McCain Supporter Attacked, Maimed
 

I am horrified that the following happened in Pittsburgh - this could have been me at 20 years old. A college student and McCain volunteer from Texas (UT?) was attacked and maimed by an Obama supporter:

KDKA-TV: "It's a disgusting act of violence..."

Fox News:
He said that her attacker became enraged when he saw she had the McCain bumper sticker, and yelled, "You are one of those McCain people."


WTAE-TV news:
maimed by her attacker, apparently because of her political views...

Don't bother checking CNN - they obviously don't care. I am, however, a little surprised to post this at what, 10:34 est, and nothing has been mentioned prior to this. WTH, no, I'm not.

Ahhhh you stay classy, Pittsburgh.


Seriously.

Jeez, people. Can't we be civil?

As an Obama supporter and ardent Democrat, I'm honestly more pissed off about this news than I was about the Obama canvasser attacked by the McCain supporter. Hey you asshole! Get off my team!

Also, what's the B for? Bitch? Jeez, you'd think a member of the educated elite - 'cuz all Democrats are, right? - could be more creative than that. :p

Please - some of us aren't trashy.

The B is for Barak, according to the news stations.

And take a look at all of the threads about how much Sarah Palin's wardrobe cost, her daughter, McCain's age, etc, etc. Obama supporters have lost the right to be civil about this one!

Frankly, I hope they apprehend the guy, and if he has anything to do with the Obama campaign, I hope Ms. Todd sues for the rest of the campaign funds. Nobody deserves that!

Sorry I wasn't clear. My plea to folks to be civil was actually to the nut-jobs out there who are attacking people for holding opposing political views. Stealing yard signs is trashy. Vandalism is ridiculous. Physical violence is appalling!

I can't wait for 11/4, no matter how it ends.

I'm sorry I misread that - sincerely.

Totally agreed. This is beyond the pale, IMHO.

People seem to be interpreting this as "Obama supporter attacks McCain supporter" when to me, it's more like "Woman who was getting mugged anyway gets assaulted even worse for being a McCain supporter."

I am NOT saying she deserved it or that what happened wasn't despicable.

I'm just saying it's important that we don't read this as one campaign volunteer assaulting another, because there's no evidence to support that.

No worries.

Oh, and hey, it's on CNN now. The CNN.com article was on my Google News front page.

He was walking away from her - with her ATM money - when he saw the McCain bumper sticker, then attacked her.

FYI, Pittsburgh has a very low crime rate compared to most "major" cities. This would have been big news without the political angle. That angle only enhances the whole "Bitter Pennsylvanians rely on their guns and Bibles" and "Pennsylvanians are all racists" remarks. Many, many people are terribly unhappy about those interpretations.

Yeah, if 18th out of 72 "major" cities is "very low" . . . which is slightly higher than its 22nd ranking in metro-area population. It's a big city, crime happens.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a fan of the 'Burgh, but I just don't see the angle you're espousing here. If anything, the reporting seems to focus strongly on the Obama connection, even though (as far as we know) the guy is just a supporter, and not connected to the campaign. I don't see anything that impugns Yinzers either - any "guns 'n bibles" connection really seems to be reading too much into this.

Disgusting.

When I first read this story this afternoon, I thought something seemed kind of fishy about it. Things that struck me as really questionable:

- She claims that she was at the ATM when it happened, and yet the incident occurred when she was conveniently out of range for the ATM's surveillance cameras?
- She refused any kind of immediate medical treatment -- she clearly wasn't worried about tetanus or permanent scarring -- and yet she went to the hospital today. Not wanting to go in the first place could be chalked up to lack of health insurance or something, but going back the next day blows that theory.
- The cut seems awfully superficial to be the work of a violent mugger in an angry rage wielding a decent-sized knife. (One of my college roommates was a self-injurerer. I've seen her make far nastier cuts than that with a pair of scissors.)
- Her twitter comments seemed ridiculously staged. She somehow manages to more or less predict how her evening will turn out before it even happens. Oh, and look, there's a McCain plug at the end!

Things that seemed kind of suspicious, but probably wouldn't have seemed that weird if it weren't for the above major red flags:
- She described the assailant as wearing a wife-beater. It's October in Pittsburgh at 9 PM. Either he's too poor to buy a coat, strung out on some great drugs . . . or he's imaginary. Who else would wear a wife-beater when it's 45 out?
- Why a B? A real Obama fan probably would have opted for an O.
- While we're on the subject of the B, why is it backwards? Sure, he could have knocked her to the ground and stood over her to carve it in upside down, but that leaves her in a pretty good position to escape. If you were trying to immobilize her, you would sit on her chest and pin her hands down while you cut her up. (In fact, one article claims that Ashley Todd described it happening exactly like that.) But that would make the B forwards, not backwards. . .
- Could not provide a physical description beyond height, weight and race. (Surprise! It's a black man!)
- Why did she leave the scene of the crime and then return later, only calling the police when she came back? By all accounts, it's a fairly well-populated neighborhood at that hour of the night, with restaurants still open even on the block where she was claiming it happened. Wouldn't it have made more sense to go to the pizza place down the block, call the cops and wait for them there?
- The photo accompanying most articles was not distributed by the media or the police, but by Todd herself. That makes it pretty clear that -- whether she staged the attempt or not -- she's distributing the image in order to get something from the public. Whether that's simply attention or a furthering of her candidate's political agenda, we can only guess.

