A letter from Joe Bruno of Raymond in the PPH:
It is obvious to me and many others that there is a calculated and organized letter-writing campaign trying to denigrate a fine U.S. senator like Susan Collins. This is the work of national organizations like moveon.org [sic]...Yes, the usual baseless charges and manufactured indignation.
[...]
As a selectman in Raymond, when we needed help with a federal issue, Sen. Collins' office responded quickly and intervened to address the issue. That's more than I can say about our representative...
Please join me in rejecting negative campaigning by voting for Sen. Collins and keep our highly respected Sen. Collins in the U.S. Senate.
But get a load of this coincidence: Not only is this guy's name Joe Bruno. There's also a former Maine House Republican Leader and state Republican Party Chair named Joe Bruno! And both Joe Brunos hail from Raymond!
What are the chances?
Maybe the next time a GOP bigwig writes in with a cut-and-paste version of the Collins camp's talking points, PPH will insist on a full identification. But I'm not holding my breath.
UPDATE: I'm afraid I may have been a bit too coy above: Let's be clear about what's going on here.
I try to read as many letters to the editor in Maine papers as I can. And over the last year or so, there have been no fewer than eight pro-Collins letters published in Maine papers written by unidentified or under-identified members of the Maine GOP apparatus.
(By contrast, I've spotted literally only a handful of pro-Collins letters that don't seem to be connected to party elites.)
So what we have here is a former House leader and state party chair complaining about a stealth, calculated negative letter writing campaign as part of what appears to be a stealth, calculated negative letter writing campaign.
Blogger Josh Marshall calls this, "up-is-downism." I'll just note that it's a lot easier to get away with sliming your opponent if you can make it sound like he slimed you first.
2 comments:
I wonder if Sen. Suzie-Q will bring out her big-guns by stating it's illegal to question her voting record, past & present? I bet! The only way she or any other jackboot licking Bush supporter can win is to make shit up!
No wonder the race between her and Tom Allen is closing in...most Mainers are reading the letters to the editor about her and are rolling their eyes. She's still pathetic after all these years.
The Republican tell - when they complain about a campaign tactic, it means that they are either doing it, or about to do it.
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