Seventy-two hours and counting. Congressional candidate Hayhurst's Sphinx impression continues.
Not so with local Democratic Party chairman Kevin Knuth. I posted a comment to a related thread on the local party blog, and Mr. Knuth suggested that I really should have called the campaign on the phone with my request. These clowns must think they've already won a bunch of elections, and are in charge of something ... they act like lifetime-job-security clerks at the License Branch From Hell. Party motto: "The voter is always wrong."
I notice that he didn't offer an answer to my question either, although he easily could have done so, rather than pick a quarrel as he chose to do. I can think of two reasons why he didn't enlighten me: either he knows as little as I know (nothing, that is) about Hayhurst's opinions and intentions concerning America's Middle Eastern military misadventures, or he does in fact know the answer but is Hayhurst's teammate in pseudo-clever silence.
I have learned something from all this, though. I won't be so amazed any more about the absolute GOP dominance of this corner of the state. I halfway believe that these folks are the paid agents of Steve Shine.
9 comments:
My goodness - that Knuth guy is snarky!!
The Democrats need people with better relationship skills at the county levels (allen county at the very least) if they expect to make serious headway in November. What a missed opportunity!! Even if he thinks you are not going to vote for a Dem no matter what he says....Does he think you don't talk to other people?? I am baffled.....
Oh, Pam, I am completely amazed; I stand in awe. Not only is Kevin K. the spokesman that every organization dreams of, but he's also an accomplished detective, too. With nothing but my email address, he's already identified me and critiqued my voting record (as I gather you've seen on that thread at the county Democratic blog). I just hope he hasn't found the data on the average number of skid marks per pair of my underdrawers yet.
I just love these little local guys who just have to let you know just how far-reaching and Godlike their powers truly are. I guess I'm supposed to be all askeered now. I'll try ... it's just so hard to stop giggling.
I SAW that!! How the HECK could he assume anything about your voting record based on your pseudonym and e-mail address??
I know A LOT of people who vote in Repub primaries (to try to keep the absolutely nuttiest of the wingnuts off the ballot) and then vote Democratic in the general election. (well, i do live in kansas).
If I were in his position, I would pursue anyone who gets out and VOTES on a regular and reliable basis. Getting people to the polls is half the battle.
"I notice that he didn't offer an answer to my question either, although he easily could have done so, rather than pick a quarrel as he chose to do."
Yup, that's Kevin Knuth all right.
Of course, he's the same guy that responds to ANY criticism of local/county Democratic politics with some pre-canned "George Bush is an idiot" or "George Bush is the Devil" type rebuttal...and although there does seem to be some truth to his blather, it really renders all discourse from that point forward to be irrelevant.
Strategic genius, if you ask me (I'm being sarcastic, just in case Craig is reading). But seriously though, is it any wonder the likes of Steve Shine can run roughshod over the local political scene with a Democratic counterpart like that?
Knuth tried to parade my voting record in the midst of quite a popular thread on FWOb a couple of months back, but he didn't realize until I informed him that there was a five year gap in my Allen County voter registration record thanks to my Ohio residency. He never did pry his foot out of his mouth long enough to respond.
What a poofter.
I've been saying this for quite some time - those running the Hayhurst campaign are leading him to defeat. It's a replay of every losing Democratic campaign of the last 8 years.
Their strategy of waiting until the last minute and putting on a massive ad buy is lazy and ineffective. Dr Tom should immediately address the differences between himself and Souder on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, I think Dr Tom might be more interested in being mayor than being in congress...
Knuth's wife works at the Allen County Voter Registration office.
So, if you were wondering how he seems to go rooting around for people's voting history ...
I believe the data from the sign-in sheets at the polling places are legitimately-public information. When I (successfully) sought elected public office in the mid-90s, I did not obtain such data, but I recall that at least one other candidate did so. Access to such data is obviously more convenient if you're a local capo in one of the Two Big Crime Families of our political kleptocracy, or are "connected" in some other way, but I'm sure it's "open" information. So, I do not say that Mr. Knuth has acted improperly; only stupidly. I'm beginning to think this may simply be his usual and customary mode of operation.
And I agree that, while Shine is certainly no prize, the local Democratic leadership is a significant factor in the total GOP dominance of this area.
Maybe someone has convinced Hayhurst that he's being clever by being mysterious about what could be a no-win question: support for Bush's Glorious Idiot War, here in the heart -- or maybe we're the rump? -- of Bush Country. Or perhaps it's all his idea. Either way, I think he will not be well-served by it; nor, and I'm quite certain, will the local electorate. To be complete, I should note a third possibility: simple incompetence. Maybe Hayhurst just doesn't think the war is important to anyone, or maybe he just forgot. This seems very unlikely, although the poor technical quality of his campaign website does offer some support to such a notion.
Even now, if Hayhurst came through with a lot of clarity and some plausible explanation, I could conceivably still vote for him; Souder, after all, simply has to go. But, given my experience so far with the Hayhurst campaign, and with the charm boy who represents the Allen County Democratic "machine," it would take a ton of nose-holding for me to cast a vote in their direction. A clothespin won't do the job; a stout C-clamp, or a full hazmat suit with self-contained breathing, would be required.
[Disclaimer: this is a lunchtime comment from my day-job coordinates; I haven't seen my "home" email since last night. Maybe, when I get home this evening, I'll find some wonderfully-informative response from the Hayhurst camp. If so, I'll be sure to share it here.]
cronynisms and nepotism
"Knuth's wife works at the Allen County Voter Registration office."
"I just love these little local guys who just have to let you know just how far-reaching and Godlike their powers truly are."
the two party system demands that you vote for their candidates. if you don't they suggest that you are throwing away a vote that they so desparately need.
Write in your name as a candidate.````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Credo, you make an excellent point, with which I mostly agree. Where I would disagree is about there being a two-party system. I think the parties are very nearly the same, and that it's about a 1.01-party system, at best.
Writing one's own name in is as good a solution as any, I guess ... at least, until the Revo comes.
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