Peter Schorsch
A campaign mailer sent to voters by House District 81 candidate Michael Weinstein falsely attributes a quote that came out of his own mouth to the Palm Beach Post.
Quoting oneself and attributing it to a respected newspaper violates every single standard of political (and ethical) practice.
While we don’t want to give additional airtime to Weinstein’s false and bizarre claim that primary opponent Kelly Skidmore operates “straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook” – it is important context to share: Weinstein himself said this about Skidmore; the Palm Beach Post (who endorsed Skidmore!) did not. Yet that’s how his mailer reads.
This is a clear attempt to confuse voters, and signals the mindset of a candidate who is far too comfortable walking a thin ethical line.
It also follows a string of misrepresentations and lies that Weinstein has told. He has abandoned a few of the lies after being questioned on them – but he has declined to apologize or take responsibility for any of his choices.
First, he wrongly claimed that the entirety of his campaign fundraising was “grassroots” when in fact it was dominated by self loans. He did not correct this misstatement, and worse, intimidated and silenced members of the public who questioned him on it.
He has failed to answer questions about his attacks on his primary opponent Skidmore, saying she is a career politician (she’s not); ran for office seven times (she hasn’t); never passed a bill (she has); or is incapable of understanding the issues of HD 81 because she lives one mile away at this moment (we can’t even dignify that one with a response).
Each of these lies and distortions was his own.
Despite Weinstein’s attempts at presenting himself as the victim, these mistakes cannot be blamed on journalists doing their jobs, members of the public doing their homework, or “insiders” who endorse Skidmore because they know she’s right for the job.
And, it’s important voters know this:
Michael Weinstein was unequivocally wrong to use the U.S. Mail to deceive voters into believing that his own words were those of the Palm Beach Post.
For that, even if for nothing else, he should be held accountable.