At any rate . . . turns out the police agreed that her story didn't add up. Because of inconsistencies both in her story, and between the story and the crime scene evidence, they want her to take a polygraph test.

So what do you guys think? Hoax or legitimate?

^^^ It's a hoax. I don't believe any of it for a second.

That is so horrible.

It is hard when you support a candidate from the party opposite of that most of your colleagues favor.

Yeah, I didn't want to seem heartless when this first went up, but I don't really buy it either.

Welll you have that...and then there has been vandalism that has escalated in MD for the past few weeks as people have had thier campaign banners either destroyed or filled with racial slurs and I am sure that it's just not going on here...some places have had them replaced for the opposite party.

My gut is telling me hoax. But when you have a candidate who has said...

It wouldn't surprise me if some whack job resorted to violence.

/edit: wouldn't

If it's true, it's beyond despicable. There's no doubt that the crazies are out on both sides.

But I have to admit that when I put my lawyer hat on, the story just doesn't ring right.

Honeychile,
I'm not sure if it was initially that way when it was posted, but now the second link (the one from fox news) in your op takes us right to a story about all of the inconsistencies in Ms. Todd's story.

According to the story, she is no longer sure of the motives for the attack. In fact, she is no longer even sure that the attacker took $60.

I call hoax.

Actually, the original broadcasts were written as if there was no room for anything but what she said happened. Now, though, there does seem to be a definite maybe to the whole incident. She has taken a polygraph test.

I keep coming back to who on earth would willingly allow their face to be disfigured like that? Cutters don't usually go for their faces. I can see the wife beater (yes, for some reason, lots of men wear those or other t-shirts in this weather - I think they're nuts), the area (which I didn't know last night), and speaking as a former crime victim, some inconsistencies, but not the cutting. Most people who've been mugged knows that there are times when you're just not sure what happened - and Ms. Todd isn't familiar with the area.

If it really happened, I hope the assailant is caught quickly. If not, I hope Ms. Todd gets the psychiatric help that she so obviously needs.

Even Michelle Malkin is calling hoax on this one:

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/23...awfully-weird/

This is why one cannot get too hysterical about news reports, since so many of them turn out not to be true.

I knew it was for shit when I read the allegation that it was a black man wearing a wifebeater in 45 degree weather. No black man, sane or insane, would do that.

^^^ Agreed. I live in Florida and when it dips past 75 degrees I'm looking for a hat and some gloves, and I am a female.

This didn't seem right from the moment I read it. I hope the truth is unleashed on her.

B-A-R-A-C-K. I know the campaign has only been going on for 2 years, but soon you'll get it!

We know. You would have liked Obama but for those comments, right?

And Pittsburgh's crime rate seems to outpace the rest of the U.S. (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07156/791606-53.stm) which is interesting. Also, this TV station is doing a special on crime in Pittsburgh (http://newpittsburghcourieronline.co...nce/Page1.html) because it's on the rise and the city is on pace to have their highest murder rate ever (http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_10666736) which is also sort of interesting given the very low crime.

A crazy College Republican desperate for attention and wanting to help the campaign by making it more about race and less about issues? If Ms. Todd was so familiar with the area, why was she Twittering away instead of not being on the phone so she could be aware of her surroundings?

Shame on her for lying.

http://kdka.com/local/attack.McCain.....2.847628.html

Pittsburgh's Fox affiliate has nothing about this on their website at this time. It appears that's because it doesn't have a news program. Odd.

However, national Fox News even has an article:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10...b-carved-face/

Fox is very suspicious of her and it calls the face wound "superficial." Maybe Cindy McCain can sell her ridiculously expensive earrings to get this girl mental care.

A Lyndon Larouche supporter once beat me up in an alley, and when I woke up I had one of Larouche's pamphlets stapled to my shirt.

True story.

Confession!
 

The broad is a liar and confessed that she made the whole thing up:

http://kdka.com/local/attack.McCain.....2.847628.html

Hmmmm...did you stop to think that maybe they didn't care because it was "obviously" a hoax?

According to Fox News, she was a student at Blinn College. Fox News's own VP, a Pittsburgh native, says, "If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting."

http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/20...3/jmoody_1023/

Telling the truth is the way of the cougar.

