Cornyn staffer used fake name to 'troll' on blogs
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), who is running for re-election this year, has suffered mockery on the Daily Show and elsewhere for his corny "Big Bad John" campaign video. Cornyn himself has laughed off the criticism, telling the Texas Republican convention, "My staff convinced me that it would be a good idea. Maybe I need a new staff."
Over the weekend, a left-wing Texas political blog, Burnt Orange Report, reported rumors that Cornyn aide David Beckwith might even be fired over the ad. According to blogger Matt Glazer, "While good at what he does, he does have a tendency to make huge and erroneous errors. ... Beckwith's history of yap first, think second has absolutely gotten him in trouble."
Beckwith himself denied the rumors and insisted, "I am willing to bet anyone $100 that will go to Vets for Freedom if I have either been fired or am fired in the next few weeks."
However, by Monday a new controversy had arisen around Beckwith, with his unmasking by Burnt Orange Report as "Buck Smith," who had been posting both there and at other sites since 2007 in support of Cornyn's campaign.
Glazer wrote, "Many of you have become familiar with user Buck Smith's abusive comments that troll the site, attack and personally insult users and writers, and impugn the integrity of our community, our Democratic candidates and our Democratic values. . . . In the interest of full disclosure, and in order to keep everything fair, and since Buck Smith has not disclosed who he is, we thought we would clue you in that he is David Beckwith, John Cornyn's senior staffer. We found out his identity because Mr. Beckwith's email on file with the site is the same email listed on the webpage for his high school reunion class."
"That's unethical at best," Glazer explained to KVUE-TV in Austin, "because he was trying to do it as a paid staffer for the campaign. ... Buck Smith time and again comes in, makes fun of people, challenges them to a duel."
A Cornyn spokesperson, asked by Burnt Orange Report for comment, responded sarcastically, "I am shocked...next thing I know you'll be saying the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus aren't real either."
When asked by KVUE-TV whether Cornyn stood by Beckwith's anonymous comments, the same spokesperson replied, "Absolutely not. Buck Smith speaks for himself."
Cornyn himself merely noted, "There's a lot of things that go on on the Internet that I think we all -- sometimes we enjoy them, sometimes they seem pretty outrageous." The campaign had no comment on whether he condoned Beckwith's actions.
This video is from KVUE-TV Austin, broadcast July 2, 2008.
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