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“The Rumor” *** Updated x3 ***
Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller [Updated, bumped to the top and comments opened.] [This story was originally published Thursday.] I heard “The Rumor” early yesterday. The calls and e-mails started slow but quickly picked up throughout the day. “The Rumor” had it that a certain Illinois Republican congressman was about to be busted for having sexual relations with an underage female page. I contacted a friend of mine in DC who’s pretty high up the US House food chain (Republican side) and asked what he knew about the congressman and a page. My friend said that all he had heard was that a page whom the congressman had previously sponsored may have had a problem or an issue with Rep. Kolbe, who is under fire for taking a camping trip with some pages. Since then, “The Rumor” has exploded far and wide among political blogs, many of them Democratic-leaning publications that would love to defeat the 6-term GOP incumbent. Around noon today, I called the congressman’s campaign office because I was tired of waiting and, frankly, didn’t want to spend the rest of the day monitoring Google News for updates. His spokesman told me that he had received a call from the Chicago Tribune on Sunday asking about The Rumor. The New York Times called sometime later. According to the spokesman, the NY Times reporter admitted that he had had no luck proving the claims and came to the conclusion that it was false. The press calls intensified in the last 24 hours and the spokesman claimed none of the reporters had any solid evidence. They just claimed they had some congressional sources who claimed it was true, the spokesman said. I asked the spokesman if he had talked to Congressman Weller (I decided to go ahead and mention his name here to avoid tarring any other members of the delegation) about this and he said he had. Weller, he said, flatly denied any such thing had ever happened, couldn’t understand why the rumors were flying around and insisted that nothing would ever come of it. The spokesman called back a half hour later or so and said the office now believes that the rumor began when reports surfaced that “one of our pages or interns was hit on by another congressman,” and then morphed from there. So, the rumors that Weller is holed up somewhere and is “about to resign any minute” don’t appear to be true. The rumors that he is being pressed to resign by House GOP leadership also don’t appear to be true. The page rumor itself seems unsubstantiated at best and malicious at worst. There was even a rumor posted on some blogs that Weller had pulled his campaign website offline this week. Not true. Now, I can’t guarantee you one way or another if The Rumor is true or not, of course, but I do have more than just serious doubts about it. What I am sure of is that some high-up Democrats have been pushing the heck out of this story and they ought to stop it or produce some real evidence. It may have begun as a well-meaning leak, but it certainly isn’t that now. Weller’s spokesman, Steve Shearer, described the rumor as a “political nuclear bomb” that opponents could throw and then “retreat into anonymity” without providing any real evidence. The Democrats, Shearer said, may be hoping to use The Rumor to “put a race into play for no money at all.” He could very well be right. No reader comments on this one. If something else happens, I’ll open up a thread. And if Weller is lying, we’ll all go nuclear on him together. I just don’t think that’s the case. Also, if your immediate reaction is that I’m shilling for Weller, I’d suggest you read this, this and this before making up your mind. I’m not exactly a huge Weller fan. *** UPDATE *** The story has now crossed over to the mainstream media with this buried mention in Friday’s Sun-Times: Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), hit with rumors that he was somehow involved in the page scandal, issued a statement Thursday saying he was not a factor — but a former page or intern he sponsored was subject to some questionable behavior by another lawmaker. *** UPDATE 2 *** The ArchPundit, who helped break the story on the Web, has now walked it all the way back. What Do Blagojevich, Davlin, and Weller Have In Common Larry is a good guy and he did the right thing. Carl Nyberg, who comments quite often here and has his own blog, got a lot of exposure with his Weller diary at Daily Kos (over 300 comments at last count). So far, he has yet to issue a retraction or an apology or even an update. I wouldn’t count on “Wonkette,” who probably did more to push this story than anyone else - even though there was not a shred of real evidence - to follow ArchPundit’s suit. Meanwhile, the Kankakee Daily Journal also got into the act today.
This is exactly what I figured had happened not long after I heard the rumor and talked to my DC guy (see above). Rumors have a tendency to morph. “Page. Weller. Ethics Committee. Testimony,” becomes, “Hey, didja hear that Weller was doing a page?” As Larry noted in his retraction, we saw the same exact thing happen with those idiotic but universal Blagojevich rumors and the Springfield cocaine rumors. People hear rumors from vastly different and usually reliable sources and assume it must be true. Every reporter in town is chasing the rumor so we figure there’s something there. And everybody is repeating the same name over and over again (or names, in the case of the coke goofiness), so my goodness it’s gotta be right. Plus, people who despise the target of the rumors want to believe it’s true and gin it up even further. It’s another lesson for all of us. Comments are now open on this topic. But use some common sense or I’ll close the comments right away and permanently ban you. *** UPDATE 3 *** Nyberg has now published a retraction.
