Small-town sheriff embroiled in big-time politics
October 3, 9:13 PM
With the then-upcoming Vice Presidential debate serving as a backdrop, a local controversy began brewing in St. Louis last Friday as the result of an inartful KMOV television news report which discussed the formation of Barack Obama’s Missouri "Truth Squad."
The badly-conceived interview featured St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, who voiced their support for Obama and their intention to combat smears against the Presidential candidate – never stating or implying that criminal charges would result. The broadcast was vague enough, however, that many believed the prosecutors were on an illegal official vendetta against McCain supporters.
The misstep has slowly mushroomed into an underground swelling of right-wing national outrage, spurred on in large part by a number of conservative bloggers, and Republican politicians such as Missouri governor Matt Blunt, who issued a press release attacking Senator Obama. Today, the internet is filled with hundreds of "truth squad" blogs and articles, some alleging that Obama himself is attempting to destroy the First Amendment right to free speech, and at least one, my article posted here on Examiner.com this past Tuesday, that tries to put the situation in a truthful perspective.
Ironically, one so-called member of the Truth Squad, Obama-supporter and Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer, may need a truth squad of his own.
Boyer, a 30-year veteran of law enforcement and 20-year military veteran, still has difficulty understanding how he ended up embroiled in the controversy, and why it’s a controversy in the first place. Up for election in November, the Sheriff was at a fund-raiser on Friday when KMOV aired the story. At the end of the broadcast, as an aside, the reporter mentioned that Sheriff Boyer was "expected" to join.
Returning to his office on Monday, Boyer was hit with an avalanche of phone messages, emails, and letters calling him, among other things a "Gestapo Pig" and threatening to "kick his butt."
Making the story more interesting: To this day, Sheriff Boyer has not actually agreed to be on Obama’s Truth Squad, although speaking via telephone today, he joked, "Evidently, I have no choice."
Boyer went on to explain that on Friday, the Obama campaign had called and asked him to join the group, stating that his job would be to combat lies via press conferences, press releases, and other public statements – not via arrests and intimidation. Boyer was interested but wanted to think about it further and headed to his fund-raiser. Before he could called back, the news report had aired.
The backlash was immediate, has been steady and is building.
Bemused, Sheriff Boyer says he has received calls and letters about the "Truth Squad" from New York City to Washington State to Florida. Boyer shared via fax one recently-received and unsigned letter that was mailed to him at the Sheriff’s Office, offering it as typical. The writer called him "anti-American and pro-communist" and offered that instead of resigning, he should be "tarred and feathered and banned from this country!!!"
Despite the calls and the threats, he has taken much of the controversy in good stride, saying, "I’m used to taking cheap shots."
Meanwhile, the blogs, emails, and articles that continue to fuel this story have ignored the fact that prosecutions were never stated or implied, and that a later clarification by Joyce and McCulloch made clear they never intended to propose prosecution or intimidation as way of supporting their candidate.
Even Governor Blunt blindly joined the negative fray, stating in a Saturday (September 27) press release, "Obama ... (has) attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign" and referring to the supposed "plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics" as "scandalous."
Despite the clarification by Joyce and McCulloch, and media opinion that he overreacted, the Governor has not retracted or modified the statement, other than to tell Fox News that he was "glad to see" that the attorneys have "reversed course." A message left earlier today at the Governor’s office asking for comment has received no response.
While not too concerned with the public’s response, Boyer’s feathers have definitely been ruffled by Governor Blunt’s demagoguery.
Characterizing the Governor’s statement as a perfect example of "Ready, FIRE, Aim," Boyer criticized Blunt for not getting all of the facts first, and for continuing to mislead the state with an erroneous interpretation of the facts. Pointing to Blunt’s statements about the use of law enforcement on truth squads being inappropriate, Sheriff Boyer notes, "I don’t see the far right complaining about the Attorney General of New Hampshire (being a member of McCain’s own truth squad)."
What has truly hurt Sheriff Boyer, however, is the notion that he would use his office in a manner inconsistent with the law. Speaking emphatically and with obvious emotion, Boyer said, "I served my entire adult life protecting people’s rights and I would most certainly not begin to infringe on those rights now."
"It would serve no purpose and I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror in the morning if I did."
Meanwhile, with 30 days to go before the Presidential – and his own election – Boyer will likely have to deal with the continued harassment, but Sheriff Boyer appears to be confident that in the end, the truth will win out, both for him and the Truth Squad.
