OH-07: Austria's Shameful Attack on Rwandan Refugee is Backfiring

It looks like Steve Austria's heartless and cynical attempt to exploit a Rwandan refugee's misfortune to smear his opponent Sharen Neuhardt is blowing up in his face, and it should.

[UPDATE: Per Eric at Plunderbund, Roll Call has reported that the Rwandan refugee, Ishema Umuhoza, is here legally, undercutting the false claims by Austria, the NRCC, and right wing bloggers that he is an "illegal alien":

According to court records, Umohoza is currently in the country legally. He was granted a temporary stay on June 24, 2005, by a U.S. District Court judge in southern Ohio. And most recently, a magistrate judge, Sharon Ovington, recommended last month that he be allowed to stay in the country, calling Umohoza “the type of person — hardworking, intelligent, ambitious, law-abiding — who would normally be expected to provide positive contributions to American society.”

In short, the whole assault based on a lie.]

The Springfield News Sun covers the story today and although the reporter quotes both sides in the race the callous and misleading nature of Austria's attack is obvious. Here is how the story is presented:

The refugee, Ishema Umuhoza, is now 26 and has lived in Neuhardt's home since 2002. His application for political asylum in the U.S. was denied but Neuhardt and her husband, both attorneys, are appealing that denial in federal court.

Umuhoza graduated from University of Dayton in 2005. Neuhardt said he did not know that his political asylum had been denied until he applied for federal grants in his junior year of college.

Neuhardt met Umuhoza through her daughter, Ann, when she brought him home for Christmas in 2002. Neuhardt said her family invited him to stay when they found out he had nowhere to go and "he's been part of their family ever since."

Nobody can read that and respond positively to Austria characterization of this act of charity and generosity as "harboring an illegal alien." As the DCCC said in a statement:

Steve Austria smearing Sharen's family for helping a Rwandan refugee who escaped a mass genocide is one of the most shameful and despicable moves made in any race this cycle. Clearly, Steve Austria spit on John McCain and Sarah Palin's request to keep a candidate's family off limits.

During these tough economic times, this transparent and sickening attempt by Steve Austria to distract voters from his abysmal record as a career politician where he voted for the largest tax increase in Ohio history is completely desperate and pathetic.

This November, not only will Austria's failures as a career politician and his partnership with Bob Taft be on the minds of voters but so will his questionable character.

James at Swingstate Project picks up the story and slams it as the "vile lie" it is. The Austria campaign even claims that it learned about the matter from the Dayton Daily News article, a blatant falsehood since Republican operatives have been shopping the story for weeks, including to national publications like Roll Call that wouldn't touch it.

Austria's campaign has been a series of embarrassing mistakes, including plagiarizing a column from Wikipedia and a Department of Labor publication and violating military regulations by using photos of military personnel in uniform in campaign materials. Hopefully this shameful assault on a victim of the Rwandan Genocide will be the last straw.