The campaign for state senate is really getting serious. The Hannah-Beth Jackson campaign is accusing Tony Strickland's campaign of breaking an election law on a recent mailer.
Click on continue reading to see the press release for yourself.
I do agree that the most likely punishment would come after the election, when it will be a moot point.
Have you see the two campaigns in action recently? I have heard reports of Strickland supporters on street corners and I have heard that both sides are making a large amount of phone calls. Today I received two mailers supporting Hannah-Beth Jackson.
If you want to see a mailer from any campaign on my blog, scan it and send it in.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT
October 16, 2008 Parke Skelton
Strickland sends out illegal mailing in effort to trick voters
Strickland mailer designed to look like it is coming from Jackson.
Illegally fails to disclose actual sender.Tony Strickland has reached a new low in his dishonest campaign against Hannah-Beth Jackson. Yesterday, voters in the 19th District received a mailing from Strickland's campaign titled "Hannah-Beth Jackson's Economic Plan." Inside, the mailing contained Strickland's predictable false charges about Hannah-Beth Jackson and taxes.
The mailing was clearly designed to look like it was coming from Hannah-Beth Jackson's campaign.
The problem is that nowhere on the piece of mail is the actual sender (Tony Strickland's State Senate Committee) disclosed. State election law requires the name of the committee to be prominently placed on the outside of every piece of political mail.
We know it comes from Strickland because it has his return address on the piece - postal regulations require a return address. The piece could not be mailed without one.
"Tony Strickland believes he can blatantly violate the law because he knows that the only consequence will be a fine, levied months after the election. Strickland has no regard for the law," stated Jackson consultant Parke Skelton."This was not an inadvertent failure to put the proper disclaimer on the mailer, it is an obvious attempt to confuse voters," Skelton continued.
This is the prevailing section of the State's Political Reform Act:
§ 84305. Requirements for Mass Mailing.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), no candidate or committee shall send a mass mailing unless the name, street address, and city of the candidate or committee are shown on the outside of each piece of mail in the mass mailing and on at least one of the inserts included within each piece of mail of the mailing in no less than 6-point type which shall be in a color or print which contrasts with the background so as to be easily legible.
"We will be seeking legal remedies to ensure that this illegal election fraud is appropriately punished," Skelton concluded.
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Timm Herdt also has an article on this today with his Political Ad watch. Parke Skelton has a point - there was the address - so maybe it was delibrate.
Brian, can you link to Timm Herdt's article?
Tony the Phony Strickland has no ethics, never had them, never will. He and Audra bring in campaign donations from tobacco and oil companies and then pay each other millions of dollars to act as consultants for each others campaigns. Does anyone really think they could afford their multi million dollar mansion otherwise? No surprise that Tony the Phony will tell any lie and break any law to stay at the trough!
I have had so many conversations with people complaining about this mailer in the last two days. They have all been universally turned off by the tactics here. It's so obvious that the Strickland people were trying to fool voters. So instead of trying to convey a (false) message they are instead making people feel the Stricklands can't be trusted.
Not that those of us in the know didn't feel that way already.
The last comment from CAP had too much name calling that isn't of a political nature. I know campaigns get people angry but be more careful with the language.
I deleted the comment.
Sorry Brian. I'll watch it closer. I'm running out of nice things to say about Phony-Tony.
It is illegal to send out campaign materials pretending to be another candidate. Who is supposed to prosecute this kind of thing? Why isn't it being done?
The thing about Tony Strickland is that he will stretch campaign laws to their limits, figuring even heavy penalties are worth the risk of getting elected to the cushy job with perks and benefits. I think the only thing that would deter Strickland from committing offenses is real threat of jail time, which ususally does not apply in campaign finance law.
Tony is desperate - plain & simple.
Based on the vitriolic mailers and hit pieces I've been getting of late from the Jackson campaign, I'd say HBJ is the one who's desperate. She's certainly accomplishing one thing - making herself look foolish and childish.
Mongo-Gibson has it all wrong. The Phony Tony is the desperate one. Just look at the State Republican party running down to help him with all they can put together. Fortunately, they, like Mongo-Gibson, are all washed up. They can't get anyone elected dog catcher. Just look at how good they did with Gibson in Ventura. Didn't he come in next to last in a big field? Perhaps it is that loss that drove him to hide behind a phony name. Perhaps next time we hear from Phony Tony, he too will change his name.
