And the Academy Award goes to…
By now, we’re sure you’ve heard about the allegations made about Ector County Commissioner Don Stringer.
But, just in case you haven’t and just in case you’re not a follower of Ector County politics, we’re absolutely positive you’ll come away shocked and appalled after reading Jeff Russell’s riveting account of Wednesday night’s Republican candidate forum, especially when it comes to the blow-by-blow description of Stringer’s interactions with Russell’s daughter-in-law and Stringer’s opponent, Samantha Russell.
Half a dozen times Russell used the word “aggressively” to describe the actions of Stringer. He “aggressively” bent down (twice), pointed a finger, snatched a mic and leaned forward, according to Jeff Russell and his fake news site Odessa Headlines.
Then there were the times when Stringer acted “angrily” and was “noticeably agitated.”
Russell described in vivid detail how Samantha was so terrified of Stringer she had to switch seats with candidate Steve Brennan and how Stringer “turned his aggression” toward Brennan, following him around, raising his voice, pursuing him while “ weiding (sic) his phone demanding” that Brennan read a mass text Samantha Russell had sent off.
Brennan even “forcibly told him to ‘back off” and everyone in attendance was “visibly disturbed” by Stringer’s behavior, Jeff Russell wrote.
Do yourselves a favor.
Watch the video of the forum and then ask yourself if Russell’s story matches the video.
It doesn’t.
Was Stringer a jerk? Did he ignore the rules? Did he get loud?
Yep.
Without a doubt.
But was he a big scary guy trying to intimidate a defenseless, timid, pitiful woman?
Get real.
Oh, and when you’re watching the video also ask yourself if Brennan wasn’t just a bit over the top, chivalrously offering to trade seats with Russell’s daughter-in-law and backing away from Stringer.
Yep. We were just kidding about the Academy Award.
Sorry Steve.
Another question…
The Tisha Crow cabal is attacking several of this year’s candidates for not showing up for certain debates.
Can you blame them? Why on earth would they show up for an event knowing what happened to Stringer might happen to them? Or knowing how State Rep. Brooks Landgraf was brutalized by them two years ago on the campaign trail.
And while you’re mulling these things over, we think you also might want to ponder what happened Thursday outside the Ector County Annex Building while various candidates were greeting early voters.
Carmen Wilhite, who is running for a precinct chair against Ronnie Lewis, is claiming Donna Kelm, who is trying to unseat Crow, the Ector County GOP chairwoman, attacked her.
Kelm, on the other hand, said she was attacked by Wilhite when she asked her to stop telling voters she is a socialist and a Democrat. Kelm’s hair was pulled hard enough she had to see a doctor for head and neck pain.
Hmmm.
Two accusations of aggressive behavior in two days.
And in both instances the accusers are aligned with the same people who held what we call a super-secret crush-your-friends-and-neighbors meeting.
Remember? We told you a few weeks ago, Crow and her cronies invited a group to spend two days in Odessa late last year whose speciality is teaching people how to “lawfully and legally delay, disrupt, dismantle and remove Communists/Marxists and Terrorists from our communities.”
During the same seminar participants made an enemies list, learned to operate as a “clandestine group” and became adept at using burner computers to do deep investigations on their opponents.
Do ya think that maybe, just maybe, these assault allegations could be part of their big plan?
By the way, many of Crow’s campaign materials show Crow with boxing gloves. Crow’s folks continue with the misleading text messages and social media posts declaring Kelm has been “charged with assault.”
Again, not true. She has not been charged with anything.
Linda Hall, who is running for Precinct 1, said it was Wilhite who attacked Kelm, not the other way around.
“I’m going to tell you I have worked over there two days with Carmen and for two days she has tried to antagonize me. She has told everybody that I’m a Democrat,” Hall, 69, said Thursday night. “She does anything that she can to belittle and try to stir up trouble and I told her yesterday and today to stop talking about me, to stop interrupting me and to leave me alone and she says I’m the aggressor.”
Again and again Wilhite interrupted her while she was speaking with voters, Hall said.
“She would just walk up and start saying ‘She’s not telling you the truth. We’re the real Republicans. They’re Democrats,’ ” Hall said. “I felt so intimidated I went and stayed by my pickup for safety reasons.”
Hall said she intended to go back to the annex Friday, but she wasn’t going alone.
“I don’t think (the two incidents) are coincidental,” Hall said. “I think they’re doing everything they can to make us look bad. I think they’re doing everything they can to rile people up.”
Wilhite didn’t respond to questions about the altercation (and also didn’t respond weeks ago about anti-gay comments she made).
Kelm said Thursday night she was resting per doctors orders and was shocked at how Wilhite claimed she attacked her at the Ector County Annex.
“I just touched her shoulder,” Kelm said. “I didn’t grab her. I just touched her shoulder and was trying to say ‘come on, stop saying I am a Democrat’ and she yanked my hair out.”
Kelm was treated by a doctor and was told to rest.
Wilhite’s opponent, Ronnie Lewis, said she was also poorly behaved at the MCM Elegante during early voting earlier this week.
The battle lines are drawn between Crow and her precinct chair candidates and Kelm and her precinct chair candidates. Check out the Facebook page Ector County Politics to see which candidates are aligned with Kelm.
It’s up to the voters now.
We urge voters to remember the numerous phony endorsements by the Crow camp. And don’t forget all the phony text messages and social media posts.
Or the tacky boxing gloves.
Perhaps all the negative and false claims coming from the Crow camp about their fellow Republicans came from that very top-secret meeting last year. The one where the Crow candidates were taught to be “subversive” and spy on their opponents. And use social media to to denigrate their fellow Odessans.
Remember that when you vote.
