Ed Martin Campaigning on Debunked Conspiracy Theories About SEIU

In a radio interview, Ed Martin was asked what differentiated him from GOP primary opponent Sarah Steelman. Ed Martin said that she had been supported by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in the past and that SEIU "beats people up at tea party rallies." Here's his quote:

SEIU, over here in St. Louis, we call them the purple beaters. You know, they beat people up at our tea party rallies. You can hear the audio here:

Of course, what Martin is referring to is the tea party's hilarious conspiracy theory that President Obama sent "thugs" to a town hall to beat up a random merchandise seller. It obviously is nonsense that SEIU or Obama or Carnahan ordered people to beat up tea partiers, but even their basic description of events has been pretty thoroughly debunked here. Since the tea party has not ever bothered to respond to the points raised here, I can only assume that they aren't able to. Kenneth Gladney has been caught in multiple lies and the tea party witnesses do not appear to be credible. Anyway, it's a pretty ridiculous thing for Ed Martin to be campaigning on, though not surprising in the slightest.

And for those not familiar with the group that Martin and the tea party is trying to demonize, SEIU played a crucial role in fighting for the minimum wage increase in Missouri, in making sure that public transportation was funded in St. Louis, and in making sure St. Louis voters turned out in droves against Rex Sinquefield's earnings tax repeal. Since they do things to significantly improve the lives of the poor and middle class, they naturally are a bogeyman for politicians like Ed Martin.

h/t to Best Politics Blog FiredUp Missouri.