Samantha Paule is running for City Council, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on the Republican ticket. And, she isn't just some, run-of-the-mill, "Centrist," Republican.. no.. She's a hardcore Trump fanatic, who even posts on social media to brag about indoctrinating her young daughter into Trumpism, and taking her out to campaign, locally, on her President's behalf--shamelessly using her own child as a political prop.
To look at her social media posts from the last two or three years, nothing really seems too out of place. Some science denial, and wild claims about recommended vaccination schedules causing developmental problems in children, here.. Some fake news about Democrats advocating for infanticide, there.. But, when I looked a little further back, a wildly different, and, eventually, very troubling, picture began to emerge.
I discovered YEARS worth of posts railing against, not just an Administration, but all of America. This woman, who, currently, promotes herself as a, "pro-life," Christian, "family values," candidate, seemed to have dozens of posts calling for, "Death to America," and promoting fundamentalist Islamic extremism.
How does something like this slip by everyone who endorsed her? Some of these posts had no added privacy settings. They were always available for public view.
I should point out, I, actually, went to school with her, and she added me at some point, over the years; so I was able to peruse, even, the posts set to, "friends only;" but, she didn't even try to hide the public post in which she admits to being a supporter of ISIS.
Her sister even decided to jump into the debate surrounding these posts, to let the detractors know that everyone has said, "racy," things. I'm not entirely sure how threatening to martyr oneself against their own country is, "racy," but whatever..
Also, it's amazing that these people don't seem to realize there is a difference between what random people say, and what people running for political office--who would be in positions of power, which they could use to affect the lives of entire populations--say.. both now, and in the past.
However, by speaking about these posts the way she did, Paule's sister has confirmed their authenticity. So, good luck backpedaling.
That someone could have this kind of background, and make their way into an election for public office--of any kind--is mindblowing.
The fact that she, actually, won her nomination, and that no one else discovered this, is beyond words.
Although, the modern incarnation of the Republican party has always been about trying to establish Christian Sharia Law, and insisting that America was always meant to be a theocracy, since its founding, so, I guess, it was inevitable that some people like this would find their way over there.
I should, also, note that since I posted these screenshots today, she has either made those posts private, or deleted them, altogether.
She also reported my post, and had it removed from Facebook.. which triggered a three day ban on my account. Because, apparently, it was perfectly fine for her to post those things, but not for anyone else to remember them.
That must be the, "Right-wing censorship," all of those Trump Conservatives keep crying about..
Oh, and I would be remiss, if I didn't include what I found was her attempt to explain away all of these posts. Actually, claiming to have been trying to combat terrorism, herself, single-handedly (like an untrained, female Rambo), and against the wishes of the federal government, in general, and the CIA, specifically.
This is the kind of person who is capable of winning endorsements, and elections, on the Republican ticket, in 2019.
A mutual friend (well.. former mutual friend, now, one would assume), even, tried to message her, to talk, and get some of her side of the story.. Her response was.... a little strange, to say the least..
And, yes.. She spells her last name differently, in her display name; but, she has the actual spelling of her last name in parentheses, on her profile.
*UPDATE 5/24*
(14:24) Last night, a reporter from WTAJ (Altoona's local CBS affiliate) contacted me, via Twitter, for confirmation on these posts. Today, he told me they also spoke with her, and will be running a story.
Further updates to come.
Hopefully, they will, legitimately, question her, and, at least, make an attempt to hold her accountable, rather than just allowing her to lie, and evade responsibility for her comments, unchallenged.
*UPDATE 5/24*
(16:41) WTAJ posted their story, online. Incredibly, Paule admits to having made the posts, but is sticking to her ridiculous, nonsensical claims that her posts were, actually, about fighting terrorism..
Samantha Paule admits to posts, but claims they're taken, "out of context."
Apparently, she either forgot, or wasn't aware, that her sister already pointed to manic episodes, and the influence of, "a terrible dude," to excuse the posts, last night..
Also, there's a lot that doesn't add up about the rest of what she says in the interview. She refers to her, "dissertation" (for a Bachelor's Degree?), but no one (including myself) has been able to locate any kind of dissertation, or thesis, written by her. She mentions a very specific educational specialty--which IUP (the school she attended) didn't offer.. According to their course catalog, from the years, during which, she would have been enrolled, they didn't even offer classes on the subject matter required for such a specialty. She manages to slip in a reference to time, supposedly, spent helping people in Africa, which, family members have stated is absolute nonsense, as--they say--she has never even been to Africa.
The entire interview plays like a deranged game of Telephone: It starts with one lie; and, as they continue speaking, it just continues to snowball, as details are added, and things get more and more embellished.
Also, a little bit of background digging reveals a litany of harassment and assault charges against her.
She seems to have slithered her way out of any kind of punishment for, or ownership over, these, alleged, offenses (which is.. funny.. for someone running on a pledge to work for harsher criminal sentencing)..
Although no one is perfect, most people don't have a variety of charges like this, in their past.. Least of all, people asking for the honor, and privilege, of being placed in a position of authority, from which the responsibilities involved in running a city would fall upon their shoulders.
Not to mention, a history of criminal charges like this--to most reasonable people--could seem indicative of an unstable personality.
When all of this is taken into consideration (the jihadist posts, the looney tunes interview, and the multiple criminal charges against her for (allegedly) endangering other people), obviously, Samantha Paule is, clearly, not what anyone, anywhere, would, ever, recognize as an ideal candidate for any kind of political office.