10/15/2004 09:59:11 AM|||Nathan Moore|||

The flyer that has made national news is now the subject of more exposure. The flyer was apparently available for a period of two weeks. Via the indefatigable Bill Hobbs

So, here is what we know:
1. A stack of deeply offensive and bigoted anti-President Bush fliers was brought into Fitzugh's Ripley, Tennessee, campaign office, an office that also serves as the local Democratic campaign HQ for the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
2. The fliers were available in that office for an undertermined amount of time.
3. People in Ripley and the state's 82nd House District have been buzzing about the fliers for two weeks.
4. The Tennessee Democratic Party claimed yesterday, without proof, that the flier was the product of a Republican dirty trick.
5. Fitzhugh's statements echo that claim.
6. News coverage, lead by the tone set in yesterday's article by the AP's Tom Sharp, is echoing that claim
7. Fitzhugh is echoing the disability community's call for a criminal investigation into the flier, though it is doubtful any laws were broken. But calling for an investigation is a smart political move designed to shift the focus off of Fitzhugh and the 82nd District Democrats and onto Fitzhugh's Republican opponent, Dave Dahl.

Assertions that this is Republican trick, alas for the Democrats, has not a shred of evidence supporting it. Fact checking of the story has shown an attempt at weak Democratic spin.

|||109785265157221121|||Flyer Update