I have to tell you, 90% of the time, I completely agree with you. Then you bring up something which just makes you look bad. Leave the cougar out of this, please. We both know how you (all) came about that phrase.

I doubt it. Those who have criticized me for mentioning that I have biracial relatives should realize that, to me, it's his ideology, not his race, which gives me nightmares.

See above.

This I didn't know. Thank you for correcting me.

And I agree with you completely here - except that she didn't know that area well. She had been here a week. Pittsburgh streets are not exactly easy to figure out. I can't find my way around Bloomfield!

Refined Diva, that link doesn't mention a retraction. NOT that I think this is on the up and up any more! Here it is.

And those of you who are reading this thread today for the first time should realize that the tone of the media LAST NIGHT, when it was first posted, was very, very different.

The point is you are spelling his name wrong. I think that was an honest mistake when he started running because it certainly isn't as easy to spell as Joe or John or Sarah, but this late in the game it should no longer be an issue for someone who is politically savvy, which I think you probably are.

Sure, big cities are hard to get around. That's why when most rational people get lost they don't Twitter about thinking they are on the wrong side of town, they call somebody who can help them find their way out! Or, instead of using their crackberry to Twitter, they use it to pull up a map. I got lost in my own teensy hometown canvassing the other day, but instead of randomly Twittering about it, I called campaign HQ. I think that's what any sane staffer would do.

His new first name is going to be President anyway, so why try to learn how to spell Barack? ;)

FTFY.

Not quite! Calling him "Brother Obama" has a better ring to it, don't you think? Not only does it connect him to younger styles of Communism, it also increases his street credibility among the churchgoing African-American populace.

But prior to O'Connor sitting on the Supreme Court (first woman) the justices referred to each other as "Brother ______". I wouldn't want to give such a wholly unqualified, inexperienced communist as Comrade Obama a false sense of worthiness by associating him with great jurists through his naming convention. :cool:

Ehhh, who remembers that? ;)

You know, by calling Barack "Brother Obama," you could connect him to Pol Pot, which was one of the worst Communist leaders. I mean, no one beats Stalin, but I seriously had nightmares in Cambodia because of the documentaries I watched about Pol Pot.

I agree with you about the Twittering, but in Honeychile's defense Pittsburgh it particularly tricky to get around (lots of one-way streets, general asshattery in city planning).

I always knew that if I could find Beechwood Blvd or Shady Ave I could make it home - the question would be whether I was going in the correct direction on either - they're a couple of the longest, most winding streets in the city.

Fox News VP: If McCain Worker 'Mutilation' Story Is a Hoax His Campaign Is 'Over'
 

It had drawn wide local and national -- even political attention, with the McCain and Obama campaigns weighing in -- but now the Ashley Todd story has fallen apart. Police in Pittsburgh have now declared the tale a hoax and the woman, who has confessed, now faces charges for her deed.

Earlier today, John Moody, executive vice president at Fox News, commented on his blog there that "this incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the election. If Ms. Todd's allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.

"If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain's quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting."

He titled his posting: "Moment of Truth." Indeed.

It started yesterday afternoon with Matt Drudge screaming at the top of his site this afternoon in red type -- but no siren -- that a Pittsburgh campaign worker for McCain, age 20, had been viciously attacked and the letter "B" carved into her face, presumably by a Barack Obama fan. Her name, it soon emerged, was Ashley Todd and she had come to Pittsburgh from College Station, Texas, to help out.

It started to appear overblown (Drudge downgraded it to smaller, black type) as the police noted that it seemed to be a robbery ($60) and she did not seek medical attention. But later press reports said she would visit a hospital, Sarah Palin and maybe John McCain had reportedly called her and Obama has condemned the alleged assault, although McCain/Obama angle to story not yet confirmed.

Still later, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, and some others, grew skeptical. For one thing, the "B" was carved a little too lightly and perfectly -- and backward, as if done using a mirror. Smoking Gun probed a too-pat "Twitter" angle and Gawker and Wonkette looked at her MySpace page.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-m..._b_137522.html


well there is your 'October Surprise' heh


and what really angers me is her supposed attacker: Black Male, 6'4 200 pounds,wearing all black

Hmmmm...haven't we seen something like this before?

Yeah...Susan Smith....the Boston Couple where the guy actually shot his wife....and so on....

and...you have to love that she has a history of mental problems...

Wow....
 

Police: McCain volunteer made up robbery story

By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH – A McCain campaign volunteer made up a story of being robbed, pinned to the ground and having the letter "B" scratched on her face in a politically inspired attack, police said Friday.

Ashley Todd, 20-year-old college student from College Station, Texas, admitted Friday that the story was false and was being charged with making a false report to police, said Maurita Bryant, the assistant chief of the police department's investigations division. Police doubted her story from the start, Bryant said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081024/...mccain_sticker