Not that we didn’t believe Democrat Tim Probst incapable of being a lying liar, but his latest assertion about his opponent in the State Senate race is surprising in its baseness. It’s so bad that it’s about as low as you can go without going subterranean.  Probst’s slander was SIMPLY MADE UP and now his opponent has come forward to pull his ‘ho card.

The Vancouver Democrat claims financial tomfoolery on the part of Don Benton when he was Washington State GOP Chief.  He claims his slander is true because Benton lost his re-election bid as Chairman.

Former Wa GOP Chair Chris Vance and current chair Kirby Wilbur have come to Benton’s defense and claims Probst’s accusations are the product of a man who’s, “Ignorant, a liar or both.” 

Benton issued a press release yesterday in which Vance is quoted, 

First, Don Benton did not resign. By a narrow margin, The Republican State Committee elected me instead of Don in January, 2001, at the normal end of his term,” said Vance. “Second, while there were disagreements about how Don spent Party funds, there were never any accusations of “fiscal mismanagement,” during his term as Chairman. Under Don’s leadership the Party was never fined or reprimanded by the Public Disclosure Commission or the Federal Elections Commission, they received a clean internal audit, and there was ample cash in the bank when Don left and I took office. Tim Probst should retract his blatantly false accusation.”  

Wilbur said, 

Let me set the record straight. [Benton was] never forced to resign as party chairman. [Benton] lost reelection at our regularly-scheduled reorganization meeting in January, 2001. The issues involved were legitimate policy differences and the state committee saw fit to vote for Chris. No one ever challenged, at least from what I heard, and I was there, [his] integrity, [his] ethics, [his] credentials or [his] abilities.