Surprise: 'Average' Mom Showcased at SOTU was a Democratic Operative

Guy Benson | January 23, 2015 4:15 PM

If you watched the president's speech on Tuesday, you're already somewhat familiar with Rebekah Erier, the hard-working Minnesota mother whom Obama referenced on several occasions as a living testament to how his policies are benefitting middle class Americans. Erier was seated next to the First Lady and received quite a lot of camera time. The idea was to highlight an average, everyday family for the national audience, and to drive home Obama's "middle class economics" messaging. Unbeknownst to viewers, however, were a few details about

Ms. Erier's background that suggest she isn't quite the 'everywoman' she was presented to be:

The woman whose story of economic recovery was showcased by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address is a former Democratic campaign staffer and has been used by Obama for political events in the past. Rebekah Erler has been presented by the White House as a woman who was discovered by the president after she wrote to him last March about her economic hardships. She was showcased in the speech as proof that middle class Americans are coming forward to say that Obama’s policies are working. Unmentioned in the White House bio of Erler is that she is a former Democratic campaign operative, working as a field organizer for Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.). This also wasn’t the first time the White House used the former Democratic campaign staffer as a political prop.

Rebekah is just like you, America! If you've worked as a partisan campaign operative and have been featured at multiple presidential events, that is! I discussed this development with Gretchen Carlson on Fox News:

As I noted in the segment, this president has an anecdote problem dating back to the Obamacare debate. He cynically

fabricated details about his own cancer-stricken mother's (!) supposed fight with her health insurance company, and told two emotional stories in his 2009 healthcare speech to Congress key elements of which turned out to be factually wrong upon further inspection. But hey, "larger truths" are far too important to be bogged down by actual facts. Incidentally, we also discussed the intriguing meeting between Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush this week. I wonder if they talked about, say, Marco Rubio at all.