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Trackback Taegan Goddard's Political Wire - Thursday, Oct 19, 06 @ 2:39 pm:
The Rumor…
Based on my email, everyone wants the latest on the rumor of the day on Capitol Hill. The Capitol Fax sums up a day of waiting: “So, the rumors that Weller is holed up somewhere and is ‘about to resign any minute’ donÂ’t appear to be true. The rumor…
Pingback Junkiness » Blog Archive » Retraction - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 12:08 pm:
[…] Yesterday we reported on a rumor that Congressman Jerry Weller (R-IL) might have been sexually involved with a 16-year-old female page, drawing the conclusion that there could actually be a heterosexual left in the Republican party. However, the rumor has been debunked to some degree, and we would like to hereby offer a retraction and apology. […]
- Not Shocked - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 12:34 pm:
Politics is a very small community
and what happened here is really no different than when we played telephone as a kid and the story changed by the time the end of the line was done
Not shocked
Larry was wise in his retracttion
others should follow, but they won’t
- grand old partisan - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 12:43 pm:
Rich, I commend you on the fair and honest way you handled this crazy rumor. You’re a class act.
- Carl Nyberg - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 12:57 pm:
Has Dennis Hastert apologized for blaming his cover-up of the Foley matter on Democrats and George Soros?
Did I fan a rumor? Yep. Did I do it to hype my own blog? Nope. Did I generate any benefit to me, direct or indirect?
Rich, seems to think Carl Nyberg, a blogger, warrants calling out for passing a rumor–a lurid rumor, but one I believed in good faith. But Illinois Republican Dennis Hastert, who is Speaker of the House, just makes #%$@& up and Rich didn’t call him out.
BTW, if the House Republicans–under Hastert’s leadership–are covering up the names of two members of Congrss who were having sex with pages, is this a story Rich? Do you think the names are being held until after the election?
- Late in the game - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 1:06 pm:
We should have been allowed to comment on this rumor prior to today. It was posted at politicalwire yesterday morning.
I thought blogs were a place to talk about things in and out of the mainstream media?
- DOWNSTATE - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 1:12 pm:
NYBERG sorry but it is two totally different things.This is about someone who can not win no matter what they do.It shows in reality how the Democratic party has been hijacked by a bunch of nutwingers.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 1:15 pm:
I agree, Carl. You’ve not benefitted whatsoever from this whole sorry episode. Your latest comment here also won’t provide you with any benefit.
- Shallow Pharnyx - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 1:24 pm:
Is Weller’s campaign manager, Steve Shearer, also Aaron Schocks campaign manager?
- irishpirate - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 1:35 pm:
Well I find Weller annoying and worse…..and I hope he loses. However, he does not deserve to be falsely accused of having sex with a page.
The republicans have ridden the tiger of sexual innuendo and dirty politics for years and they have fallen off…………now its dinner time!
- Fan of the Game - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 1:56 pm:
A good name is hard to rebuild once it has been sullied, and in our society, the accusation of sexual impropriety soils a reputation quickly. Once the rumor goes out, trying to take it back is like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.
It’s all well and good that folks are retracting their erroneous statements, but they should never have been made without corroboration and facts.
Rich, I, too, appreciate the way you handled this story.
- anon - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:00 pm:
I agree with irishpirate 100%. But I think Weller may still be in question about how long did he know the page he sponsored was being harassed? If he was the one who sponsored her, you might assume (assumptions start even more rumors) that she would have gone back to him or his staff if she was having problems and should he have done something about it.
- Skeeter - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:02 pm:
This is interesting.
A lot of anger here from Republicans, despite the fact that lies and distortions are pretty much the way they run every campaign.
I am not approving of the rumors and I sure did not participate in fanning them. I just don’t see why Republicans should be so upset.
Run clean campaigns yourself and then tell others how to campaign. As Sen. McCain said in 2000: “Stop lying about [our] record.”
- carlsnuts - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:12 pm:
Actually, I am a dyed in the wool liberal. I loathe Nyberg for engaging in Karl Rove tactics - then resorting to the childish “well they do it too” argument when he’s caught red-handed. Liberals are better than Rove - and we’re on the brink of proving it again at the polling place. Why should we let Nyberg jeopardize the high moral ground we Democrats have earned with this gutter trash.
I commend Archpundit and Mr. Miller for their fairness. There’s life after this election - and Nyberg is clearly burning all bridges. One’s reputation is all you have. Lee Atwater reportedly was plagued with regrets on his deathbed because he engaged in this style of politics. Through his reckless and malevolent rants, Nyberg already has much to answer for.
