Mannix Slithers to New Lows With Underhanded Political Smear

Mannix direct-mailed 60,000 GOP voters, alleging that his opponent got a woman pregnant, then paid for her to have an abortion.

Kevin Mannix and Mike Erickson both want to represent Oregon in the House of Representatives.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The battle for the house seat that will be vacated by longterm Congresswoman Darlene Hooley isn't anywhere near the final lap, but one Oregon politician, a lawyer named Kevin Mannix, has already dropped to ground level in his apparent goal of smearing a fellow Republican to help secure the GOP ticket.

But then maybe the allegation about Mike Erickson supported and paid for an abortion in Portland is true, reporters in Portland say they tracked the woman down and talked to her.

In his playing of the abortion card, and it leads me to believe that Mannix, a several times failed candidate for Governor, must not have heard of President Reagan's 11th Commandment which was at attempt to pull all GOP members onto one page when it came to putting each other down in public. (see: Do Republican Politicians Have a Gang-Like Mentality?)

I actually think Mannix deserves credit; both for not following Reagan's rule, and for showing us that the high and mighty members of the religious right are just who we think they are; not very religious.

I'm just not sure which of these candidates we are talking about.

It's a highly damning comment to make if a person isn't positive. Mannix should hope darned well that he is right about the allegation, because it is likely to affect a large number of registered voters who sometimes buy into points Mannix makes. But then Mannix is a lawyer, he knows what the price of a false allegation like that could carry, it's a big liability.

The Oregonian reported that Mannix's team "actually direct-mailed 60,000 GOP voters," alleging that Erickson impregnated a woman eight years ago, then paid for her to have an abortion.

In an article for Political Machine, Liza Porteus Viana wrote, "The Mannix campaign is waving around a 2-year-old e-mail as proof - a message purportedly from a friend of the woman who had an abortion. The campaign sent that e-mail to voters."

According to The Oregonian, the campaign mailing blacked out the last name and e-mail address of the author, identifying her as "Kristi" and her friend as "Tawnya."

"I am convinced that the story is real," Mannix says in the May 12th mailer. "It is important that you, the voter, be aware of this situation. Rarely have I been confronted with such a difficult decision as to whether to proceed with something of this nature. But what is on the line here is the character of the person who will represent you in Congress."

Mannix continues, "Many people have suggested to me that I allow some 'other party' to share this information with you so that I can stand by and watch the situation develop. I believe it is important for me to take personal responsibility for sharing this story."

The Portland Tribune says they tracked down the woman making the accusations, and she told them it was true; and that Erickson "completely encouraged me to do that." She also told the Tribune that, "He withdrew $300 from his bank account" at an ATM on the way to the clinic to pay for the procedure.

Erickson, who emphasizes family values and anti-abortion politics, told the Oregonian the "false allegations" are an example of the "desperate smear that Kevin Mannix resorts to."

He also said, "These unsubstantiated and untrue allegations are from an e-mail from 2006 that no news media reported at the time. They are just as untrue today as they were then."

Who knows, as long as abortion continues to be the hot button subject for the Republican party, I suspect many more relevant issues are being missed while they drag skeletons out of each other's closets. Out-of state newspapers, particularly in the deep south, are taking note of this unique brand of Oregon politics.