Reckless Disregard

The Predator and his flunky, Sean Walsh, played the monkeys of right-wing radio and internet like the fools they are:

Schwarzenegger's campaign, frantic to deflect the latest sexual harassment allegation on the eve of last week's recall election, issued a memorandum to select California media outlets. Signed by Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh, the memo read:

"It has come to our attention from the media that you can access court documents from the following web site: www.lasuperiorcourt.org/Criminal. You will have to pay a $4.75 online charge to access/search the site. Once you have accessed, the site, type 'Rhonda' in the 'first name' field, and 'Miller' in 'last name' field."

In went Miller's name and out came the record: prostitution, narcotics, forgery. John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, two LA radio talkers whose commitment to fair play has extended to hosting a Schwarzenegger rally, read from the Miller "record."

Matt Drudge, the nation's slanderer general, posted a headline: "ARNOLD ACCUSER'S STORY FALLS APART . . . " It linked to a discussion thread on the FreeRepublic.com Web site. There, correspondents described Miller as "the ape woman" and "crack ho." ...

...

"We did not make any allegations," Walsh told me. "I wrote that memo myself. I wrote it very, very carefully."
...

"We simply said that this name was available on the web site and encouraged reporters to do their research and do their due diligence," Walsh said.

Drudge deleted his link to the FreeRepublic threads by Tuesday morning. But in Los Angeles on election night, Kobylt and Chiampou were in full throat. Allred phoned the show to tell John and Ken they had slandered her client.

"Yeah, well, you jump in the mudbath, things like that are gonna happen," one of them replied. Allred suggested an apology was due. But John and Ken weren't ready to concede that the Rhonda Miller on the court computers was not her client.

"We are checking that out," he said. Ordinarily, that is what someone does before calling a woman a check-forging hooker, but John and Ken pride themselves in their sense of populist rage and every uprising needs an innocent victim to spice the bonfire.
...

Hideous indeed. When Allred went on MSNBCs "Scarborough Country" talk show, conservative talk show host Kim Serafin announced she had learned of Miller's record en route to the studio.

"She has 17 convictions, 16 prostitution convictions, six drug charges convictions. She's been convicted of theft, of felony."

The allegations turned up on Fox News channel. Rush Limbaugh gave passing mention to John and Ken's discovery of the accuser's curious past....

Strangely, Little Mick, who was fascinated by the idea of media bias during the recall election, has not mentioned this story, not even to praise the Predator's brilliant campaign tactics. Someone should change all the accusers' names to "Bob Mulholland" and see if he bites.