- Kankakee Voice - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:15 pm:
Rich, you have apparently referred to me “as a blogger who hates Jerry Weller” according to Wonkette.
C’mon Rich! I’ve been nice to you. You delete my comments, send me unfriendly emails.
I do not HATE Jerry Weller. Hate is much too strong a word. One “hates” one’s ex-husband or an old boyfriend. Hate would invovle an intimate relationship. Something of course I have never had with Jerry Weller.
I do intensely dislike and disagree with the man’s politics and choice of wife, in-laws and totally tasteless wedding ceremony in an ex-dictator and genocidal murderer’s home in Guatemala when the U.S. is at war and our troops are dying for what Weller himself calls “freedom and democracy.” Meanwhile he’s partying with General Rios Montt, and marrying Rios Montt’s daughter, who considers her father an “inspiration.” Congresita Zury Rios Montt’s own FRG (her and dad’s political party) secretary was photographed in the summer of 2003 on what Mayan Guatemalan’s call Black Thursday, with a walkie talkie in her hand helping organize the FRG instigated riots. I find that quick sickening.
I find Weller to be creepy and a total hypocrite. But “hate” him? No. That would involve too much attachment and emotion there. I have fun picking on him and pointing out all his hypocrisy. It’s an amusing and gratifying passtime for me. That’s all.
- whacko - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:40 pm:
Carl Nyberg is a complete goof, at least that’s the rumor going around….
- Chuck - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:41 pm:
Skeeter…pick up a New York Times from Wednesday, flip to Maureen Dowd’s column and see what a Hillary aide had to say about John McCain.
Man, I hate partisan hacks.
- Wumpus Diva - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:42 pm:
Skeet, my favorite part of the campaigns are the lying commercials. There is a line that you don’t cross. Even in prison, pedophiles are the scourges of the worst of human beings. Don’t accuse someone of being a pedophile if they aren’.t
- Anon - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:45 pm:
In all seriousness, Weller should hire an attorney after the election and tap a few bloggers on the shoulder about this.
All’s fair in love and war, but malicious slander is still malicious slander.
- Skeeter - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:50 pm:
- Anon - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 2:45 pm:
“In all seriousness, Weller should hire an attorney after the election and tap a few bloggers on the shoulder about this.
All’s fair in love and war, but malicious slander is still malicious slander.”
Isn’t this great?
Republicans always hate the tort system, until they find somebody THEY want to sue.
- HoosierDaddy - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 3:26 pm:
Shame on you anon for anonymous mudslinging.
- doubtful - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 3:31 pm:
Good on you Rich for not passing along a rumor.
Of course, it’s a sad world we live in when (regardless of party) most people are quick to believe the worst in our representatives.
- Peachy - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 3:53 pm:
Is this Weller rumor deal really any different than commentor posts on Capitolfax - roughly every 15 seconds or so - that Blago’s going to be wearing an orange jump suit, or some derivation of that?
In that spirit, I’ll say that my gut tells me there is something more to come on this Weller thing.
- Fearless Freep - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 4:20 pm:
Capitolfax is right and handled this superbly. Heck, I am not a fan of Weller either, but we are professionals and we don’t buy into baseless rumours and malicious slander.
If they want to go after Weller, fine. Here’s an idea: tell the truth! They don’t have to make something up in order to make Weller look like a bad congressman. But lying like this is out of bounds.
- DeepFriedOnAStick - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 4:27 pm:
Wonkette’s term for Weller - “PF” - is absolutley the funniest thing since “Ricky, get off my TransAm!”
But methinks Wonkette may need a fine attorney to defend his use of that term, what with its very conclusive nature. The blogger has already convicted the congressman.
- Jaded - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 4:59 pm:
“We should have been allowed to comment on this rumor prior to today. It was posted at political wire yesterday morning.”
The great thing about a blog is that you can go where you want and comment how you want. The great thing about administering a blog is that you can ban what you want and who you want. If you don’t like the way Rich handled this situation, go away and start your own blog. You won’t be missed!
- Mike Williams - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 5:08 pm:
yes, there is enough about Weller out there that is true.
Jaded: you sound like a little kid.
- Way Northsider - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 5:09 pm:
Deep Fried - I am going to be HIGHLY amused if Wonkette needs an attorney, fine or otherwise. Weller would be truly idiotic to go after the always satirical Wonkette. If he does, I would say he DEFINITELY has something to hide!
I do agree with a poster far up this thread that it is telling that Weller only chose to tell what he knew AFTER the rumor about him was circulating. Not an honorable way to go but, then again, it’s what I’d expect from him.
- Mike Williams - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 5:10 pm:
…I should have said, enough campaign material that making stuff up like this on Jerry “Dictator’s Son-in-Law” Weller is unneccessary.
- Way Northsider - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 5:11 pm:
Fearless Freep “….but we are professionals…” ARE we? ALL of us? Professional what? If you mean Political hacks, then no, not all of us are professionals. Some of us just like politics.
- Another Anon - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 7:40 pm:
So people heard that a third Congressman had been accused of inappropriate behaviour towards a page. They then heard that Jerry Weller was involved in the scandal. They put 2 and 2 together. As it turns out they came up with 5, and Weller is not the accused but instead the sponsor of the alleged target. The bloggers named leapt to conclusions, which is sloppy and unprofessional. But they are bloggers not professional journalists, so what do you expect? They did not lie or maliciously slander.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 7:48 pm:
Kankakee Voice, I think Wonkette was referring to me, not you. Sheesh
- TedBaxter - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 8:01 pm:
I like you, Rich, but how can you rip politicians for funny off the cuff remarks about rumors any more?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Oct 20, 06 @ 8:07 pm:
?
- Beowulf - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 7:36 am:
I like to think that when a rumor appears in the media or a blog site, that the people that “actually take the time to go vote” don’t give it much (if any) credibility until it has been proven.
The reality on this rumor about Weller is that this “false rumor” will probably help him at election time due to the sympathy voters throwing their undecided vote at Congressman Weller. Throwing out false rumors at election time can be a dangerous sport. It usually shows that the other candidate was desperate enough to feel compelled to use such lowly tactics.
- Bill Baar - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 7:46 am:
The bloggers who pushed the story owe readers disclosure on who was pushing it on them. That’s the problem with MSM is they push all these stories using anon sources. I hate to see blogs I read start doing that. You just set yourself up for being made sucker.
- Truth - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 9:14 am:
Carl a sucker? Say it isn’t so.
- grand old partisan - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 9:46 am:
Kankakee Voice -
If you can go more than 12 hours without posting something bitterly negative about Weller on your blog, then maybe people will stop accusing you of “hating” him. Just a thought.
- the wonderboy - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 11:46 am:
I think the most humorous part of all of this is that Shearer called the thing a nuclear attack…
Why so funny? Let’s just say that the campaigns he has run in the past know quite well what it takes to launch a “political nuclear bomb”…
It never gets old watching the two sides accuse the other of bad politics. Never.
- yet another anon - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 3:22 pm:
Soviet-style censorship strikes again. Since my last comment must’ve been deemed unacceptable, I’ll try again, but a bit toned down.
Fact: Steve Shearer says in an article in the Sun Times (http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/104152,CST-NWS-page20.article) “There have been all kinds of wild rumors circulating over the past week,”
That fact indicates that this was known to the Weller camp before Thursday.
Fact: Shearer/Weller report that the allegation was turned over for investigation on Thursday (see Rich’s post).
FACT: Shearer/Weller knew about this before Thursday and did not report it until then, after the rumor had spun wildly out of control and something had to be done to contain it.
Supposition: They were covering for somebody, i.e., the Congressman under a cloud of suspicion.
By the way, for those who care (I don’t), there has been a lot of misinformation on this. Shearer admitted to Lynn Sweet that the page is, in fact, male (http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/104152,CST-NWS-page20.article).
Commentary: I come to my conclusions based on the fact that Shearer admitted to knowing before Thursday and the fact that it was not reported until Thursday.
Again I ask, why did he wait? Was he covering for someone who could potentially be in electoral trouble were this information to be released?
You can think what you want, but here’s what I think. If I know that person A has made inappropriate advances to a minor and I fail to report person A, then I am at least partially culpable if person A makes inapporpriate advances to another minor. If I report it right away, there is a strong liklihood that person A will refrain from doing so, either by their own choice or by law enforcement’s.
It is wrong, wrong, wrong for someone to sit on this information for even a week, as Shearer has admitted to doing, especially when Shearer/Weller initially blamed Democrats for going after Hastert. Where were they and why weren’t they doing what is right?
The problem here, which Congressional Republicans are failing to understand, is that it’s not the initial scandal that is a problem, it’s the coverup.
Had Foley been exposed years ago when the information was first known, it would not have been electorally radioactive for Congressional Republicans, it would only have affected him.
However, Republicans did cover it up and now they find themselves in a mess. It’s been the same throughout time — pick your political scandal and it’s not the initial action that causes the downfall of others, but what those others do, or fail to do in response that creates the political fallout.
