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April 05, 2006

Whiny Billy Comes To Mannix’s Rescue

I could not believe it today when I read Bill Sizemore’s latest article: “The Oregonian Chooses Another Victim.” Of course, I knew right away whom he was writing about – Kevin Mannix. But what really choked me was how he turned it into yet another opportunity to whine about how unfair the liberal media has been to him.

I hope he knows what he is in for and is prepared for it. It’s going to be nasty.

We can only hope. The good voters tend to rely on the press to let them know if something is awry. Of course, in Whiny Billy’s mind, the only thing Mannix did to deserve the “political colonoscopy” about to be dished out by The Oregonian was to “register as a Republican.” At that point, Billy can no longer help himself. He has to once again cry on everyone’s shoulders about the unfair treatment he has received:

I feel for Kevin Mannix. I know better than almost anyone what he is going to experience at the hands of the hatchet men and women who pretend to be reporters at The Oregonian. I know because The Oregonian did a similar thing to me when I was running for governor in 1998. They dedicated two reporters to the task of destroying me. Those two reporters spent several months digging for any kind of dirt they could find. The accuracy of their reporting was secondary to the ugliness they wished to portray.

I remember being utterly appalled at the “hit pieces” The Oregonian ran about Sizemore – not because they were so vicious, but because they validated the concerns that had been tickling around in the back of my head, concerns I did not want validated. As time passed and I watched Sizemore employ smoke and mirrors in response to the stories – pointing his finger at minor details that were incorrect and ignoring the whoppers entirely, then acting as if he had debunked the entire expose – I became deeply concerned. I nearly quit, and in retrospect I should have, but my party loyalty and my concern for our ballot measures kept me in the fold.

I doubt Mannix will face anything on the level of what Sizemore experienced because I doubt he has engaged in the pattern of lying, cheating and manipulation of people that Sizemore has.

I encourage anyone who is interested in reviewing The Oregonian’s Sizemore hit pieces to purchase them online (they’re very inexpensive):

April 19, 1998: SIZEMORE LEAVES TRAIL OF DEBTS (in which I learned that indeed, Sizemore was willing to lie to anyone who trusted him, even fellow church members, even when they had more money on the line than they could afford to lose, and then very creatively lie to justify or cover up his previous lies; therefore, he would probably lie to me)
May 7, 1998: HOME LOAN APPLICATION BY SIZEMORE APPEARS TO CONTRADICT RECORD (the article included a photo of a loan application on which he had forged his wife’s signature without her knowledge; he asked me to call her and tell her. Additionally, at one point in discussing the article with me he forgot the lie he had told The Oregonian and inadvertently told me the complete opposite; hence, despite the fact I was putting my own reputation on the line for him, he did lie to me)
June 28, 1998: SIZEMORE DEFENDS CLAIMS THAT HIS EFFORTS SAVED FISH (in which I learned that Sizemore lied to me about the “JLC” company to which Oregon Taxpayers United had occasionally written fairly large checks; he had told me they were for “printing,” though nothing had been printed, when really JLC was a defunct business of his, Jeffrey Lake Company – thus the checks were written to a personal bank account of Bill Sizemore's)

Whiny Billy offers these parting words of advice to Mannix and to Oregon Republican voters:

So, Kevin Mannix, get ready to duck. I feel for you, man. It’s going to be harsh. Any mistakes you have made are about to be blown up, magnified and distorted by people who have become experts in doing just that, and then plastered all over newsstands and front porches from Astoria to Ontario. And you Republicans, do yourself a favor and don’t bother reading the story. Don’t let The Oregonian choose your next nominee.

And watch out for liars, while you’re at it.

Posted by Becky at April 5, 2006 11:24 AM