West Tenn. native fights falsehoods about Hillary Clinton in real time.
Fights for Dems from Tenn. to D.C.
WASHINGTON — Before most of the speakers trash-talking Hillary Clinton at the Republican National Convention had even left the stage, Isaac Wright and his small army of fact-checkers were blasting out realtime rebuttals in Clinton’s defense.
“Lyin’ Ted Lies And Fear Mongers About Syrian Refugees,” screamed the all-caps headline on a takedown of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
“Pence Lies About Hillary’s Comments About The Benghazi Tragedy,” trumpeted a critique of the primetime address by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the GOP vice presidential nominee.
In its biggest coup, the group got its hands on an advance copy of Donald Trump’s acceptance speech and then compiled and distributed a report on what it called “Trump’s lies” — hours before the GOP nominee for president delivered the address to the convention’s delegates and the nation Thursday night.
“It’s important to stop false narratives and untrue things before they become accepted,” said Wright, the West Tennessee native who runs the pro-Clinton group Correct the Record.
Wright, a bearded father of two who cut his teeth on political races in Tennessee and other southeastern states, has
been the super PAC’s executive director since 2013.
In an era when untruths can spread with lightning speed across the globe, Correct the Record exists to provide a rapidresponse defense of Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, against what it calls baseless right-wing attacks.
The group’s operations center, or “war room,” is located on the sixth floor of a modern, glass-front high-rise office building in one of Washington’s up-and-coming neighborhoods.
Virtually around the clock, the group’s researchers, communications experts and digital gurus monitor live news feeds from the major television networks, cable channels and even local television markets. They search newspapers and keep watch on social media sites for any disparaging or misleading remarks about Clinton and her record.
Whenever they spot what they believe is a distortion or outright lie, they fight back — with pointby-point fact-checks quickly disseminated to the news media, with slick videos that often use the offenders’ own words against them, and with a cascade of social media posts on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
“People in our war room are brilliant — they are some of the brightest minds in Washington,” Wright said last week from the cubbyhole of an office where he oversees the group’s operations.
Directly behind Wright’s desk, on a mint-green wall, hangs the sparsely decorated office’s most prominent feature — a huge whiteboard that, on this particular day, has been wiped clean to keep a reporter from seeing what projects the group has in the works. Tacked to an adjacent wall are posters of Clinton’s campaign logo.
Wright, who grew up in Martin, Tennessee, about 2½ hours northeast of Memphis, has been an admirer of Clinton for years. He served as the South Carolina communications director on her first presidential campaign in 2008.
Wright, a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, was working on political campaigns and as a public affairs consultant in Little Rock, Arkansas, when he got a call in fall 2013 telling him about a new group being founded by conservative-turnedliberal author David Brock to defend Clinton against such attacks.
The group was Correct the Record, and Wright quickly signed on.
“He has a calm and steady demeanor, which is not typical of people in this business,” said Brad Woodhouse, the group’s president. “He’s a great strategist. He really understands the convergence of communications strategy, social media strategy, good solid messaging to voters, to the press. And he’s incredibly organized.”
Wright’s first exposure to a campaign war room was as a young staffer on then-Vice President Al Gore’s campaign for president in 2000. During political debates that year, he was given the task of making sure rapid-response materials that needed vetting were seen by the right people before they were sent out. Once they were approved, he clicked the “send” button.
His stint with Gore’s campaign was followed by other jobs in politics and government. He worked on the congressional staff of thenRep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Memphis, and on Ford’s unsuccessful campaign for Senate. He also served as a campaign adviser and communications director to Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe and later helped Jay Nixon get elected governor of Missouri.
During his time in Arkansas, Wright, 36, said he developed an even deeper appreciation for what Clinton accomplished during her time as the state’s first lady and in her later roles on the national stage.
Wright recalls traveling with Clinton’s entourage on one of her campaign swings through South Carolina in January 2008. As they were leaving one event, he mentioned in passing that he needed to call his mother, Jenna, and wish her happy birthday. Clinton asked his mother’s name.
When they got to the next campaign stop, Clinton’s aide, Huma Abedin, handed him Clinton’s note card containing her campaign schedule for the day. On the back, in Clinton’s handwriting, was a message to his mom: “Happy Birthday, Jenna,” it said.
“She had no way to know what an impact that would have,” he said. “But she cared enough that, in the middle of a campaign for the most important position probably in the world, she stopped and was concerned that my mom hear from her son on her birthday.
“Somebody with that kind of heart and care is who I want to lead the free world.”
The domestic violence charges against former Shelby County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chip Washington have been dismissed, although Washington must now undergo counseling, officials said.
Washington also issued a public apology to the victim through social media and must undergo domestic violence assessment, said Larry Buser, spokesman for the Shelby County District Attorney.
Washington was arrested on Feb. 29 and charged with simple assault/domestic violence after an incident with a former girlfriend.
According to Memphis police, Washington showed up at the woman’s apartment, then started talking to her while she was in her car. He then punched her arm twice. They then went inside the apartment, where the woman told police that Washington pushed her onto a couch and started throwing pillows at her.
Washington was suspended after the incident, then resigned in April.
Authorities are investigating after someone fired numerous shots at a Clarendon police officer, hitting the officer’s house instead.
The officer, whose name was not being released by police due to safety concerns, wasn’t injured. Investigators say the shooting happened Saturday before 7 a.m. on the property.
The Arkansas DemocratGazette reports that authorities estimate at least seven shots were fired at the officer.