Post: GOP senator falsely claims opponent was endorsed by Communist Party
Glenn Kessler
- It’s no secret that Republicans are using a “socialist” epithet against Democrats this election season, even though Democrats nominated as their presidential standard-bearer one of the most moderate candidates available. But Perdue, who has found himself in an unexpectedly close reelection race with Democrat Jon Ossoff, has taken it one step further — all but calling his rival a commie pinko.
- Readers may also recall that when Perdue first ran for Senate, we named one of his ads among the 10 worst of the 2014 campaign season — a false accusation that his opponent, Michelle Nunn, “funded organizations linked to terrorists.” We said it was a “pretty smarmy ad” — so bad that Neil Bush, son of former president George H.W. Bush, asked for it to be withdrawn. (Perdue ignored him.)
- So what’s Perdue’s basis for claiming that Ossoff has been endorsed by the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA)? It all stems from a 2017 Facebook post. The CPUSA Facebook page posted an article from People’s World, an online Marxist publication long associated with the party, that reported on Ossoff’s chances in the congressional race.
- Seriously, when does posting a news article on a Facebook page constitute an endorsement? We asked the CPUSA directly. “The Communist Party did not endorse him,” said Roberta Wood, a CPUSA board member. “It does not endorse candidates of other political parties.” She added, “Posting an article on Facebook does not mean it is an endorsement.”
- A Perdue spokesman tried to provide a Rube Goldberg explanation for how this random Facebook post was an endorsement. First, he claimed that the CPUSA lied about endorsements because its president had endorsed Democrat Joe Biden this year. But that was the president of the Revolutionary Communist Party(RCP), not the CPUSA. Oops. (The RCP president said he still considered Biden and Democrats “representatives and instruments of this exploitative, oppressive, and literally murderous system of capitalism-imperialism” — just not as bad as the “fascist” President Trump.)
- The Ossoff campaign said Perdue is being ridiculous. “Throughout this election, David Perdue has been unable to make substantive arguments against Jon Ossoff and has instead resorted to flagrant and outlandish lies,” said communications director Miryam Lipper. “A sitting United States senator should have a better case for his own reelection rooted in the truth, but he seems to agree with us that there isn’t one.”
- Even with six years as a U.S. senator under his belt, Perdue apparently has not learned any lessons about how he should not fling outrageously false accusations at his foes.
- At this point, labeling a Democrat a “communist” is almost worthy of parody. But it’s especially smarmy when the “endorsement” he claims is based on a three-year-old Facebook post of a news article. Perdue should be ashamed of himself — and he should apologize.
- In the meantime, he earns Four Pinocchios.
Read the full piece, here.
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