Hope and Change Means Palin Smears and NEA Propaganda?

By Shane Vander Hart

An old smear ad surfaced over the weekend alleging that then Vice-President candidate Sarah Palin was a member of the Alaska Independence Party.  It was taken down when the Jawa Report discovered that the person responsible for it being uploaded, was Ethan Winner of Winner & Associates.  Winner & Associates has ties to the Obama Administration.  The Jawa Report had the foresight to back it up.

It is interesting that this would come out again now. I mean Sarah Palin is a private citizen.  Oh yeah a private citizen who is criticizing ObamaCare.  Hmmmm…

Let’s not forget the fact that the video is a complete lie.  It has been completely debunked.  She has never been a member of AIP.  Regarding her addressing the AIP convention she did so in role of Governor and talked about common ground on cutting government spending.

The Jawa Report summarizes its case:

Our research suggests that a subdivision of one of the largest public relations firms in the world most likely started and promulgated rumors about Sarah Palin that were known to be false. These rumors were spread in a surreptitious manner to avoid exposure.

It is also likely that the PR firm was paid by outside sources to run the smear campaign. While not conclusive, evidence suggests a link to the Barack Obama campaign. Namely:

• Evidence suggests that a YouTube video with false claims about Palin was uploaded and promoted by members of a professional PR firm.
• The family that runs the PR firm has extensive ties to the Democratic Party, the netroots, and are staunch Obama supporters.
• Evidence suggests that the firm engaged in a concerted effort to distribute the video in such a way that it would appear to have gone viral on its own. Yet this effort took place on company time.
• Evidence suggests that these distribution efforts included actions by at least one employee of the firm who is unconnected with the family running the company.
• The voice-over artist used in this supposedly amateur video is a professional.
• This same voice-over artist has worked extensively with David Axelrod's firm, which has a history of engaging in phony grassroots efforts, otherwise known as "astroturfing."
• David Axelrod is Barack Obama's chief media strategist.
• The same voice-over artist has worked directly for the Barack Obama campaign.

This suggests that false rumors and outright lies about Sarah Palin and John McCain being spread on the internet are being orchestrated by political partisans and are not an organic grassroots phenomenon led by the left wing fringe. (read the whole thing)

Now here’s a shocker… this same firm may likely be linked to the NEA Conference Call.  The Jawa Report, Ace of Spades and Conservatives 4 Palin have more.

Do we see a pattern emerging here?

Shane Vander Hart is the editor of Caffeinated Thoughts.  You can follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.