U.S. Senate Candidate Caught Posting Bizarre Online Comments Under False Identity

Here's a good bit of important advice to candidates for major political office that apparently isn't self-evident to all -- Don't go posting comments online under a false identity:

Cleve Tidwell was posing as someone named "Craig Platon" and posting about how "he gave me and everyone else that waited in line all the time we needed and seemed only interested in what I had to say." He also describes himself as a "warm individual." This is a little narcissistic even for a would-be politician.

It is troubling to say the least that a candidate for United States Senate has no apparent ethical qualms with posting as imaginary people supporting himself. Simply posting under a psuedonym [sic] and dropping a comment saying something positive about himself would be bad enough, but posting this elaborate backstory is downright bizarre. [link added]

Unless someone has hijacked Mr. Tidwell's "private email address" -- talk about a bizarre conspiracy theory -- the conclusion made by Rocky Mountain Right that the comments of "Craig Platon" were actually posted by U.S. Senate candidate Cleve Tidwell himself is impossible to deny.

Sad. Strange. Bad judgment. Choose your terminology.

It gets worse (and closer to home) when someone using the identical IP address as "Craig Platon" under the name "Kattie Botts" left this comment on my site a couple months ago in response to the observation that Ryan Frazier, another GOP candidate, dominated a local U.S. Senate straw poll:

Really a humorous poll since he was the only candidate allowed to speak at that meeting I wa told. Seems Your paper has a lot to learn about us real Republicans and maybe even Douglas County,

Not to mention I don’t really think his same sex marriage approval and adding millions to our taxes with the pushing the same sex benefits in the government will set to good with republicans. He is way to liberal to be running for senate, maybe governor of our liberal state but no way for senate.

Best we wait and see who really has the support and the interest of the party at heart.

Obviously someone in Douglas has a wish list and supporting someone. Amazing what papers write to try and sway voters, We are smarter than that.

Besides the falsehood posed that Ryan Frazier supports same sex marriage (he does not), let me simply add: Yes, Mr. Tidwell, we are smarter than that. Just say it ain't so.

Cross posted at Mount Virtus