Another One Under the Bus
By Jon Ponder on 7/13/2008, 10:16am PT  

Guest blogged by Jon Ponder, Pensito Review.

The John McCain campaign scrubbed its website today to remove all references to its Alabama campaign chairman, Attorney General Troy King.

King, who is known for extremist views on religion and who has frequently made homophobic statements, including calling gays the "downfall of society," is the subject of rumors that his wife recently discovered him having sex with another man.

The story about King had been published at Wonkette and on numerous gay news websites, but none of them had reported King's connection with the McCain campaign before we published the story, "McCain’s Alabama Chairman Reportedly Outed - Attorney General Troy King Has a Record of Homophobic Rhetoric," at Pensito Review on Friday.

We happened upon the scrubbing of the campaign website as we did fact-checking for the article. At about 2:30 p.m PDT, when we checked the McCain campaign website, we found a news release from January on this now-blank page announcing the Alabama politicians who had joined McCain's "leadership team." The list included King, who was indeed named state campaign chairman.

A few minutes after we published the article, a reader left a comment alerting us that the link to the McCain website led to the blank page that is there now.

A search on the campaign site for "Troy King" returned no results, however a Google search for "Troy King" and "John McCain" still produced a link to the now-blank McCain campaign webpage near the top of the results as of 4 p.m. Friday.

We happened to have the webpage open and so made the screen capture of it and grabbed the text:

For Immediate Release
January 29, 2008 Contact: Press Office
703-650-5550

John McCain 2008 Announces Alabama Leadership Team

ARLINGTON, VA --- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced its Alabama Leadership Team. United States Congressman Spencer Bachus will serve as the Southeastern United States Congressional Chair of the McCain campaign. Alabama Attorney General Troy King will serve as Chair of the McCain 2008 Alabama campaign. Representative Bachus and Attorney General King will continue to lead the growing grassroots organization on behalf of John McCain's candidacy in Alabama.

"Lots of candidates talk about the issues important to conservatives. But, only one candidate has a record to back up his rhetoric, and that's John McCain," said Congressman Spencer Bachus. "For twenty-four years, John McCain has taken bold positions on the cornerstone conservative issues of life, marriage, and limited government. It is with pride and gratitude that I am supporting my friend, John McCain for president."

"John McCain is the best hope for conservatives to succeed in November," said Attorney General Troy King. "He is a principled conservative with a clear record of supporting a strong national defense, fighting for fiscal responsibility, and defending the sanctity of life. John McCain has served our country his entire life, and I am honored to lead his efforts here in Alabama."

John McCain thanked the leadership of his Alabama campaign. "As a representative in the United States Congress, Spencer has displayed his commitment to the people of Alabama," said Senator McCain. "Troy is an outstanding public servant and passionate advocate for the rule of law. Both of these men are dedicated to the principles of limited government and traditional values that we share. I'm proud to have Republican leaders and dedicated public servants like Spencer Bachus and Troy King leading my campaign to victory in Alabama."

JOHN MCCAIN 2008 ALABAMA LEADERSHIP TEAM

Southeastern United States Congressional Chair
Congressman Spencer Bachus, Birmingham

State Chair
Attorney General Troy King, Montgomery

Honorary Chair
Former Alabama GOP Chairman Winton Blount, Montgomery

Legislators for McCain Co-Chairs
State Senator Ben Brooks, Mobile
State Representative Cam Ward, Alabaster

Legislator for McCain
State Representative Warren Beck, Geneva
State Representative Randy Davis, Daphne
State Representative Owen Drake, Leeds
State Representative Joe Faust, Fairhope
State Senator Steve French, Birmingham
State Representative Todd Greeson, Ider
State Representative Mike Hill, Columbiana
State Representative Jim McClendon, Springville
State Representative Allen Treadaway, Morris
State Representative Jack Williams, Birmingham

Veteran Chair
Don Fisher, Montgomery

Veteran Co-Chairs
Roland Day, Birmingham
Gen. Charles Ingram, Troy
Capt. Hal Pierce, Daphne

Mayoral Chair
Mayor Pat Thomas, Dothan

Mayoral Co-Chairs
Mayor Sheldon Day, Thomasville
Mayor Tim Kant, Fairhope

Lawyers for McCain Co-Chairs
Judge Terry Butts, Luverne
Matt Lembke, Birmingham

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