The Williamson County Sun Publishes A "Right-Wing" Smear Piece On Editorial Page

Since It can't be found on the web and I wanted to read it before posting on it I will post it in full as it was transcribed for me from the printed article in the WCS. Here is a note from the transcriber:

Please note the one '[sic]', to indicate that's how it appeared in print. Also, I suspect his e-mail address as cited below the editorial has a 't' missing but haven't tried it to see.

So without further ado, here it is:

Lucky For Democrats, Sheehan was out
David E. Johnson

Democrats in Congress should be thanking God for the Capitol Police (but of course they can'’t acknowledge Him for fear of alienating their liberal base) for removing Cindy Sheehan from the State of the Union speech. More than anything that any [sic] President Bush could say or do, the sight of Cindy Sheehan disrupting the State of the Union would have convinced voters that they cannot trust Democrats with the war on terror and national security. A disruption of the State of the Union would have overshadowed the Democratic response, which was meant to show a Democratic Party that can appeal to red states. Indeed, Cindy Sheehan at the State of the Union would have been a public relations disaster of the first degree for Democrats. Of course, Ms. Sheehan says she had no intent to disrupt the State of the Union address (one believes that as much as one believes that the President of Iran may recognize Israel and acknowledge that the Holocaust occurred).

The episode over Cindy Sheehan is not an issue of free speech, despite what she and a few others want to argue. It is rather an issue of how the far left has come to dominate the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy and the image that they present to Americans. Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Sam Rayburn, and Tip O'’Neil were as partisan as Democrats as one could find, but they had a respect for the presidency regardless of which party held it. One could never imagine Tip O'’Neil allowing a Cindy Sheehan admittance to the State of the Union to embarrass Ronald Reagan. Yet, that is what today'’s Democrats did by giving Sheehan a ticket to the State of the Union. Despite the denials of the Democratic Congresswomen involved in inviting Sheehan, it is reasonable to believe that they expected her to be a distraction at the least and a disturbance at most. It is as if an isolationist Congressman had invited a pro-Nazi sympathizer to Franklin Roosevelt'’s 1940 State of the Union.

Yet a disturbance by Sheehan would have been the worse thing that could have occurred for Democrats. The Democratic response that aired Virginia Governor Kaine and was designed to paint a less liberal party would have been overshadowed by constant replaying of the Sheehan outburst. Democratic leaders from Harry Reid on would have been called on to say if they supported Sheehan'’s outburst. If they said no, they would have alienated the extreme liberals from Howard Dean on, who have captured their party. If they said yes, they agreed with Sheehan, they would have alienated millions of Americans who would have been appalled at such conduct. So luckily for Democrats, they were able to duck the issue due to the Capitol Police.

They ducked the issue, but they fail to realize at some point they must address it. Democrats will have to decide if the far left, who would actually consider a truce with Osama bin Laden, truly does speak for their party or not. If they are the new face of the Democratic Party, no amount of public relations or spin will be able to help them.
-----------------------
David E. Johnson is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Strategic Vision, LLC, an Atlanta-based public relations and public affairs agency. He may be reached at djohnson@straegicvision.biz
----------------------------------

Here is an LTE - we hope the WCS will print it - from our very own Jane Van Praag:

I am sorry to be reporting that publishers of the Sun got snookered into printing David E. Johnson's guest editorial last Wednesday's 02-08-06. Because his commentary was so snide about both the Democratic Party and Cindy Sheehan, in glee over her removal from the State of the Union speech, I Googled his StrategicVision, LLC of which he is CEO. Turns out, this Atlanta-based "public relations and public affairs agency" relies on the GOP neo-cons for its livelihood. Perhaps he's so 'successful' because he does his PR job for those hard-core Republicans without having to pay for the advertising by taking advantage of unwitting small-town newspapers who place him on their editorial pages, no less. That way more of his clients' fee equals 'pure' profit.

Thank you,
Jane Leatherman Van Praag
jlvanpraag@sbcglobal.net
254.527.4694
9361 N TX HWY 95
P. O. Box 354
Bartlett, TX 76511-0354

The point in all of this is that there are papers all over CD-31, Texas and our nation that will publish nasty smear pieces like this but would not publish something from the left to give the other side. If you want to know more about David E. Johnson or Strategic Vision just click on them. His subtleties of comparing people to Nazis, bin Laden, the multiple false assumptions and calling Democrats Godless are despicable. It's lucky for the Republicans that Mr. Johnson isn't the face of their party. It's also our job to hold these smaller papers accountable when they publish this type of trash. Thanks Jane.