Say what you want, but someone who doesn’t report immediately that one of their former pages or interns was the subject of inappropriate communication is reprehensible. Not as reprehensible as Mark Foley, but still reprehensible.
I have no way of knowing right now what happened, but I will tell you that I suspect that if the rumor hadn’t been circulated, Shearer and Weller would have never submitted the information for investigation. That really is the only plausible explanation for why they waited to report it.
I fully assume this comment will be deleted, since it is largely identical to what I wrote yesterday (although with less inflammatory rhetoric) and if it does, I think it’s a shame, because this is a serious, serious issue.
- Rich Miller - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 6:52 pm:
Since “Kankakee Voice” has deleted my response to a similar strange attack she made at her blog, I’ll post it here:
You completely misread Wonkette. I never linked to your Weller stuff, didn’t know it existed, never mentioned you in either my stories or my personal conversations. I barely know you exist.
If you read that Wonkette post again you’ll see that Mr. Wonkette was referring to me, and, as usual and as with the Weller rumors, he screwed it up. I wrote that I was not exactly a fan of Weller, and he twisted that into I hate him.
Bizarre.
Your comment here and at my blog is equally as bizarre, however. Reread Wonkette, please. And also please show me where I referred to you Thursday or Friday as a Weller hater who disbelieved the rumor. How would Wonkette know that if I never wrote it, especially since I have never had a conversation with the man. I did, however, send him an e-mail telling him he was dead wrong and providing a link to my story.
Also, I only delete your comments when warranted. As others can plainly see with this current comment of yours, you can get a bit off the wall.
- Rich Miller - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 7:13 pm:
“yet another anon,” your comment was held up by my Akismet spam blocker, not me. Sorry for that.
- VanillaMan - Saturday, Oct 21, 06 @ 10:44 pm:
The stakes are high. Democrats have been the loser party since Jimmy Carter demostrated that the Party was out of new ideas. Even at their best in 2000, 2002, and 2004 - they lost. Democrats have not gotten the majority of votes since 1976. The party is in complete decline. So stakes are high. If they fail to win Congress in 2006 - they are history.
But the Democrats have a huge problem. They are out of ideas. National health care? That was proposed by Truman. Pull out of a global war? That was proposed by McGovern and Kerry. Work closely with the UN? Uh, Eleanor Roosevelt.
When your party stand for nothing, it has nothing to win with. What the Democrats have discovered is that sex rumors can force the Republicans to jump if the rumor is disgusting enough. It is even better when there are digital proof. If Chappaquiddick or Studds happened today, Teddy and Gary would have been booted within 24 hours a-la-Foley. So the Democrats are looking for the new Foley, regardless of how unethical this behavior is.
What the Republicans didn’t learn is that by forcing Foley out like they did, they in turn, encourage the Democrats to scam even more. There is David Corn sending “gay Republican” lists out to media, while out of the other side of his mouth saying he has no problems with a congressperson being gay.
Thanks to Foley, Democrats have learned that they can up their chance of winning an election by rumor and innuendo. That is why we are seeing some of the lowest, unethical behavior.
Oh, and I’ll address Illinois Democrats that claim Topinka plays the same game: ASK FITZGERALD. He already has issued one letter saying that there is credible evidence in Blagojevich’s fraud investigation. He is already on record of accusing Blagojevich and friends of playing a pay to play scheme - on steroids. So, repeating what the US Attorney is saying about the cases he is handling isn’t using rumors. Blagojevich’s guilt is being debated anymore. At this point we are just giving him the benefit of a doubt since he claims to be supremely stupid, which shouldn’t be a quality anyone should be bragging about 2 weeks before an election. “He’s not guilty, he’s stupid! - Vote Blagojevich!”
With two more weeks to go, this election will get as ugly as the Democrats want to make it. Time is running out and both parties will kill to win. Problem is, the voters are the one that will lose.
- CarolStreamKaren - Sunday, Oct 22, 06 @ 2:42 pm:
ArchPundit’s blogging rights should be suspended. Unless rumors are completely confirmed, bloggers should not try to ruin reputations. If blogs want any credibility, people such as ArchPundit should learn how to confirm stories and check sources. His mistake was outrageous. And I am a Democrat.
- oldie opah - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 11:47 am:
Random thoughts…In my opinion a blog is the perfect place to discuss rumors…Why would Dem’s play the sexual misconduct card on a safe Republican congressional seat?… The only reason this rumor had legs was the Republican congressional leadership is perceived to be engaging in a cover up of the Foley debacle and they deserve every bit of it…Last in an age of rovian dirty tricks and swift boat assassins it warms my heart to hear Republicans moan and groan about rumor and inuendo