Back in April and May, when people were setting up the DropDon and RetireTed web sites, I was in on some of the discussions. Much of the material for the DropDon site had come from research done during the 2006 Diane Benson campaign by Kris Pierce and myself. Additional information was largely from Jack Abramoff criminality expert, DailyKos diarist, Dengre.
Nobody seemed to have a problem with our getting down and dirty regarding Don. After all, Don's a guy who doesn't seem to bat an eyelash, when talking about buttfucking in front of a high school assembly.
During an April 20 meeting, that I took part in over the telephone, the question of how to treat Sen. Ted Stevens came up. I felt that Stevens should be treated just like Young. Then-Democratic Party Chairman Jake Metcalfe took the position that we shouldn't even create a Ted Stevens site, as it might backfire on us, due to the senator's popularity.
My notes from the meeting indicate I came real close to blowing up when Metcalfe suggested that. I said, "He isn't Saint Fucking Ted Stevens, he's a person, a politician, who is supposed to be serving Alaskans. If Alaskans see him differently than do Democrats and citizens around the country, we need to work on that, and soon. This site should do that, with humor emphasized!
"Ted has never shrunk from slinging mud when it suited him in the past, and he'll be pissed about the site sooner or later. But when he does, he'll just look like the politician he is, not Alaska's fucking patron saint."
The discussion eventually accepted my premise - I wasn't alone in backing it. As Kay Brown emphasized then, all information on the RetireTed site had to be as accurate and meticulously researched as the DropDon site.
DropDon went up on-line late spring, RetireTed in midsummer.
Around Valentines Day, an empty shell called BegichBaggage was put on-line by the National Republican Senate Committee. This week, its backers started putting the first of their stuff up. It was so underwhelming and weird, even KFQD's racist right-wing hate monger, Dan Fagan, defended Mayor Begich on his talk show. Or, so I've been told.
Begich's and his campaign's response was swift. The defense of the old tax problem sounds plausible, and has the ring of truth. It appears to be the sort of tax problem most small business owners can identify with. Nice try, NRSC. Information like this wouldn't get a real muckraker like Ray Metcalfe to waste a second, let alone a minute.
The WATBs at the NRSC can't handle the lack of traction their fluff got, so, they came back with a demand through Sen. Stevens himself, that the Alaska Democrats take down the RetireTed site. Yeah, right. They get to keep their smear site up, but the Democrats have to pull down a humor site packed with a lot of important information? Guess what? It isn't going to happen, Ted.
note: I didn't discuss writing about the April 20 meeting with anybody.
image for Progressive Alaska by Darkblack
3 comments:
They seem to be ignoring that Mark had a business and was adding to the economy. So what if he got behind? That is so minor!
I wonder if the r's have something bigger that one of theirs did and they are testing our reaction to Begich's imperfection?
anon,
When I was covering the AK GOP convention, a couple of longtime friends who were attending bragged that their side has lots of dirt that they're going to fling between now and November. Whatever. It'd have to be helluva a lot to compete with the stench the GOP has created.
Let 'em try to run on their integrity, eh?
Wow...you must really hate Jake Metcalfe. I've sat and watched as you've progressively ramped-up making stuff up out of whole cloth about him. Now this.
I was on that call and participated. You know you that a) you had zero influence on that call; and b) Metcalfe wanted it to be done right. It was, no thanks to you.
Phil, you're a liar, an anti-Semite, and an all-round sleaze.
Diane --who is a strong candidate despite your attempts to hurt her -- dumped you: you have no title or job with her campaign. I'm sure there's a place for you in the Republican Party.
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