Romney-endorsed candidate Wehby is having a bizarre month
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There's something about being in an outpost like Portland, Oregon, that makes one almost immune to both fame and scandal. Maybe that's what explains why the Acela Corridor crowd has largely ignored the bizarre stories coming out of Oregon this week about Mitt Romney-endorsed Senate candidate Dr. Monica Wehby.
Where to begin? Let's start with the fact that a medical child-abuse case involving Dr. Wehby is set to begin on May 19 — the day before her primary. In the case, a woman is being accused of "harming her children with unnecessary medical procedures, several of which were performed by pediatric neurosurgeon and U.S. Senate candidate Monica Wehby." Putting aside questions of innocence or guilt, one can only suppose this is — at best — a major distraction.
Then there's the fact that Democrats are filing a complaint over a super PAC running ads attacking Wehby's GOP opponent. The problem? Wehby is reportedly romantically linked to a major funder of the group — raising questions about coordination.
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Another large contributor to that same super PAC is a man named Loren Parks, who was recently profiled in a Mother Jones post titled, "Meet the Sex Hypnotherapist Helping the GOP Retake the Senate." (Need I say more?)
Now, it wouldn't be surprising for Wehby's GOP opponent to be pushing all these storylines. But it seems unlikely this is coming from him. It's probably more a combination of tough timing and Democrats trying to take out the candidate they fear most before November.
Regardless, I'm stunned that these stories haven't gained more national attention. This might all be much ado about nothing, but it's all still weird. Wehby is just lucky she doesn't live in New York.
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Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.
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