Shame on You, Prof. Benson

October 22, 2010

Lansing, MI — Following her own advice from 2004 of “launch a pre-emptive strike,” Jocelyn Benson released a new ad Friday full of lies and clearly designed to strike fear in the hearts of voters for her own political gain.

“Jocelyn Benson is lying. Period,” said Michigan Republican Party Chief of Staff Josh Venable. “Apparently Professor Benson missed her ethics classes at Harvard Law.

“One thing is certain: Jocelyn Benson is not for the people of Michigan, and she will say and do anything to get elected—even lie.”
The Benson ad relies solely on information from one source—a noted liberal blogger, funded by Benson backer billionaire George Soros, who was forced to correct the original story after it was published. Further, Professor Benson claims to have stopped the non-existent scare tactics. Serving as a taxpayer-funded law professor at the time, one must question how she is solely responsible for stopping this alleged effort.

“The events she bases her ad on never happened. Professor Benson admitted it herself,” Venable said.

In an interview on Sept. 29, 2010 with Lansing City Pulse Radio, on the alleged foreclosure issue, Benson said, “It was a rumor though.”

The Michigan Republican Party is investigating whether to pursue legal action over this false, despicable attack on Ruth Johnson.

“Jocelyn Benson’s entire campaign is a scare tactic,” said Venable. “She’s using fear-mongering to intimidate and sway the opinions of Michigan voters. That behavior is shadowy. Only one candidate in this race fights against voter fraud, and that’s Ruth Johnson.”

Benson has been tied to numerous special interest groups and questionable campaign tactics. These include:

• The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that accomplishes its leftist policy goals through fear and intimidation and has been labeled a “hate group.”
• The Secretary of State Project, which supports same-day voter registration and opposes photo ID laws, further increasing the opportunity for voter fraud.
• The Steffek fake tea party scam, where Benson’s former employee and his roommate are key suspects in a criminal investigation currently pending before a grand jury. A report from forensic expert Erich Speckin released earlier this week further linked the Benson staffer and supporter to the fraud as their handwriting appeared on several of the Fake Tea Party documents, including documents with forged signatures.
• In 2004, Benson oversaw the Democratic National Committee’s Election Day programs where a manual told volunteers to “launch a pre-emptive strike” if no signs of intimidation existed.

“Shame on you, Professor Benson. Quit lecturing; start leading,” said Venable. “The first step is to come clean about your lies and your ties to these shadowy organizations.

“Ruth Johnson exposed and prevented the tea party scandal, just like she exposed fraud and abuse by corrupt public officials who landed themselves in jail because of Ruth Johnson’s efforts. Ruth Johnson has always defended Michigan residents. We need a leader as our secretary of state who understands the law and will uphold it. That leader is Ruth Johnson.”