Kaloogian Continues Offensive on Photo Flap
The North County Times has an article about Howard Kaloogian’s use of a photo from Istanbul that was labeled on his website as Baghdad.
The quotes by Kaloogian are pretty tough. He’s not backing down on this one, and I repeat again this seems to be dividing people. Those against the war are incensed that he has advanced his message that things are better in Baghdad than you hear about, with a photograph NOT from Baghdad.
But conservatives are now hearing Kaloogian repeat over and over again he went to Iraq and he stands by the mission there.
"As to whether he feels embarrassed about the caption blasting the news media that he posted next to the photograph, Kaloogian said he stands by those statements.
"When the only thing that comes out of Baghdad is the car bombings, that is the exception, and yet that is all we hear about," he said.
In a separate e-mail message to his supporters on Wednesday, Kaloogian blasted bloggers and journalists for using the photograph as a way of "attacking (his) campaign."
"The liberal journalists who dominate the ranks of the media want American troops to pull out of Iraq before the mission there is completed," he wrote.
That mission polls quite poorly nationally. But in San Diego County, among Republicans at least, I would suspect it enjoys pretty strong support.
The problem for Kaloogian is that each day is now bring out more evidence of false or misleading claims on his webside.
Two conservative advocacy groups (Center for Reclaiming America and the California Pro-Life Council) that Kaloogian’s site claimed to have endorsed his candidacy have publically stated that the they never issued any suc endorsement.
Then their are the implied endorsement: McClintock, Tancredo and Morrow. All of which have been soundly denied.
Kaloogian’s chief strategist is Sal Russo, the man who engineered Bill Simon’s defeat in 2000, in part due to a . Sound familiar.
Comment by RJB — March 31, 2006 @ 10:14 pm