The GOP and mainstream media have been falling all over themselves to declare victory for Scott DesJarlais over Rep. Lincoln Davis in TN-04. Obviously, they're dismissing the following as a smear campaign because NO Republican ever goes below the belt...
From the Nashville Scene...
Papers from DesJarlais' Bitter Divorce Pop Up in Media
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Sep 16, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Scott DesJarlais' old divorce papers have turned up in the media, and we think it's fair to say he's no longer looking like such a formidable challenger to Congressman Lincoln Davis. DesJarlais was the new darling of the state Republican Party, endorsed by Sen. Bob Corker and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and the Cook Political Report just switched this contest from likely Democratic to leaning Democratic. Whoops. From the divorce papers:
In a motion filed in November 2000, Susan DesJarlais sought to obtain sole possession of the couple's home and claimed she was forced to leave the residence when her husband's behavior "became violent and threatening."
In that document, Susan DesJarlais accused her former husband of "dry firing a gun outside the Plaintiff's locked bedroom door, admission of suidical ideation, holding a gun in his mouth for three hours, an incident of physical intimidation at the hospital; and previous threatening behavoir... i.e. shoving, tripping, pushing down, etc."
DesJarlais could spin this story as proving his strong belief in the right to bear arms. OK, maybe that wouldn't work. Instead, he's accusing Davis of running a smear campaign. Apparently, DesJarlais thinks the Davis campaign gave these divorce papers to reporters. Imagine that.
"As rankings and polls continue to show Lincoln Davis' career is nearing its end," DesJarlais campaign says in a comical press release, "the career politician has responded by running a gutter campaign rarely witnessed in Tennessee's Fourth District."
But all is not lost. There's a valuable lesson to be learned here. In the future, Republicans should do a little research into their candidates before they get behind them and make fools of themselves.
