Nelson Supporters are Desperate

Thanks to Loaded Orygun for bringing this to my attention, very interesting development here in McMinnville. The Nelson campaign must be feeling very desperate to hold on to her seat. Recent developments lead me to really believe strongly that this definately a competitive race. First there's the newspaper endorsements, both from the Statesman Journal and from the News Register. Then there's the very fact that Rep Nelson agreed to a debate, something that I had it on good authority from within the Republican establishment here that she would not agree to. And now there is this gem from Loaded Orygun.

During the day his campaign had begun to receive reports from supporters that a caller identifying themselves as from the "Oregon Farm Bureau" was saying that Peralta gets most of his money from trade unions based in Portland (the district is in Yamhill County). That of course is not only untrue, it's the complete opposite of Peralta's centerpiece pledge to limit his money to local interests. It's a textbook Swiftboating, because it takes something generally seen as a positive (being a veteran, not taking outside money) and turns it on its head, using simple untruths to sow doubt.

Not only was the Farm Bureau dumb enough to identify itself as the sponsor, they were unlucky enough to push-call Sal Peralta's house, and his wife:

My wife, Tanya, answered and took down the following transcript:

CALLER: This is Eric from the Oregon farm bureau asking you to elect Donna Nelson and wondered if you knew that his opponent gets almost all of his money from Portland Business and Trade Associations and big unions

TANYA: Where did you get your information from.. I’m intimately familiar with his source of funding and you couldn’t be more wrong.

CALLER: From the computer

TANYA: From the computer… where is your source?

CALLER: Supervisor?

TANYA: Who is that? Who is funding this call?

Hang up

The allegations made by these calls are blatantly false. Moreover, they are in direct contravention to a campaign pledge that I made not to accept contributions from businesses, trade associations, or labor unions with no ties to Yamhill County.

I have returned checks and money from all such unions that have made such contributions, directly returning checks, uncashed, from the Northwest Carpenter's Union, and am in the process of returning a check received today from the United Steel Worker's Union, even though both of these unions have locals in my district.

Peralta has made campaign finance reform and not accepting PAC donations from outside of the district a major priority of his campaign, this is just spreading lies to try to convince voters that this is a lie.

The folks at Loaded Orygun do a good job of pointing out that this is really about Nelson's extreme opposition to the minimum wage, and her support for lowering all the way down to the federal minimum. From the comments however, Sal points out that this might not have even come from the Farm Bureau.

One of my supporters contacted the farm bureau, and apparently, this may not have even come from them, but rather, from Nelson's campaign, or possibly the Republican Caucus.

Stay tuned.

If this is coming from the Nelson campaign or the Yamhill Republican it shows a new level of desperation that speaks volumes to just how much danger Donna Nelson is actually in. McMinnville residents, come to the debate next Friday then throw the bum out on November 7th! McMinnville doesn't deserve to be represented by dirty tricksters.