2/12/2020
For Immediate Release:
MANSFIELD – Sam Grady, write-in candidate in the Democratic primary to represent the Ohio 2nd House district, is pleased to receive the anti-endorsement of Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom. The organization reached out to him as it reaches out to all candidates for the state legislature every election.
Grady has stated that he “is an ardent defender of bodily autonomy and an absolutist when it comes to preserving liberties.” He freely acknowledges that education, not government mandate, is the path to higher vaccination rates and the protection of innocent lives. “But OAMF is not a liberty-minded organization, they are a lobbying organization pushing debunked, anti-vax conspiracy theories to Ohioans and Ohio policymakers. They have no interest in maintaining the health of children or ensuring freedom.”
While OAMF is not required to divulge its donors, its site consistently directs readers to another anti-vax organization funded in part by Joseph Mercola, a man who has amassed a small fortune selling alternative medicines and supplements, which stokes anti-vax fear as a part of his marketing scheme. In other words, snake-oil salesmen have a financial interest in spreading this sort of propaganda that maliciously targets concerned and fearful parents.
“Equivocation on this matter by any politician or candidate for office cannot be condoned. The scientific consensus is clear; vaccines work, vaccines are safe, vaccines save lives,” Grady added.
Grady asserts that any candidate who responds in such a way that even remotely condones OAMF’s lies does not deserve support from any party or voter, and that the same can be said of any candidate that remains silent in fear of alienating special-interests. The first duty of any public servant is to uphold the truth, no matter the personal or political cost to themselves.
Grady’s full, unedited statement to OAMF is included below:
“I swear to god, you people have worms in your brain. Regardless of my personal views on vaccination (you should absolutely vaccinate your stupid kids), OAMF is a front for anti-science grifters to spread fear and misinformation to Ohioans. Its efforts to shamelessly lobby politicians desperate for a niche of voters in a low-information environments are reprehensible, as are the legislators that play along. I realize there is a lot of money to be made in the snake oil industry, and scientific advances in real medicine are a threat to that. I promise you that I will do everything in my power (as a legislator and a private citizen) to ensure that Ohioans are informed, educated, and engaged enough to prevent conspiracy theorists, bullshit-artists, and lobbying groups like yours from spreading misinformation, just as I will do everything in my power to provide affordable healthcare to all Ohioans. Good luck at the next flat-earth convention.”
Sam Grady For Ohio 