And CAP-874 is your real name I presume? Too funny.
Why didn't you try to defend the mailer?
Mongo, I've probably received all the HBJ mailers as you have. What is it about their content that strikes you as vitriolic? Can you cite any examples where the content is untrue? Or that it steps over the line and attacks Tony personally, rather than simply challenges his character as it pertains to his actions in the assembly?
It would seem that while HBJ has indeed attacked Tony's record and his failures, her campaign has also backed up every one of those attacks with solid evidence. On the other hand, Tony's campaign has attacked HBJ with lies, distortions and wholly invented claims and, as a result, has been challenged by a the media on virtually every point.
The candidate who's making himself appear childish & foolish AND of dishonest character is Tony.
Why would you vote for either of these fools...??
I agree with your assessment, gs. I have received a couple of Strickland mailers which contained outright lies.
This last illegal one was just too much.
Yesterday brought a funny one though, not in tone but the quote they used really made me laugh:
"During Ms. Jackson's tenure, California went from a time of multibillion-dollar surpluses to multibillion-dollar deficits."
-- SB News-Press
(uh... excuse me... guys? Tony served during the same time and there was this little problem called the tech stock crash.)
I also received a booklet yesterday from Hannah-Beth which spoke directly to economic issues. It was very well done.
It is truly sad to see Republicans standing back and allowing the Party to be hijacked by dishonest, self-serving politicians that have no qualms about lying to voters, especially when falsely accusing their opponents.
This isn't just something Strickland's doing: it's infected the entire Party, across the nation. Even the GOP candidate for president has adopted a policy of lie, lie and then lie again. Doesn't God have something to say about this?
GS:
Be careful dear friend, for in the pursuit of a truthful answer to your last question you force us all, each in our own way, to confront the age-old choice between the expediency of electoral victory and the existential loss of our human freedom, spirit and souls.
History is replete with countless examples of the ultimate high price paid by those who had the personal courage to speak "truth to power."
Be careful, also my friend, in assuming that the pursuit of truth is either a Democratic or Republican value. It is not, it is among the highest if not the highest personal character value, and ultimately defines the heart and soul of who we are as individual human beings.
Clarence Darrow said it best at the Scopes Monkey Trial. During a heated exchange with the Judge, he was asked if he believed in right or wrong. He said, "..Your Honor, at the risk of prejudicing my client's case, I do not believe in right or wrong. But I do believe in Truth - as a direction.."
Alas, dear Brutus, the fault lies not in the stars, nor solely in the character flaws of the politicians whom we all too freely and blindly follow to perdition's gate, but in ourselves.
Finally, we all should take heed of what Saint Thomas Moore, the patron saint of Philosophers, Lawyers and Politicans, said to Sir Richard Rich, the Attorney General of Wales, (who received his high-office from Cramner, as payment for bearing false witness against Thomas at his trial) "..Richard, for what does a man profit if the gains Wales, but looses his immortal soul..."
NostraDemus
NostaDemus, do you have copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations strapped to your forehead or what?
ND, I don't want a national leader who'll be an exemplar of shining truth and goodness. That person can be Pope. I want a leader who understands the realities of national politics, the complexities of our domestic & foreign involvements and can best guide the nation through a very unsettling future.
Politics is the science of explaining the world around us in the most advantageous manner. There is no more truth in politics than there is in Proctor & Gamble's battle for shelf space at Albertsons. Trying to convince voters that there should be and that politics is something dirty serves two purposes: to disappoint many, causing them to drop out of the national dialogue and to turn many more against government. It's these two trends that hurt the nation much more than negative ads and a passionate campaign.
RLB BBQ?
GS:
My friend, your answer surprises me. Surely, even metaphorically speaking, you don't want a national leader who is an exemplar of murky lies and evil, do you? If so, as Joe Biden is fond of saying, "..God love you, but your dead wrong!.."
Regarding the Papacy, you're far too bright and erudite to assert that Popes, simply by virtue of their holy office, possess a monopoly on truth. After all, Rodrigo Borgia, who was Pope Alexander VI, did proclaim, "..God has given us the Papacy. Let us enjoy it."
My friend, I couldn't disagree more with your narrow tactical definition of politics. At an operational level, politics does involve methods and tactics used to formulate and apply public policy, but it is much more than that. Strategically, if consists of all social relations involving authority and power. Further, it is also about the application of same to the regulation of a political unit, as in “…All politics is local..�
The Greek Philosopher Aristotle, asserted in his book Politics that man (or more correctly, men and women, let's be careful her and gender neutral) is by nature a political animal. I thoroughly agree. Further, he argued that ethics and politics are closely linked, and that a truly ethical life can only be lived by someone who participates in politics. Again, I most assuredly and strongly agree.
The challenge for us all, my dear friend, is what do we do when the actions of those political leaders we choose to support fail to comport with this critical philosophical underpinning of politics. And, as we both know only too well, only time and history will prove us right or culpable, regarding the choices we make at the polling place.
NostraDemus
Far too deep NostraDemus. You,the man of many quotes, how about the one that goes "keep it simple, stupid". Point is, Phony-Tony lies over and over again while Hannah-Beth Jackson tells the truth. We may disagree with Hannah-Beth on several social issues, but she tells the truth and for me that means a great deal.
For those who still support the Phony, stock up on soap-on-a-ropes. Where the Phony and his gumba Jose are going, they will need plenty.
Keep those deep thoughts coming this way NostraDemus. You stand alone as the most brilliant blogger. A bottle of one, my friend, one day soon?
CAP(Random 3-Digit Choices)
I think you're spending too much time in the llama dip tank.
As to keep it simple, stupid, I'm neither stupid, nor simple, are you?
Not one of my recent posts had anything to do with HBJ or Tony Strickland. Further, your constant ad-nauseum refrain, either as CAP-123, or Gopher Alert, lacks simplicity, charm or impact. Get a life.
As stated numerous times on this blog, I neither support HBJ nor Tony Strickland, because they are, in my opinion, bought and sold creatures of their respective party caucuses and major political funders (corporations, and ultra-right-wing groups for Strickland, trial lawyers, and far-left Democratic fringies for HBJ).
In my book, neither is a true political leader, in any meaningful sense of the phrase, nor are either a statesman or stateswoman. And, notwithstanding their "Johnny-come-lately, Saul on the Road to Damascus" conversions to political centrism, neither are centrists. Deal with it!
Finally, knock-off the "soap on the rope" references, they're as puerile as they are patently pornographic. They certainly do not advance the cause of your candidate. Unless you're trolling for votes from felons and sexual predators.
Ciao Commendatori
NostraDemus
CAP-874,
You need to stop with the incessant soap-on-a-rope crap. It's getting so old...
ND...I do very much believe in RealPolitik. I am a pragmatist. But my references weren'tt to policy but to campaigning.
I never said I want a leader who's an exemplar of the opposite extreme...only one who is prepared to roll up the sleeves and get bruised and battered in pursuit of the public good.
I use the Pope as an icon, only. Perhaps Mother Teresa would have been more appropriate.
I agree that there are politicians that rise above politics and I've said before that they are the majority. There are also those who become truly great public servants, though they are fewer. I don't pretend that HBJ is one of these but I do believe she is above average and can be counted on to do the most good for the most Californians. Strickland, however, seems to be perfectly happy laying obstacles in the way of the public's good. Reality dictates that we choose one or the other. To refuse is simply to abet Strickland's efforts to do harm.
NostraDemus posts his diatribes quite similar in sanity to Ted Kaczinski's "Industrial Society and Its Future" and has the audacity to suggest that I should get a life. Mongo-Gibson is tired of hearing about soap-on-a-rope, but expects readers to enjoy reading his constant attacks against everyone but Phony-Tony. To both of these, I say "no, you get a life". I'll stick with my style and leave you two to continue your rants.
As for this tread, the author of the subject piece broke the law; a trait that is rather typical of the Phony-Tony political machine.
To Quote the Raven and NostraDemus: I used to go to bed in high school reading my father's college copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Funny, a lot a people don't know about it. It's about 20 pounds heavy, small print, and about 5 inches thick, as I remember. I told a my Dad that I'd like to have that, now that they are breaking up the house.
Thanks for the respite from the cesspool of negativity here on this blog. I'm trying not to look in too frequently, as it pollutes the brain more frequently than it educates. I only post now when absolutely necessary to correct a blatant lie or some propoganda. Just wanted to say "thanks" today for the historical and academic references to morality lessons from a time gone by. I'm feeling rather old and out of date most of the time. But when I read NostraDemus, I'm encouraged that there are still some Californians who value a classic education, and I have some hope for our nation's moral compass for a few minutes in my day.
No more tv news or blogs for me for the rest of the evening. Thanks for the "gift" you gave us today, NostraDemus. I bet I'll sleep with better dreams tonight, and not wake up with the little black cloud that's been over our heads with this interminable campaign season. Please post again, and help refresh the ozone on this bog site with some positive ions. You've got quite a few fans here, I think.
GS:
Thanks for clarifying your point of view. I appreciate the sprited cyber-exchange of views with you on this blog.
I too value a political leader who is prepared to roll up their sleeves and get bruised and battered in pursuit of the public good. Even though I do not share it, I respect your convictions that HBJ is that kind of leader. Hopefully, not only for your sake, and the sake of all her supporters, but for the sake of all of the voters in the 19th SD, your faith in her is proven by her actual performance, should she be elected on November 4th.
As to my choice, rest assured, I am as comfortable in my own conscience with it as you are with yours.
CAP (Random 3-Digit Choices)
Clearly, the tone, tenor, and content of your response proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that not only are you spending too much time in the llama dip tank, you're immersed in it!
And as an Obama supporter, you should be comfortable with my audacity, for it is the audacity of hope. Hope that you never forget that friendship transcends politics. Hope that you never forget that differences of opinion, even strong ones, are not deficiencies of character, intellect, or judgment. Hope that you chill-out and never let your commitment to your candidate overshadow your commitment to common decency and civil discourse. But that choice, my friend, is entirely yours.
Elephantpower:
Thanks for the kind comments regarding my proclivity towards using quotations from the past to help bring life and substance to ideas for the future. As a student of history, I have been and remain fascinated by the fact that as President Truman said, "..The only thing that is new is the history that we have not yet learned.." I am not one who is convinced that history began with my birth. Rather, like Aristotle, I believe that, "..an unexamined life is not worth living."
Further, my use of quotations from the past is not intellectual laziness, but rather a profound respect that many of our forefathers (and foremothers) confronted similar existential problems, and we can learn from their travails. For example, after the Royal Society awarded Sir Issac Newton fame and fortune for his Principia, a number of envious detractors suggested that compared to Aristotle, Euclid, Pythagoras, and other giant scholars of antiquity, Newton was a pygmy.
Newton, never one to have flies on him, penned a letter to the London Times responding to these critics by saying, "..It may be true that I am not as prominent a thinker as giants such as Aristotle, Euclid, Pythagoras, but I am proud to say that perhaps I may see further into the future for as a pygmy, I stand on the shoulder of giants.."
To all my Dennert cyber-blogging buddies, it is late, and I long for the arms of Morpheus. As such, I say to you all, in the immortal words of Edward R. Murrow, "..Good Night and Good Luck!."
NostraDemus
This one is simple folks. If you are better off now then you were 8 years ago vote for Tony the Phony Strickland, if you are not better off then vote for Hannah-Beth Jackson and Ferial Masry.
This is yet another example of the typical dirty tricks that are played every day by the likes of Phony Tony, Deceptive Justin, Boss Hog Osborn, Slimy Kunicki, and Money-Funneling Gibson and the rest of the Strickland machine. Nothing these guys do would surprise me at this point.
Never happen, NostraDemus, our friend. Good wine awaits our next get together. We shall be in Ventura on election night. Perhaps we can meet up for a bottle or two. Politics, as sport, shall never get in the way of friendship.
Do not forget, Obama is not a citizen of the United States of America and therefore is in violation of the Constitution. They also are in Violation of the 10th amendment of the Constitution. Therefore Obama, is in violation of the law.It would be a very good idea for you to read the 10th amendment.
The only ones who believe Obama was not born in the U.S. also believe that aliens landed in Roswell and live at Area 51! Even the Donald has shut his fat mouth about it! The tea party hates Obama because of his race and because by taking out Osama and Khadafi he has taken away the boogeymen the GOP wanted to use to try and get elected. Get a life buddy!
No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar.