Diploma Duplicitousness
Melissa Howard is running in the Republican primary for a seat in Florida’s House of Representatives for the Sarasota area, pledging to “do my best to support our President and his policies to ‘Make America Great Again’.” A conservative political news web site questioned Howard’s claimed education: she says she’s a graduate of Miami University in Ohio, but FLA News Online couldn’t find record of her graduating and called her out. Howard called the accusation a “lie,” and her spokesman slammed it as “fake news.” Howard later issued a photo of herself and her mother holding her framed diploma. The web site apologized, but took it back after a university spokesman pointed out multiple problems with the pictured diploma. It shows a bachelor of science degree in marketing; the school has never offered such a degree. It’s also signed by someone other than the dean of the business school, and is dated 1996; on her campaign bio, Howard said she graduated in 1994. Some prominent Florida Republicans are demanding Howard drop out of the race, but the Republican Party of Sarasota refuses to condemn her actions, adding they would support whatever nominee won the primary. (RC/WPLG Miami, Sarasota Herald Tribune) ...Make Truth Matter Again.Story Update: Two days after this story was published, Howard realized it was going national and dropped out of the race, admitting she “made a terrible error in judgement” and apologizing. Even the Sarasota GOP chair reversed course, saying “she did the right thing for the community” and then slamming her with “we’re glad she’s out of the race.” If only he had said something the first time around, but he lacked the integrity to do so.
Original Publication Date: 12 August 2018
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 25.
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 25.
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