taking down words

What not to do in an election

At the risk of also being sued, and being added to the list of people including Bil Browning (Bilerico), Sheila Kennedy (American Values ALliance), The Orentlicher campaign, and Tyrion Lannister, Woody Myers is using his substantial warchest to send his lawyers after the political world. 

Yes, that's not a joke, Woody Myers is threatening to sue a bunch of people over the Orentlicher ad calling Dr. Myers an HMO Front man.  His lawyer says "Dr. Myers has an impeccable, exemplary reputation which we will not allow to be tarnished by defamatory statements."  Though I can't tell you the difference between libel and defamatory comments and their criteria, I think that anyone involved in politics or who has ever voted can tell you that you really can't sue your opponent for a negative ad, especially when your reasoning is because you have "an exemplary reputation."  Regardless, the war has started.

In case you missed the ads to start with, you will have no choice but to notice them now.

Seventh Congressional District candidate David Orentlicher today refused a call from opponent Woody Myers to take down a campaign commercial that Myers says contains false information.

Orentlicher said he stands by the ad and that Myers in 1999 testified before Congress on behalf of HMOs and insurance companies against a Democratic version of the Patient's Bill of Rights, which was defeated that year. Orentlicher said he is the only candidate who has refused to take special interest donations.

Myers said earlier that Orentlicher's ad accusing him of working with Republicans to defeat the bill is false and threatened legal action if it isn't removed. He held a press conference this morning at his Downtown campaign office to discuss the issue.

“I’ve taken care of patients my entire career and fought for them in every job I’ve had," Myers said in a press release.

Here is why this is so bad:

1)  Woody Myers has already put $1.6 Million of his own money into his campaign and runs the risk of looking like he is trying to buy his way into Congress.  Now that someone upset him, he is sending his lawyers out after them, making it appear even more like he is using his money to intimidate his opponents.

2)  This story has now made it to multiple blogs and news outlets.  A lot of people have not seen the ad yet, and chances are that the majority of people would not have seen it before Election Day since it's only 3 days away.  Throwing a fit over these ads and threatening to sue makes it one of the top stories on every local news channel, and when they report it, they will show the ad that went with it, making it so that everyone then sees the ad.  So, instead of half of the people seeing the ad and thinking that you are an HMO front man, now everyone will see the ad and think you are an HMO frontman.  Plus, this is all very free advertising for the Orentlicher campaign.

Andre Carson was also mentioned in this ad, but so far he has been smart about it and not said a thing.  He knows that to lay low was the best thing to do so as not to draw even more attention to it.

Now, I will sit here and wait for my letter from Woody's lawyers...

Posted by tdwblog@gmail.com

Can angels smell bullshit?

Sensing that we all need a good laugh today, I give you a Dan Burton commercial that makes me want to vomit.  Seriously, who keeps electing this guy?

posted by tdwblog@gmail.com

Beyond Belief: Zirkle hangs with Nazis on Hitler's birthday

Pro-guillotine? More than a little kooky. Shredding Playboy magazines? Kind of odd. Advocating for the return of segregation? We all shook our heads.

But hanging out with Illinois Nazis?

An outlandish long-shot seeking the Republican nomination for an Indiana congressional seat spent Sunday at a neo-Nazi gathering celebrating the birth of Adolf Hitler.

Tony Zirkle is running for the 2nd District GOP nomination, but he has no support from local party officials, and the front-running candidate there refused to even participate in a recent debate with Zirkle, for fear of legitimizing his candidacy.

Zirkle said he would speak to any group that invites him, and that he admired the American National Socialist Workers Party's concern about "prostitution of young white women," according to WSBT-TV. Overthrow.com, a Web site associated with the "white advocacy" organization, reported that Zirkle "spoke on his history as a state’s attorney in Indiana, prosecuting Jewish and Zionist criminal gangs involved in trafficking prostitutes and pornography from Russia and the Zionist entity."

To their credit, local GOP officials are doing everything in their power to denounce the guy. Anyone want to take a guess on his vote total on election night?

Posted by: Thomas

That makes three: David O, others take to the air in the 7th

The race for the Democratic nomination in the 7th District now features three candidates vying for votes via television screens. The latest is David Orentlicher, who has released an introductory ad that pokes fun at the candidate's name and features cute kids galore.

By way of fairness, I'll go ahead and also give you the latest ads from Rep. Andre Carson and Dr. Woody Myers -- no extra charge.

Posted by: Thomas

Manic Monday: Bill Clinton in town, David O unveils ads, and Jim Schellinger on education

Talk about a busy day, at least in Indianapolis. Congressional candidate David Orentlicher is set to roll out his first television ads of the season this afternoon, as well as tout some yet-to-be-named endorsements. Gubernatorial hopeful Jim Schellinger has scheduled an afternoon presser to discuss the third portion of his Pick Up Indiana plan, this time dealing with education reform.

Oh, and former President Bill Clinton just happens to be here too:

Former President Bill Clinton will bring his "Solutions for America" tour in support of his wife's presidential campaign to Perry Meridian Middle School today.

The rally at 202 W. Meridian School Road is scheduled for 3:45 to 6:45 p.m.

The former president also will campaign for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton today in Corydon and Decatur, "to share with Hoosiers Hillary's plans to jump-start the economy, create jobs and rebuild the middle class," a news release said.

The first event is at noon at Corydon Central Junior High Gymnasium. After the Indianapolis appearance, Clinton is scheduled to speak at 7:30 p.m. at Belmont Middle School in Decatur.

