Local Government TV

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

"How to Lose a Congressional Race," by Mat Benol

First, during the only forum in which you'll get any publicity, make a point of calling jobless kids, forced to live at home, "lazy."

Second, raise practically no money at all.

Third, blow whatever little money you do have on a 12-page, 5"x7" booklet that costs a fortune to mail and only mentions your name five times. If anyone actually reads this masterpiece, he'll miss the election. Mailmen will love him, too.

Don't worry, Mat. A U.S. Senate race is right around the corner.

30 comments:

  1. We agree on this one. Most hilarious "campaign" ever.

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  2. Sorry for repeating myself, as I just posted the below a few minutes ago on a previous post.....

    Bernie,
    personally I thought it was an effective mailer for primary voters. It got me to actually look up his website. That said, Dent clearly will benefit from 1.) any anti-incumbent/anti-washington vote being split between Benol and Towne. 2.) in the (unfortunate)highly partisan politics of national politics I think the majority of primary Republicans will agree a lot with the limited govt rhetoric of the challengers but still vote for Dent. Heck, what Republican wouldn't watch Reagan's first inaugural speech on Benol's site without being reminded why they became Republicans in the first place? (which therein lies the Republican problem...they don't live up to their own rhetoric!). But the reality for practical Republicans should be if your party is not elected/electable, you stand less/zero chance of your values being implemented.

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  3. Geeting agrees with me on something? I better sit down.

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  4. That said, while I am attracted to the "limited government" philosophy, I am turned off by the rigid ideologues that are intolerant of any deviations. I loved Reagan, but the "Fox News"/Glenn Beck/Sean Hannity types nauseate me after a few minutes. I would rather have a thinking center-right Dent than a rigid ideologue.

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  5. Lighthouse,

    I caught your comments on the other post and was composing a reply when I noticed your comment here.

    There will be no votes split between Benol and Towne. Benol is runnig in the primary only. Towne is not running until the general election, assuming he makes it on the ballot.

    The limited government rhetoric is just that - rhetoric. It won't work. Even a died-in-the-wool conservative like Toomey won't make that limited government pledge bc it would essentially make it impossible for government to function at all.

    It is very foolish to spend very limited resources on a miailer like the one sent out by Benol. His job is to get votes, not create support for a constitutional convention.

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  6. Lighthouse, I detest extremism, whether from the right or the left, in a candidate. My own thinking is extremist so I know just how dangerous that can be.

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  7. Good mailer. I'm voting Benol for change in DC.

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  8. not so casual observerMay 12, 2010 at 6:14 AM

    The mailer alone cost way more than he had in his final preelection fianancial report, not to mentionthe mailing cost. It is really strange how this money just popped up out of nowhere, and huge expensivemailing got done. Has anyone checked on the 24 hour contributions. While you are at it, Rorher had about 7,000 in his war chest, Immediately following the finanacials filing he purchased over 100K in radio ads, and refuses to say where the money came from.

    Something smell in these campaigns who are all about honesty and transparency.

    We must ask the questions

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  9. What's extreme about running to the right of a Republican who is more in line with the Democrat party? Dent's liberal tendencies are why Bernie adores him. It's why a blue district elects him. Extremism in defense of your party from Specter-like pretenders like Dent is no vice. But one needn't be extreme to run on all the ground to Dent's right.

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  10. "Has anyone checked on the 24 hour contributions."

    The FEC has no report at all. I called him Monday night. No return call. Accountable and responsive.

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  11. "What's extreme about running to the right of a Republican who is more in line with the Democrat party?"

    What's extreme is signing a goofy, completely unworkable, limited government resiolution that would sht this government down. What's extreme is calling children lazy when economic conditions force them to live with their parents. That matrginalizes Benol, making him likable as a candidate to perhaps five people.

    Where's his finance report?

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  12. this just feels mean-spirited. let the punk run his mini-campaign, get squashed and go back to life. he ran. how many other citizens can say the same thing. it is the ultimate in citizenship. the quality of his campaign or his beliefs are secondary. he is tackling an incumbent congressman with a track record that spans 2 decades, holds a ton of resources and the support of the party establishment. that takes guts and nobody else here can say they would do the same thing.

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  13. He is running and therefore he puts himself out there just like anyone else who is running. Ask the kids looking for jobs and who still have to live with their mom and dad, whether this is mean-spirited.

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  14. Saw Benol on the news this morning.

    To say GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION is the most harmful things facing this country after the Wall St meltdown and the ecological disaster in the Glf is simply laughable.

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  15. not so casual observerMay 12, 2010 at 10:15 AM

    Everyone who is running must play by the same rules. They ALL must file fianancial reports, and those who are holding themselves up as being the most honestthan everyone else should certainly be willing to show their financial sources, it is the law afterall, and it applies to everyone

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  16. Mean spirited? Benol is running a goofy campaign but it is ironic to hear a Dent supporter complain about mean-spiritedness. Are Dent's positions "mean-spirited?"

    -Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Jul 2006)
    -Voted NO on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D.
    -Voted YES on denying non-emergency treatment for lack of Medicare co-pay.
    -Voted YES on allowing electronic surveillance without a warrant.
    -Voted NO on restricting employer interference in union organizing.
    -Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality"
    -Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date.

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  17. "Ask the kids looking for jobs and who still have to live with their mom and dad, whether this is mean-spirited."

    Yes, that is mean spirited. Agreed and he should be called to task for it. The other stuff, just seems unnecessary.

    "Are Dent's positions "mean-spirited?"

    Yes, and I won't be voting for Dent, so please don't confuse me with one of his supporters. I am just pointing out that Bernie's comments seem unnecessary. More and more he seems to be a hatchet man for Dent. It's to the point where I don't even both reading his stuff about Dent or Callahan b/c I can almost predict word for word what he will say. Pitty. On so much else he is pretty good (Pawlowski, Tea Baggers, etc).

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  18. "It's to the point where I don't even both reading his stuff about Dent or Callahan b/c I can almost predict word for word what he will say"

    Apparently you dont care enough that you post and reply to comments on Bernie's posts related to Dent. Man, that shows Bernie doesnt it.

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  19. Anon 10:21, That's the same crap that was handed out while Dent was debating Benol. Who are you?

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  20. "Man, that shows Bernie doesnt it."

    Um, the nominally informed knows that the heading "How to Lose a Congressional Race" doesn't apply to Dent or Callahan. They are both running to win. I knew it wasn't about Dent or Callahan. I still am interested in reading about Benol b/c I think he represents an interesting personality for whom I will never vote but still wish to understand.

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  21. "Is that crap?"

    Crap is a noun. Crappy is an adjective. His voting record is extremely crappy.

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  22. "Crap is a noun. Crappy is an adjective. His voting record is extremely crappy"

    Desperate attacks from already desperate Callahan supporters.

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  23. "Desperate attacks from already desperate Callahan supporters."

    Actually, expressions of frustration from a former Dent voter. I voted for Dent in 2002 (state senate), 2004, 2006 and 2008. He lost my vote for 2010. His voting record is, as I described it, crappy.

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  24. "from a former Dent voter."

    We just hit a 10 on the BS meter.

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  25. Dent mailer in the mail today.... next to Benol's, point/counterpoint. Have to agree with Bernie in the end.

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  26. "We just hit a 10 on the BS meter."

    The Dent campaign would be so arrogant as to assume that they could have such a crappy voting record and think that D's who previously voted for him would give up hope. But if you don't buy it, consider that his opponents in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 were horrible candidates. Now that he has a real challenger and a very different record from when he was in Harrisburg, his roosters have come home to... well, roost.

    Dent took my vote and other D's who supported him in the past for granted. Now he's got a problem. But take it as BS... that's the approach of losing campaigns.

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  27. Anon 4:23, you must be pretty arrogant yourself to think that someone from the Dent camp is actually taking the time to call out your nonsense. They are probably out doing what they do best, winning elections. I am a strong Dent supporter though, and I have to call out BS when I read it. And your statement was a 10 on the BS meter.

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  28. I still say Benol gets less than 8 % of the vote. It's like a pity thing

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  29. With respect to Chris Casey, who's blog I also like and who is pretty sharp about political stuff, Benol will get 35 to 40 percent of the vote.

    It's an anti-incumbent year.

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  30. Chris you are a real Ohare kiss ass!

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