Say Anything Blog

Missouri Governor tells Obama to “grow up” in a press release decrying the use of police tactics to silence critics.

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.

“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.

“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.

“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”

Here’s a video report covering what the fuss is all about.  Basically two high-profile Missouri prosecutors (and Democrats) have joined what’s being called “Obama Truth Squads” which will correct false statements and reporting about Obama with tactics that include prosecution.

Now, I’m not going to defend slander of libel.  The truth is the truth, whether that truth is convenient for a particular politician or not.  But I have a problem with prosecutors, who despite being elected are supposed to be non-partisan enforcers of the law, joining “truth squads” on behalf of campaigns.

Traditionally, libel/slander laws are only enforced at the request of those being slandered/libeled.  You complain, the authorities investigate and then indictments/judgments are handed down as warranted.  But Obama’s getting special treatment from law enforcement here.  He has them out acting on his behalf, and that’s troubling.

Not just because partisan prosecutors could use investigations and indictments to intimidate people not actually guilty of libel or slander, but because people who aren’t Barack Obama don’t get that sort of treatment.