I'll have more on all of these as the day goes on.

Posted by: Thomas

Electoral Fight! When Republicans attack (...literally)

A tip o' the hat to a commenter over at my other digs for pointing out the latest in the ongoing saga of Republican wankery in Muncie. As if under-staffing their office and potentially disenfranchising new voters wasn't bad enough, it looks like the local GOP have taken to just trying to beat the hell out of everyone who disagrees with them, including a reporter and Barry Welsh, the Democratic congressional candidate in the 6th District.

A Republican voter registration deputy faces battery charges after he tackled a newspaper reporter and hit the Democratic 6th District congressional candidate after a contentious Delaware County Election Board meeting this afternoon.

The meeting had just ended when Will Statom, GOP registration deputy and secretary of the local Republican Party, attacked Star Press reporter Nick Werner while Werner was interviewing Ball State University student Johanna Perez about hundreds of last-minute voter registrations for Democrat Barack Obama's campaign.

"He did not seem very happy that we were stating our opinions," Perez said afterwards about Statom.

Werner said Statom seemed critical of his reporting, sarcastically saying to make sure he screwed up the story again.

Statom had just walked past Werner when Statom turned around and pushed Werner against the wall, grabbed him and they fell to the ground, according to witnesses.

Barry A. Welsh, Democratic 6th district congressional candidate, who attended the meeting, stepped in, and Statom turned around and hit Welsh in the eye.

"When Nick went to the floor, I tried to break it up," Welsh said.

Posted by: Thomas

Do the Zirkle: One part democracy, two parts crazy

Remember 2nd District congressional candidate Tony Zirkle? Some of the finer points on his platform, in case you have forgotten: loves the guillotine, hates the porn, and thinks segregation could salvage race relations in this country.

How's that working out for him?

Barely a week earlier, an estimated 4,000 people packed Mishawaka High School's east gymnasium to witness democracy in action when Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton visited.

On Saturday night a grand total of six people showed up to the school's auditorium to see democracy in action as two 2nd District Republican candidates for U.S. Congress debated each other.

Even with the low turnout candidates Tony Zirkle and Joe Roush took the night seriously and easily chewed up the 90 minutes allotted for the debate.

Aw, cute.

New York City gay newspaper takes notice of 7th district congressional race

Gay City News is reporting on Dr. Woody Myers' democratic primary challenge to Andre Carson. The LGBT newspaper published a story today about Myers' highly controversial confirmation as the New York City Health Commissioner.

Myers' 1990 appointment had to be delayed at first when an investigation by ACT UP found that as health commissioner in Indiana, "Myers endorsed and attempted to implement mandatory HIV testing, partner tracing, and quarantine," according to the group's historical archive. ACT UP protested and while Dinkins publicly stated such policies would not be tolerated in New York, he stuck with the Myers appointment at the urging of editorial boards like the New York Times.

Myers served on Ronald Reagan's Presidential Commission on AIDS in 1987 with an incredibly politicized group of right-wing ideologues that included New York's Catholic Cardinal John O'Connor.

The Race Race: Four Top CD07 Candidates, One Uncertain Outcome

Does David O. have a leg up as a white guy in the Seventh District Congressional primary because he shares the field with three African-American candidates? The Star's Brendan O'Shaughnessy explores the potential racial divide among voters:

The presence of three well-known black candidates, including Andre Carson, for the 7th District congressional seat could split the black vote in the May primary and open the door to a white candidate.

It's happened before in other races in Indiana and in other states.

The possibility of such a split was on the minds of some of the more than 50 black political and community leaders who gathered in early December for a Colts game and discussion on who might be best suited to succeed the then-ailing Julia Carson, who died Dec. 15. She had held the seat since 1996.

Much of the talk centered on how to avoid the scenario that has since emerged, according to interviews with a half-dozen attendees.

"If you look at various congressional races where a number of African-Americans vied for the seat, it was won by a white candidate because of vote dilution," said longtime civil rights champion and state Rep. Bill Crawford. "We called the meeting to talk about that potential."

Other participants at the meeting referred to a similar situation in 1984 in the 1st District in northwest Indiana.

U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky, who is white, won that seat after defeating former state Sen. Katie Hall, who is black. Hall had won a special election but lost the primary to Visclosky when several other prominent black candidates created a split in the black vote.

Crawford said the objective of the meeting wasn't achieved because all of the potential candidates, except state Rep. Greg Porter, stayed in the race.

The Machine Is Back: Center Township Delivered Big For Carson

How did André Carson defeat Jon Elrod in this week's special election in the Seventh Congressional District? The Star's Brendan O'Shaughnessy tells us:

Center Township, the late Julia Carson's political base, delivered victory for her one last time.

On Tuesday, Carson's grandson Andre received nearly two-thirds of the votes cast in Center Township to overcome losses to Republican Jon Elrod in a majority of precincts and in five out of nine townships, according to an Indianapolis Star analysis of preliminary voting data.

Turnout was key for Carson. Overall turnout for the election was 18.2 percent but was usually higher wherever Carson won.

Julia Carson began her political career as the Center Township trustee and steadily built a reputation as the only Democrat in contemporary times capable of delivering massive turnout in the city's black urban core. That pattern seemed to hold true Tuesday, with Center Township delivering a 12,000-vote margin in a race that Andre Carson won by 9,000 votes.

"This shows the machine is still here," said Carl Drummer, the current Center trustee, who campaigned for the candidate. "It was extremely important to show that Center Township can still deliver, that we're still a force to be reckoned with."