Paulian Interweb Decoys
Charles Johnson
Tue Nov 6, 2007 at 4:12 pm PST • Views: 410
Ron Paulians with yet another new way to trick people into thinking the Only Man Who Can Save America is riding a massive wave of support all the way into the White House: Decoy Election Websites Pretend to Root for Your Candidate.
It took less than a month for Jason Francis to realize that he was not among allies at the so-called Fred Thompson Forum, a website purporting to support the candidacy of the Republican presidential contender.
Maybe it was the site’s tagline — “Hope for North America” — that made him doubtful of the forum’s legitimacy. Or, the oddly bombastic tenor of his fellow forum members’ posts. While Francis was posting thoughtful missives about his candidate’s positions, other purported Fred-heads seemed to hold a sinister view of the former senator. A poster named “Chuck Manson,” for example, expressed confidence that a Thompson White House would deploy improvised explosive devices in Iraq. “We’ve got bigger and better (IEDs), and we need to start using ‘em! We will not be defeated! We will rule the Middle East!”
After voicing some mild suspicions, Jason Francis finally threw his virtual hands up in the air. “I am now convinced that this site is owned and operated by Ron Paul supporters with the express purpose of discrediting any and all presidential candidates, especially Fred Thompson, without reasoned debate or even relatively polite discussion,” he wrote in July. “I have come to this conclusion after finding my posts (not inflammatory or vulgar) removed without a trace and my vote on the Ron Paul vs. Fred Thompson poll reversed.”
Frank says: