New Republican "NASCAR" Smear On Democrats

Republicans are circulating a new smear, saying that Democratic Congressional staffers advised aides to get vaccinations before visiting NASCAR events. It is, of course, just a lie designed to drive the "elite limousine liberal" and "Democrats hate regular people" narratives.

In fact the aides were visiting "health care centers, detention facilities and other operations where they could be exposed to communicable diseases" and the immunizations are routine.

The Drudge Report has been headlining the smear for a several days. Of course Republican talk-radio has been running with it. Here are just a few examples of the spread of the smear:

FOX: Aides immunized before NASCAR race,

Going to a NASCAR race? Better get your shots.

That's the message Rep. Robin Hayes seems to think is being sent as a handful of congressional aides were told to get immunized before a fact-finding trip for a House Homeland Security Committee.

The group was immunized for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria and influenza before attending last weekend's NASCAR race in Talladega and this weekend's race in Concord, N.C.

Atlanta: GOP outraged over NASCAR-immunizations advisory

And days after the lie was refuted, the lie continues to spread:

Atlanta TV: Congressman Insults NASCAR Fans

Indianapolis: NASCAR races danger to government workers?

One way the Republican machine spreads this stuff is posting to forums. And here is an example of a "regular person" posting a comment in a sports forum:

It is offensive that the Democrats choose to be vaccinated from Nascar fans. I thought they claimed to be inclusive of everyone and they blame Republicans for having stereotypes. If they went to a football, baseball, or basketball game would they have been vaccinated? NO. It's when they go to a Nascar event that they are vaccinated. Obviously they consider Nascar fans to be a group of rednecks, southerners and Christians that are apparently disease ridden.

Here is another sports forum example.

Comments

[larmarch5]

I checked nascar.com and there were only two references in their news section to this, USA Today and Richmond Times. Both accurately explained that the shots were because they were visiting a madical facility. Both indicated it was no big deal. There was nothing on the home page about it.

[JCP]

Whatever. Someone should have asked the jackasses who propogated this who their favorite drivers and teams are, and whether they think Jeff Gordon will have it in him to finish off another championship season, and maybe even make a run at Richard Petty's and Dale Sr's all-time mark of 7 cups.

All politicians and pundits should stay the f*ck away from the track. We're not rednecks or conservatives or Christians (though some of us may be). We're racing fans. That's why we're there. Good grief.

[Mormondude]

How many people touring Walter Reed got a full load of immunizations first? My guess would be none.

Apparently these staffers are more concerned by EMPTY health care facilities and EMPTY detention centers at a NASCAR stadium than they are about a hospital full of patients, many of which have been overseas, and many of which have had surgical procedures. It just doesn't add up, unless they think NASCAR fans are crawling with worse diseases than are found in a hospital.

This story isn't a smear. It's the most reasonable explanation for their actions. I dare any liberal here to clear the air by asking these same people if they have ever visited any other medical facility, or any other detention center, and whether they got a full load of immunizations before those visits as well.

[TruEngineHearing]

We needn't bother trying to have a response to the GOP blitherfest about the NASCAR vaccination flap. They're trying to plant a flower on this swell new turd they've found. It's wonderfully distracting watching the conservatives grasping for another chance to massage the tender parts of their fast-disappearing followers. Having already blown everything men can blow - including the war, the deficit, the road to health care and retirement, they're reaching down and around playing the Larry Craig card in one of the greatest outdoor men's rooms ever built - the NASCAR stadium. Well, gents, it won't work. It looks like it will. But it won't. As the 10 year mist lifts, the American that works hard and plays loud is absofuckinlutely tired of being the Republican's "Screwed Pooch".

[jeff]

Sounds alot like that smear they tried to lay on norman hsu but at least yourself and james boyce proved them wrong there too.

[blackwell98]

I think this really shows you what the die hard Bush voter is like.
Suprise.. Rep. Bennie Thompson is Black.

It may be a coincidence but the only NASCAR fan I know out here in Orygun lives in a Double Wide and is dumber than a fence post.

[Paz3]

This post (blackwell98) is creepy, and one reason why Dems can be so easily delineated as elitists by the Repubs.

I'm an auto racing fan, not NASCAR, but I know a number of NASCAR fans here in Oregon. None of them are dumb, including the ones I work with in the non-profit charity organization that employs me.

This b-well98 must be a Replubican ringer.

[blackwell98]

No Paz.. Im not a rebuplican ringer...

I belive that the republicans launched this mis-information campaign because Rep. Thompson is black.

If my sense of humor offends you, good. I find it fascinating that people attribute things they dont like to "ringers".

[LenP]

Wow. I thought the story was true too. I'm glad you set me straight. The story did seem a little weird.

I hate those Repugs. They lie, lie, lie.

They lied to get us into a war.

They lie and smear people opposed to the war.

They lie about the sick kid poster boy.

Bush lies about why he vetoed SCHIP.

They are dirty rotten scumbag liars.

[americanwhocares]

Classic Repug Smear machine tactics: Guess we can call it NASCARing of a Democratic candidate by the rabid repug " values party " right. Add this to the lexicon such as " swiftboating " I am beginning to lose faith in the fact that Americans are smart enough to realize they have been lied to by these idiots and have come very close to destroying the country we so love. Anyone who votes repuglican is an idiot or ultra rich. Repug voters, figure out which category you fit into please.

[BlackbirdHighway]

Ten percent of NASCAR fans will still vote for Hillary anyway. If the Repubs want to prevent that, they have to replace the text on the ballots with pictures.

[BiggerEd]

If Republicans think a "Democrat" call for immunizations somehow slams NASCAR fans, then I wonder how they feel about ALL military personnel who are required to be immunized? Do they hate our troops? Do they think all Americans are disease ridden?

[sparkandy]

Doesn't maligning ALL NASCAR fans as inbred rednecks make those of you doing it as bad as those who spread the rumor? Do you actually know any NASCAR fans, or are you just regurgitating what you were fed by whoever dictates your own brand of political correctness? If you need immunizations to go to NASCAR, then you'd probably want to get them to fly, get on a bus or train, or work in a building with other people. Personally, I'd feel safer, in regard to disease, at a NASCAR race than I would walking the streets of New York.

[joebaggadonuts]

I think you missed the point. Please go back and read the article. No one said to get immunized before a NASCAR race except the Republican smear machine.

The point is that this is another smear tactic based on lies by the right wing nutjobs who don't know how to fight with truth on their side. Then you folks get taken in by it and they get to keep their fancy jobs and stolen elections and stolen money and powerful positions from which they can solicit man on man sex from their young pages and from strangers in bathrooms.

Or were you just kidding?

[Mormondude]

No, I think you fell for the spin. Have they ever visited any other type of stadium? Have they ever visited a health care or detention facility at any other stadium? Did they get vaccinated then? How about other health care or detention facilities? How about any other facility where people that work there daily get vaccinated, like a research university or institute?

If you're going to blindly swallow their spin, I suppose those obvious questions aren't worth asking. Otherwise, I think they deserve answers.

[realityrules]

Dude, do you honest-to-God believe that someone, anyone, would consider needing "vaccination" before interacting with Nascar followers? Stop it, you are embarrassing yourself.

[CaptainObvious]

I do, and they're all inbred rednecks. Sorry.

[darwinfish]

There is no vacination for the real dangers NASCAR fans harbor such as racism, bigotry and ignorance.

[BigCatfish]

Whatever diseases a Democrat might pick up at a NASCAR event, the epidemic of rabies in the Republican right has been obvious for years.

[hugs4u]

NASCAR is a red neck hillbilly form of racing.

Real race fans watch the Wing Sprint cars and the World of Outlaws.

[laurenc]

The election will be determined by how effectively the Republicans can tap into the common person's loathing of privilege--at least the kind of privilege represented by the John Kerry/Hillary Clintons of this world.
That is why the thinking Democrat will support John Edwards. Yes he's wealthy now, but he is the son of a millworker. He understands how to connect with ordinary people. He will bring Nascar families to progressive populism.

[larry278]

Won't a bug spray with DEET do? The skeeters & other insects like to make a feast of NASCAR fans. There are interesting allergies to be found at dirt tracks from time trials till the last car leaves the track. The EMT's at NASCAR events must be well trained & versitile to handle the great variety of medical emergencies at any NASCAR event. EMT's can expect to treat alcohol poisioning, sun burns, broken bones, burns & deliver a baby or two among other things when they work a NASCAR event.

[SensibleAmerican]

This is just the beginning! The right wing has lost its strangle-hold on Repugnants as a 'big tent' party, the neocons are gasping as this Presidency comes to an end (Amen!!!) and their presidential candidates cannot even raise enough money! Their congressman and Senators are coming out of the closet, either openly gay and/or "paying for playing"! 2008 already has 22 right wing seats in play and atleast half a dozen sitting Senators have either announced their retirement and/or their careers are over like Vitter and Craig!

All they have left now is attack and smear ... like I stated ... this is just the beginning ...

[americanwhocares]

Great Post SensibleAmerican, thanks for your insightful thoughts, keep it up please.

[stephm]

Do people really get offended at such blatant manipulation? Really? It seems like the only people who are really offended by stereotypes are people who believe in them just a little.

[Kansas Evans]

How do these lies spread? The Dem election committees in both houses have plenty of money to do something to stop these lies.

And again, if the govt is so horrible, why are the Republicans going through so much trouble to control it. And what's worse, even though hardly anything Bush supports works, and everything he vetos either would work or IS working, people will support Republicans because their talk-radio machine is spreading lies. Aren't there FCC rules against the kind of thing?

And for RDixon and thinkbig, here's what I found when I followed the link to http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/10/11/NASCARIMMUNIZE_1011.html provided in the story.

"Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said his committee aides were visiting health care centers, detention facilities and other operations where they could be exposed to communicable diseases. He said the immunizations were routine for health care workers."

[mgloraine]

Quite right. In my youth, I worked as a housekeeper in a hospital, and everyone working there was required by management to be up-to-date on all immunizations, even those who worked in the administrative office. Of course, management was concerned about things like people missing work or suing if they caught something nasty, but the point was well understood that we were working at the place with the highest concentration of sick people in the county. Similar precautions are in order at any site which deals with sick or injured people, even if it's the first-aid tent at the county fair.

The AJC article indicates that the aides were assigned to check out the preparations which had been made to handle a large gathering of people - the event could just as easily have been a rock concert or football game. That's a salient detail which had to be deliberately omitted or misconstrued to generate the resulting outrage. By taking it out of context, the rumorists had an inflammatory half-truth which they used to produce a distracting brouhaha over basically nothing. That's show-biz!

[LenP]

Conservatives thrive on outrage. It's the "pity me" wing of the Republican party.

[Kansas Evans]

You know. As much as they accuse liberals for being victims all the time, they sure do cry and pout a lot.

[faust2001]

One of my favorite Onion headlines of all time:
This date in history: January 1, 1863. Abraham Lincoln angers NASCAR fans everywhere by freeing their slaves.

[SirReal1]

The ONLY POSSIBLE reason for aides to get vaccinated for a NASCAR event, would be if someone had developed a vaccine against; Stupidity, red-neckedness, vulgarity, bigotry, inbredness, evangilism, religiosity, Republicanism, Conservatism, Foxiteism, or Homophobia.

As far as I know, all those conditions are still classified as communicable and terminal to continued brain function.

[martinchill]

there's another reason: if they were there to infect the crowd and see what happened.

.

[Thorn]

Wow. It must be awful to be that paranoid.

[Herrington]

There is no know vacination for the desease from which the right wing suffers, and it is, apparently, communicable.

[RDixon]

"And days after the lie was refuted"
Am I blind?
I do not see anywhere in your post or in the provided links any refutation, save for you merely stating that it is a lie.
As far as I can tell from the facts; the Republicans have a good point with this story.
Damage control is not the way to deal with this.
Looks like just another in a long line of bungles that the current crop of Democrats are famous for.
BTW, if you have proof that they story is a lie, I would like to see it and then I may change my mind about it.

[Mormondude]

Quite right. This spin-of-choice begs the question whether these staffers have EVER visited any other 'health care facility, detention center, or other operation' at any other site. And if so, did they feel that it was necessary to get a full load of immunizations just before doing so.

My guess would be that they HAVE been to one or more similar facilities, and that they did NOT think it was necessary at the time.

How about all the people going through Walter Reed? How many of them got a boatload of shots first?

This perhaps the worst 'debunking' I've ever had the misfortune of seeing fail miserably right before my very eyes.

[DudeE]

Oh please. The e-mail requesting that staffers receive immunizations never even MENTIONED the NASCAR races.

Congratulations for buying into the Republican 'outrage du jour' manufactured out of whole cloth. Sucker.

[DudeE]

A) In what weird universe do you live where an accusation must be proven false? How about adopting the premise that the Republicans making the claim should prove it true? Neat idea huh?

B) Read the part of the article where it says "committee aides were visiting health care centers, detention facilities and other operations where they could be exposed to communicable diseases"

[Simone]

You want proof it is just a winger smear? Read the article!!!

[thinkbig]

Ditto.

[democraticforever]

This is only the beginnning of the smear tactics that the Republicans will use in the general campaign. We live in Mississippi and our governor who is Republican is on the smear trail right now in his attacks against the Democrat running for governor. However, the best way to beat these freaks is to take the offensive against them and stand up to them. That is exactly what Eaves is doing and I stand behind him 100%. When will we ever learn that these guys do not play fair and never will. We must learn to have some backbone!!!