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Opinion: Gabbard’s PR Team is Getting Desperate

8/10/2018

7 Comments

 
By Christine Gralow

Earlier this week, Hawai'i Public Radio aired a piece that included an interview with me and a statement from a Tulsi Gabbard spokesperson.

Gabbard’s spokesperson stated, in an email to HPR Political Reporter Wayne Yoshioka, “Tulsi Gabbard is not going to participate in anything involving Gralow who has a history of bigotry and fabrications and we aren’t going to help amplify her Hindu-phobia.”

The statement was a predictable diversion. Gabbard’s team has been using various tactics to try to shut down my investigative reporting on Gabbard and the Kailua-based Science of Identity Foundation for well over a year now. The tactics seem to be growing increasingly desperate.
 
First, Science of Identity disciples came to my home, apparently to try to intimidate me, after I asked questions at a Gabbard town hall in Waianae. That’s when I realized I was dealing with a group that operates a lot like Scientology.
Picture
Tulsi Gabbard speaking with Tucker Carlson in April 2017. Gabbard has avoided speaking with several local journalists while favoring national outlets like Fox News and The New Yorker.

​Then, Gabbard’s D.C. publicist, Chris Cooper of The Potomac Square Group, sent a rambling email to an editor at Honolulu Magazine about me. Cooper’s general M.O. is to use his status as a former Wall Street Journal reporter to rake in money from politicians who want stories buried. He is tied to Fusion GPS, which is also run by former Wall Street Journal reporters turned ethically challenged D.C. damage fixers. Per Politico, Cooper is also being investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee around his 2016 work for Kremlin attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya.

“I can assure you that if i (sic) have anything to say about it, Tulsi will not cooperate with Ms. Gralow,” Cooper wrote on June 30, 2017, to the Honolulu Magazine editor, who had expressed strong interest in my work. “Ms. Gralow is a political activist. She is not a reporter.”

Per FEC records, the Tulsi for Hawai'i campaign paid Cooper $19,400 on October 6, 2017.

Next, after I independently published my first article on the Science of Identity Foundation’s international financial trail, someone tried to shut it down by launching two amateurish Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

Throughout all of this, numerous posts kept popping up about me from fake Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit accounts. The claims against me included Hinduphobic bigotry and four restraining orders.

One such fake account also targeted special education teacher and former Hawai’i State Teachers Association Vice President Justin Hughey. When HSTA endorsed Sherry Alu Campagna over Gabbard, an “Aquino Purificacion” jumped in to comment on Facebook, “Not surprising considering a TRO was filed against HSTA VP Justin Hughey by the owner of a small business on Maui after he entered the business threatening and harassing Tulsi’s staff.”

There is no record of a TRO ever having been requested or issued against Hughey. The “Aquino Purificacion” account was easily traceable to Gabbard's copywriter, Marissa Rodriguez. Gabbard's FEC records include multiple payments to Rodriguez, who also uses the fake name “M.P. Magayon” on Medium to post pro-Gabbard propaganda.

Gabbard has enormous name recognition in Hawai'i, and analysts say she will win tomorrow’s Democratic primary election against Alu Campagna. If Gabbard does win and continues to pursue a national political career, as expected, what’s next for her P.R. team? Joining Trump’s national efforts to shut down the free press altogether?
7 Comments
Kallie
8/10/2018 07:17:23 pm

It’s not just the PR showing signs of desperation in camp Gabbard. She’s actually campaigning this year. You know - like meeting regular people, putting up TV ads even though they’re violating military ethics and using children’s images without permission. Her Grace, as I’m told her “people” call her even rounded up 2-3 people to wave signs on Maui and Hawaii recently. Must be desperate times. She’s certainly taking desperate measures.

Reply
Laura Gharazeddine
8/10/2018 08:33:53 pm

Her Grace seemed a little rattled, sign waving in Kona yesterday. Today, I noticed, she only campaigned amongst her fans.

Reply
Marnie link
8/11/2018 06:34:01 am

Keep it up, Christine! We’ve only just begun. We are undeterred, and confident the truth, justice, and our Democracy will prevail. A bunch of us cut our teeth at UC Berkeley and we know a few things. We recognize, and we are not afraid of her bullying tactics. Using my daughter, exploiting kids for her own gain?? Moms and teachers really hate that shit. If she wins today, her Grace (or her minions) will soon really understand there is such a thing as bad press. They may try to slander, defame, and harrass us little folks, but she’s the one the People really want to read about.

Reply
Jon
8/12/2018 07:54:13 pm

As much as you would like your attacks on Gabbard to be effective, yesterday's election showed her overwhelming high percentage win proved you are just spinning in the wind with your routine slander.

Reply
Christine Gralow
8/13/2018 05:10:20 pm

Thank you, Jon. I am aware of your enthusiastic devotion to Gabbard. https://mauitime.com/news/politics/does-maui-news-music-writer-jon-woodhouse-really-want-to-be-a-political-journalist/

Reply
Irminsul
8/13/2018 04:45:00 pm

She was rattled, and for good reason. Hawaiians are getting wise to her, and she doesn't like that one bit. Regardless of how the primaries work out, the lights have been turned on

Reply
Marnie Masuda-Cleveland
8/13/2018 05:55:03 pm

Jon, as a fellow journalist, I hope you understand what slander and libel actually mean. Every single point Ms. Gralow makes is supported by public-facing, readily accessible evidence. What IS slander? Calling someone a "Hinduphobe" because they report evidence-based, public-facing information.

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    About
    ​Christine Gralow

    Christine Gralow holds Master's degrees in journalism and education. She studied at U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, where she won a Bloomberg Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting. She wrote about autism for a New York Times education blog.  Since 2003, Christine has worked as a special educator.  She decided to return to journalism part time after stumbling upon concerning activity in her community.

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