Around this time last year, political operative Ryan O'Barto was writing campaign speeches for Idaho Congressional candidate Vaughn Ward. Now he's working for the "reform team" of Scott Ott, Dave Najarian, Vic Mazziotti and Lisa Scheller. I prefer to call them the Gang of Four, but that's me. Anyhoo, it turns out that last year, O'Barto was mixed up in accusations of plagiarism, and ended up resigning as Ward's campaign manager. While campaigning for Congress, Ward delivered a kick-off speech that was eerily similar to one given by Pat Meehan here in Pa. And in another oration, Ward sounded just like Obama. His explanation? "[O’Barto] took a speech that I wrote – a draft of core policies and things I wanted to say in our announcement speech – and he took and made some additions to the speech ... .” [He] is no longer with the campaign.”
O'Barto denied he ever plagiarized anything, but even Ward's webpage was pretty much lifted, with minimal changes, from those of other Republican Congressional candidates.
Talking Points Memo suggested that Vaughn Ward may very well have been the "worst candidate ever," but adds that "many of the campaign's problems centered around a campaign manager [O'Barto] who was replaced less than two weeks ago."
In addition to everything else, O'Barto was also caught re-releasing months old endorsements.
I asked O'Barto for his side of the story, and he tells me "Vaughn Ward was a desperate candidate who was trying to blame every[one] he could for his mistakes." He declined to say more. "I have already addressed the issue a number of times and won't be doing so again."
The Gang of Four insists they exist "to advance the cause of accountability, transparency and reform in Lehigh County government." Yet they hire a guy dogged by plagiarism charges and who admits he was deceptively re-releasing endorsements.
Is this the kind of reform you want in Lehigh County? Sounds more like politics as usual.
13 comments:
And once again the famed O'Hare smear machine goes into gear.
Bravo, you are consistent if anything!
Gee, don't you think people would want to know that the "reform team" has someone working for them who managed a campaign in which numerous instances of plagiarism were evident?
Your admitted past, your support of John Edwards, and your endorsement of the plagiarist Joe Biden indicate you're a fine referee of things ethical. Carry on.
This campaign is about the candidates and their records. Nothing else! Come on Bernie, you are better than this. Last time I checked, you are innocent until proven guilty. By the way, did you see the candidate he was working for? I wouldn't be surprised if the candidate plagiarized everything himself. We all know that these politicians lie and innocent people get caught up in their problems. From everything I read, that's the way it looks to me.
The hard right loved it when Bernie tore the Gracedale Initiative a new one and when he latched on to Callahan. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, they are pissed at the smear machine.
Bernie O'Hare is a bipartisan offender. Look for the Gang of Four, which include somebody he actually likes in Vic, to receive this attention until they are the gang of 2 or 3 and have to share a ticket with Browning.
"This campaign is about the candidates and their records. Nothing else!"
Part of the "record" for these candidates is that this is one "reform team" who hired a campaign spokesman with a less than stellar past. It's pretty clear that, at the least, he tried to con a few newspapers by re-publishing endorsements. If this is the kind of guy they hire to run their campaign, what do they intend to do if the voters make the mistake of electing them.
Dean Browning raised taxes 16% unnecessarily. The spendthrift lobby called him courageous. Taxpayers struggling to keep homes amid this economy call him irresponsible and heartless.
He should proudly run on his record as a visionary tax raiser. Bernie, please get back to kvelling about Dean's courage to jack taxes during the worst economy since the Great Depression.
You don't pay real estate taxes and don't care. You just avail yourself of services provided for you by others. And you, of course, support Dean The Tax Jacker Browning.
RE - elect Browning. Interity and Balls wins over party politics for the true Americans
Bernie,
Didn't you praise Vic Mazziotti like he was the coming of the next Christ? Can your judgement be that bad?
Don't know who to vote for
While I don't think I called Vic Jesus, I do have a high opinion of him. He filed no false affidavits, but I think he is running a terrible campaign by being associated with the others.
"You don't pay real estate taxes and don't care."
Just like Scott Ott.
Mazziotti was a Stoffa paid bullshitter who now wants the job in Lehigh County.
Bernie -
Unless, "Dean Browning Raised Lehigh County Property Taxes by 16%" has been used by some other campaign in some other part of the country, I don't think you have to worry about anything being plagiarized.
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