It’s no secret that Herschel Walker is running for the U.S. Senate despite not having any background in politics, policy, governing, or elected office. But the retired athlete launched a Republican campaign in Georgia anyway, pointing to his success in the private sector.
On the surface, this isn’t necessarily a ridiculous claim. After a successful football career, Walker has been involved in a variety of business ventures and amassed a fortune. But just below the surface, his record is more of an embarrassment than a foundation for a statewide campaign.
The Associated Press reported last summer, for example, that Walker’s record includes “exaggerated claims of financial success” and a history of alarming business associates with his “unpredictable behavior.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a related report in March, highlighting the false claims, lawsuits, and unpaid loans as part of Walker’s private-sector background.
But The Daily Beast advanced the story further in ways that probably ought to embarrass the first-time candidate.
...Walker has established a parallel record of demonstrably false claims, many of which appear to bear no resemblance to reality whatsoever. While Walker’s business record has been picked over before ... The Daily Beast has reviewed documents and other records that shine new light on previously unexamined, and particularly egregious, false claims.
To fully appreciate the details, you’ll have to dig in on the full report, but to...
A front-page article with the byline of veteran New York Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof is the latest poisonous example of what I call the NGO “halo effect.” Headlined “The Silence That Mee...