Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Will's Power Point - McClure's Law & Order Committee
In today's Will Power Point, we peek at Lamont McClure's "Law and Order" committee, and its trouble with that pesky Sunshine Act.
6 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
If Will is serious about winning, he needs to offer a compelling reason for people to vote for him. Right now, the message I get is that he is anti-Lamont. Ask John Kerry how being the anti-Bush worked in 2004.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm a voter I'm not compelled by that message. Running an anti-incumbent campaign is a sure fire way to lose. Give me a reason.
It seems to me that Will Power's blog is just a re-post of Bernie O'Hare's blog.
ReplyDeleteDoes he have any original posts?
Anon 7:28, He does and will continue to have original posts. His blog will in some instances be reposts that emphasize McClure's shoddy record. And there will be original posts by Power as well.
ReplyDeleteLVDem,
ReplyDeleteThere will be numerous posts throughout the campaign. Some will tell you why you should vote for Power. Others will tell you why you shouldn't vote for McClure. McClure has been awful, and people need to know that.
McClure should be held accountable for what he has done and failed to do. That's what a campaign is for. If I was sliming McClure with nasty personal attacks that are in some instances false and in all instances ancient history, you'd have a valid point. Unfortunately, you allowed McClure to use you for just that purpose in one of your posts. Look over your post and you'll see what I mean.
I won't do that. And when I do attack someone, I'll be specific. McClure's shoddy record, which has everything to do with county council, is fair game.
I also need to correct an inaccuracy in your comment. McClure is NOT an incumbent, as you imply. He was selected, not elected, and under very questionable circumstances. The two times he ran for office, he fell on his face. No voters ever placed him on council.
Also, your political strategy advice is off. Just a few months ago, some awful incumbents in the state legislature were chucked. Their opponents accentuated their lousy records, just as Power is doing. But even if you're right, I'm a lousy political strategist so this would be par for the course. I can say it's honest. That should mean something.
Power is swimming upstream against a well-funded candidate but refuses to spend a dime. He has a reason for that, too, and it's a good one. It may lose him the election, but at least he can look himself in the mirror.
He will run an honest and fair campaign. He won't go dark with personal attacks like McClure. I won't start calling McClure names. There are real issues and they need discussion.
Of all the candidates running, Power's the only one who's real. I realize he doesn't fit your profile, but I don't care. I'm tired of candidates that fit profiles. He's not a phony and you won't get the slick bullshit answers that all the others will be throwing at us.
And just as you're a differewnt person now than you were at age 6, Power is a different person at age 40 than he was at age 20.
Wasn't meant to be a slam of any kind. Just an observation. It's actually something that I think Dems are really bad at doing. We don't do a good job of promoting ourselves or our values.
ReplyDeleteBut I would point out that the people who knocked of incumbents in the state legislature had compelling messages. They offered themselves as the answer to reform with specifics and ways that they could become part of the solution. If Will (or anybody else challenging a sitting office holder for that matter) wants to win, he needs that compelling message. He may or may not be successful in convincing people that Lamont is not a good person to have in office. If he does that, he needs to tell people, "why me." Being a "real" person doesn't matter. The message must be there. If he's a real person, it's not that hard to do. John Stoffa did it. And his message was spot on without spending tons of cash.
Too many good challengers have failed to explain why they deserve a vote and only do well in pointing out why their opponent doesn't. If you want to help Will in any way, help him develop that message.
LVDem,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insight. If you spend any time following Power's campaign, you will see that he has his own message and ideas. In fact, they will be listed on the blog as the campaign progresses. I call them Power points.
But in addition to that, it is necessary that voters know exactly how bad McClure is. There you have a fellow who's only batting .500 on the Sunshine Act in his own committee hearings. He can't follow the letter, let alone spirit, of the Sunshine Act. In a climate of reform, a Lamont McClure is unwelcome.