07-30-2018, 07:26 PM
https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/cockburn-calls-out-riggleman-s-bigfoot-posts/article_83106674-9396-11e8-9291-337557ec0006.html
Quote:Bigfoot has become a hot topic in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District race.
Leslie Cockburn, the Democratic nominee, tweeted screenshots from an Instagram account of Denver Riggleman, the Republican nominee, depicting images of Bigfoot naked but censored.
The Instagram post from Riggleman, which depicts Bigfoot with a large black bar over its genitals, reads “Cover art for #matinghabitsofbigfoot almost complete. I hide nothing in this magnificent tome. Don’t erase the censor box…”
In a tweet, Cockburn points to Riggleman as a running mate of Corey Stewart, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate whom she accuses of being a white supremacist.
“Now he been exposed as a devotee of Bigfoot erotica,” Cockburn wrote about Riggleman. “This is not what we need on Capitol Hill.”
Cockburn also tweeted another image from Riggleman’s Instagram that depicted a similarly censored nude Bigfoot with Riggleman’s face pasted on the body.
“My ‘buddies’ thought this pic was fitting for my birthday next week and to celebrate my new book release in a month or 2… ‘Mating Habits of Bigfoot and Why Women Want Him...”
However, according to Riggleman the posts do not originate from “Bigfoot erotica,” but are a joke his military friends played on him. When he posted the images, Riggleman said, he never thought they would be used against him politically and described the tweets from Cockburn as “absurd.”
Louise Bruce, campaign manager for Cockburn, said voters in the 5th District deserve to know the true character of anyone asking to be their representative. In a written statement, Bruce referenced a Facebook author page for Riggleman that the Cook Political Report said was deleted in a story it published Friday.
“Leslie has been traveling throughout the district meeting with real people about real issues that matter to them,” she wrote. “Meanwhile, Mr. Riggleman is home scrubbing his social media of ‘Bigfoot erotica’ and who knows what else.”
Riggleman co-authored at least one book about the furry deciduous cryptid with Don Barone, titled “Bigfoot Exterminators Inc. The Partially Cautionary, Mostly True Tale of Monster Hunt 2006.”
According to a source close to Riggleman, he wrote a book about people who travel around looking for Bigfoot. The source described the book as “assuredly not” Bigfoot erotica.
Cockburn also has come under fire for past writings for a book she co-authored with her husband in 1991, titled “Dangerous Liaison: The Inside Story of the U.S.-Israeli Covert Relationship.”
The Riggleman campaign challenged the book's assertions in a statement released Sunday night, condemning Cockburn for her “anti-Israel” views.
“[Riggleman's] book is acknowledged as a satire, while Leslie Cockburn has written a book that should not be viewed as such,” the statement read. “Denver’s unpublished book is based on a mythical creature that he does not believe in, Cockburn’s book is based on an anti-Israel worldview she does believe in."
The statement points to an editorial Riggleman wrote which was recently published in the Roanoke Times in which he condemns white supremacy and anti-Semitism.
The statement also defends Stewart, who has been accused of anti-Semitism in part related to appearing alongside “Unite the Right” organizer Jason Kessler at a pro-Confederate statue rally in 2017.
“Corey Stewart has repeatedly disavowed Jason Kessler,” the statement read.
In reference to the editorial, Bruce said the Cockburn campaign was glad to see Riggleman “taking a stand against hate.”
“We would like to see him relay that message to his running mate Corey Stewart,” she said.
The Republican Party of Virginia has repeatedly accused Cockburn of anti-Semitism for her book, which takes a critical lens to the relationship between the U.S. and Israeli governments.
Geoff Skelley, a political analyst for Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia, said he thinks the Bigfoot issue is a one-off and likely won’t have any long-term effect on Riggleman’s campaign and that a book is unlikely to disqualify a candidate.
“Assuming there’s something to this ‘Bigfoot erotica’ story, both candidates will find themselves fending off attacks based on things they previously wrote — though the subject matter couldn’t be more different.” Skelley said.
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/1kwsTjL8BNqlszNtnCE/giphy.gif)
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
![[Image: ulVdgX6.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/ulVdgX6.jpg)
![[Image: Beavis-Butthead-beavis-and-butthead-2819...95-360.jpg]](http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/28100000/Beavis-Butthead-beavis-and-butthead-28198905-495-360.jpg)
