Politico’s helping the Democrats wage war on women candidates right before the U.S. Senate primary in Oregon. First, John Bresnahan reported “GOP Senate candidate Monica Wehby was accused by her ex-boyfriend last year of ‘stalking’ him, entering his home without his permission and ‘harassing’ his employees, according to a Portland, Oregon police report.”
Wehby (pronounced "Webby") led incumbent Sen. Jeff Merkley (D) in one poll, so perhaps the liberals want to defeat her in the primary. Then Politico obtained a 911 call from Miller so they could call it the "Wehby saga," in which he said he was going to get a restraining order:
The 911 call by Miller - first obtained by Oregon media outlets - is the latest development in the still unfolding controversy about what happened between Wehby and Miller in early April 2013.
But these two aren't presently squabbling. Miller's poured tens of thousands of dollars into her campaign. This information comes at the very end of the second story:
In a statement to POLITICO, Wehby said she was unaware that a police report had been filed over the 2013 incident and downplayed the episode.
“The first time I ever learned of this report was this evening and there really isn’t much to it of consequence,” Wehby said in her statement. “A year ago I went through the process of concluding a relationship. That relationship ended amicably, and while I’m not pleased that it has been deemed newsworthy, I guess that is the cost of challenging the political status quo.”
Miller said he now “regrets” ever getting the police involved, and added that he backs Wehby’s Senate candidacy.
This running around and obtaining police reports and 911 calls looks a little like the way the Chicago Tribune cleared the path for Barack Obama to get elected to the Senate in 2004. Both his slated Republican opponent (Jack Ryan) and his wealthiest Democratic challenger (Blair Hull) were vanquished by the Tribune hounding their way into the candidates' divorce records.
Liberal media types love to pound tables and complain about how the Supreme Court has allowed wealthy donors to make politics more brutal with negative ads. But what does Politico say when it's the wealthy media outlet sliming a candidate and their personal life?
Especially when there's a partisan tilt to it. So far, Wehby's "saga" has already drawn two stories in the Politico search engine. Rep. Alan Grayson's "saga" of spousal abuse has only drawn two.
[HT James]
