Ashley Todd: College Republicans Quickly Distance From Hoax Attack

The national committee of the College Republicans went into damage control mode Friday afternoon after a college-aged McCain volunteer confessed to fabricating her claim that a black assailant had carved a "B" into her face after mugging her.

"When Ms. Todd initially contacted us claiming to have been attacked, our first reaction was obviously to be concerned for her safety," said College Republicans communications director Ashley Barbera. "We are as upset as anyone to learn of her deceit. Ashley must take full responsibility for her actions."

On Thursday, the conservative website Hot Air described discussions with both Charlie Smith and Ethan Eilon, the National Chair and Executive Director of the group, in which both attested to the validity of the widely distributed photo of an injured Todd, and affirmed that the image came from her.

Eilon had also told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday that Todd "was one of our better recruiters this year."

Of course, there was no way for the College Republicans to know that the photo -- which was of Todd and apparently did come from her -- was at root a fraud. But the organization's quick distancing suggests they are eager to put their association with Todd quickly behind them.

Comments

[tbone99]

These people must have cheated on their SATs to get into college and stolen money from their blind grandmother to go to school, as apparently NOTHING is beneath them . Just like the scum in the White House now. All cut from the same cloth.

[Myshkin57]

Grades are almost uniformly inflated at the high school level, the SAT has gotten easier at least twice in the past 15 years, and they all take classes with the aim, not of learning the material on the SAT, but of learning how to cheat the test. Getting into college is not determined by merit but by money, connections, and the willingness of one's high school teachers to collude to mislead institutes of higher education.

[Stephanie71]

Judging by her Your Tube videos out there, she took her SATs using Crayola Marker.

[ROBOT8]

REPUBLICANS EAT THEIR WOUNDED AND DUMP THE REAMINS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE

[ralph10]

Earlier in the year an East coast college had a republican who claimed he was beaten up by liberal college mates and later confessed and said he beat himself up. Does anybody remember this?

[j0em0mma]

yep

[Harry Scrote]

Good luck with all that, college repubs. Seriously, there IS no cure for St oo pid! :P

[j0em0mma]

starvation and the repo man can help...

[Palmz]

http://www.michigandaily.com/content/alleged-political-hate-crime-not-what-it-seemed

link!

[Palmz]

Not so fast.....they did it before.

"Justin Zatkoff, the executive director of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, was not attacked by "liberal thugs," as posted on the conservative blog truthcaucus.com."

This was Oct 2006 just before the election!

[steveveresdotcom]

As always, should you or any member of your Youth Anglo-Saxons for Fascism Force be caught writing a 'B' on your face backward in a mirror or captured, the National Chair and Executive Director will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good Luck, Ashley. This campaign will self-destruct in 10 seconds.

[PineyWoods]

Let me get this straight: "one of their best recruiters" is a mentally ill woman. Yup, makes sense to me.

[VJmem]

What was really strange to me was in the first story reported she said that she "didn't want medical treatment" and, if the guy was there to rob her, why did he walk her back to her car? She's pretty disturbed. I'm glad that it really didn't happen and hope that she can get herself so help. I wonder if McCain and Palin has called her since this turned out not to be true? Hmmm.

[ILikeH00ters]

the College Republicans = The Nazis

[UncleJimbo]

Yes! They are the Republican SA!

[sheaftosser]

College Republicans are the puss filled sore that oozes future conservative criminals like flesh eating bacteria. Everybody from Nixon's plumbers to Jack Abramoff to Grover Norquist to Karl Rove to McCain's entire campaign staff have been H*tler Youth, er I mean, College Republicans.

[fairness4all]

With all due apologies to puss-filled sores!

http://operationyellowelephant.blogspot.com/

[Two Three Four]

Obama's Senate Coattails
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=122&ArticleName=Obama%27s+Senate+Coattails

Debunking the Bradley Effect, Again
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=118&ArticleName=Debunking+the+Bradley+Effect%2c+Again

[alabaman]

Do the College Republicans still have their Young Americans for Freedom AKA Young Americans for Fascism?

[TimeGrid]

How dumb... B for Barack... Why didn't she carve an "O"?

It would have been easier, less painful, and it wouldn't have looked so obvious that she had done that in front of a mirror... Really, how dumb can you be?

[Holgaman]

As dumb as you want to be, as Republican as you want to be. Willful ignorance.

[wadda]

it was going to be B H O, but it hurt too much.

[tbone99]

Yeah - guess thats why they don't sign up Iraq either.

[BIG JOHN]

SHE COULDN'T SPELL BHO

[brokerthanu]

'Cause it would've come out looking like a square and then you can't tell if it's backward or not.

[nomind]

The girl is obviously mentally disturbed don't try to hook her up with the McCain campaign. That is not something any rational person is going to believe.

[hogoza]

Oh yeah, if it had turn out to be true, McCain would have enjoyed it, wouldn't he?

[franksters]

The McCain campaign eagerly embraced her. Didn't you read that both McCain and Palin 'reached out to her by phone"? All snug as bugs in a rug. You can bet that some McCain operative was behind this one. The truth will come out. And, look at the timing...the Rethugs were pissed that Senator Obama, our next POTUS, took some time off to visit his grandmother. So, they had to come up with something to use as a negative attack while he was away.

[johnqsittinzen]

John McCain called her. Is he in the habit of calling every alleged victim of crime in the country? Or just every alleged victim of crime in the western part of Pennsylvania?

[Stephanie71]

Not to mention she was phone banking later that night at the McCain offices. So yah, don't link her with McCain or anything.

[WolfLarsen]

I hope she isn't one of McCain's grandchildren taking one for the team.