GOP House Candidate Uses Fake Family in Campaign

It must be tough for Green Berets to have a family given the intense training and mission. One can readily understand why such a warrior would put off the joy of a family until ready for a new mission – being a husband and dad. In that spirit, it’s probably best to say thank you to Derrick Anderson for his service to this country. It could not have been easy, indeed the opposite. One thing about special forces, they use live ammo – nothing is faked. But that doesn’t mean that Anderson – a GOP House Candidate in a very competitive Virginia 7th district – isn’t faking it now on the civilian side of things. Indeed, it appears Anderson has a mail order family.

That’s pretty mean. He didn’t actually buy his family on Amazon, he sort of leased it from a friend. To be sure, one suspects it’s all on the up and up in that lease. After all, Anderson’s friend allowed his family to appear in campaign ads alongside Anderson and nothing more. No giggling, please.

The New York Times is all over it:

The campaign of Derrick Anderson, a former Army Green Beret who is running in a competitive race for an open seat in Virginia’s Seventh District, has posted footage of him posing with a woman and her three daughters in what looks like a photo that might be used for an annual holiday card.

In another scene filmed for potential use in a campaign ad, Mr. Anderson is seated around the dining room table with the same woman and three girls, chatting and smiling.

That is so sweet! Candidates often pose with their families because people figure “Well, she’s cute and look at those precious kids. Someone likes him and thus I will, too!” Or something like that. But apparently Anderson thinks he’s great enough that a friend’s family will vouch for him:

But the people are not relatives. They are the wife and children of a longtime friend. Mr. Anderson, who announced this month that he was engaged, does not have any children of his own.

Yeah. That will happen when one is desperate and needs pictures standing in as hugs. Still, it’s the thought that counts and Anderson might simply call it a prequel, after all – he is engaged. And the kids will almost certainly be cute coming from someone who is spartan enough to cut it in the Green Berets.

But he is taking a big risk. Voters see politicians as inherently shifty. Why would Anderson give them a reason to look askance while shaking heads? This type of thing might just be inherent to the job. Now he has to cover the fake with some truths to come out alright.

Perhaps something like, “Hey, if I can create a family in an instant, just try to imagine how creative I can be in coming up with solutions to your problems!” It wouldn’t be the worst campaign pitch ever. Now the bigger and better question: Did he use campaign cash to reward his friend for the stand-in?

Do not put it past him,that would be a veteran move with double entendre. He’s proven to be shifty already… And fake.

God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected]