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Response to conference by Dems denouncing negativity is simply silly
By Dennis J. Willard
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Oct 21, 2008
COLUMBUS: Nuts!
The squirrel spotted us.
He was big, like almost 6 feet tall, and bright orange and white, and had a long, full brownish tail that contrasted nicely with his coat.
Squirrels are basically tree rats.
This squirrel was a partisan actor in the presidential race — but he was able to slip away from the two reporters on his tail.
The rodent first appeared Monday morning at a news conference held by Gov. Ted Strickland, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Lorain, to denounce the negative tactics being used by the John McCain-for-president campaign.
As Strickland, Brown and Coleman spoke in serious tones about the waning days of the election, the squirrel bounced around and carried a sign that said, ''Don't let the Buckeye State become the ACORN state.''
ACORN is a community organizing group that Republicans accuse of perpetuating voter fraud in Ohio.
The Republicans are trying to link the fact that some people have written down fictitious names like Mickey Mouse and Jive Turkey when they signed voter registration petitions circulated by ACORN to a full-blown conspiracy that the organization is going to somehow steal the presidential election.
No one in his right mind believes Jive Turkey is going to be allowed to vote in Ohio.
Now, the Republicans could have sent someone to dispute the claims being made by Brown, Strickland and Coleman, but instead a grown man in a squirrel outfit showed up to denounce ACORN.
You know, squirrels don't seem to have a sense of irony.
Critter reinforces claims
This squirrel didn't understand that he is supposed to like acorns, not hate them, and the squirrel failed to notice he was reinforcing the Democrats' claims that Republicans were running a shallow campaign that focused on trivial matters rather than the issues.
No one could expect him to comprehend the larger message that Strickland, Brown and Coleman were articulating.
Negative campaigns are repugnant in the best of times, but they are even worse when literally millions of people are worried about their jobs, families, investments, health care, two wars, and the rising cost of higher education.
Anyone watching the debates understands there are key differences between McCain and Barack Obama on dozens of issues, so voters have good reasons to back one man or the other.
Silly squirrel. His brain isn't capable of comprehending any of this. He made a few dance moves and then scurried up the Statehouse steps to position himself behind the Democrats for the benefit of the television cameras. It was funny and sad at the same time.
Funny because the squirrel was amusing. Sad because he was dancing while Strickland was pointing out that the McCain campaign was focusing on demonizing Obama, calling him a socialist and cavorting with people who kill Americans.
The governor read a transcript of automated phone calls being made by the McCain campaign.
By the way, these robo calls should come with a parental advisory. Can you imagine an elementary school child answering their home phone and hearing the following:
''Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC [Republican National Committee] because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.''
Let's call this what it is: McCarthyism.
In the words of Joseph Welch, an attorney for the U.S. Army who appeared in 1954 before the Army-McCarthy hearings, ''Mr. McCain, at long last, have you no sense of decency?''
At the same time we are expending lives and spending billions of dollars building democracy in Iraq, negative campaigns are squandering millions tearing it apart in America.
By the way, the squirrel was not alone. He had a handler, a man who identified himself as Jeff Minch from Austin, Texas.
Minch said he wasn't employed by the Republicans. He said he didn't have a job. He declined to say who sent him or the squirrel to the news conference. All he would say is he had moved to Ohio recently.
Chase is on
So we — a fellow reporter from the Dayton Daily News, Laura Bischoff, and myself — decided to follow Minch and the squirrel to their nest.
Bischoff started out on foot while I retrieved my minivan. She had followed Minch and the squirrel past the Statehouse when I picked her up, but with the traffic pushing us down the street, I drove past the pair and was forced to stop for a red light.
The squirrel spotted us. We turned the corner to double back, but they were gone, hidden somewhere between the left-leaning offices of Progress Ohio and the Ohio Republican Party headquarters.
We circled a few times around the block, but decided to quit because there was real work to do, not to mention the high cost of gasoline these days.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS: Nuts!
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 07:49 AM, 10/21/2008
Um, Willard ol' buddy. A real reporter would have known, that as of Sept 19th, Obama's negative ads outstripped McCain's, 77 percent to 56 percent.
Put the pompoms down and quit chasin' strange men in squirrel suits. It makes y'all look sillier than y'all already are.
Posted 09:25 AM, 10/21/2008
Not unlike the union thugs who trot out their giant inflatable rat to set up outside any business who won't give into their demands. How come on calls for better behavior on that side?
Posted 12:06 PM, 10/27/2008
This is getting to be really stupid. In all my years i cannot remember this level of hate and anger concerning an election.
I will not vote for Obama only because he is not trustworthy. Could not care less about race or gender,, Barack Obama is WAY too far left, and all I can see is that he will say ANYTHING to get elected,, lie, cheat or steal.
