| This item came out several days ago, but I just noticed it and felt it should not be allowed to go by without comment.
So the Kurt Wright campaign is all upset because Miro Weinberger had a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., that netted $8,000. So notes Andy Bromage on the Seven Days staff blog.
Now the campaign of Republican candidate Kurt Wright is using his rival's jaunt to D.C. to criticize Weinberger for being an "elitist" who is bringing "Washington politics" to a local Vermont race.
... "It's a sad day for Burlington when you have someone who's going to reach out to the type of politics that are in D.C." said Dave Hartnett, a Democrat city councilor from Burlington's New North End and campaign spokesman for Wright. "I think it sends the wrong message."
Side note before we continue: Mr. Bromage, please don't use "Democrat" as an adjective. That's a Republican thing. The correct term is "Democratic."
One thing I never, ever, ever need to hear is a Republican campaign complaining about money. Republicans have been the driving force in making politics more and more expensive, and not caring at all where the money comes from. In fact, they argue very strenuously that the source of campaign funds doesn't influence their politics. Which is absurd, but it is their argument. So I don't need to hear from a Republican campaign on the relative purity of one funding source as opposed to another.
(Unless Kurt Wright wants his fellow Republicans to forswear all that Koch Brothers money.)
Hartnett admits that Wright will have a very well-financed campaign -- $40,000 or so -- but that's okay because he's raising it the good old Vermont way: from the usual group of conservative moneybags. Angelo Pizzagalli, Ernie Pomerleau, Bruce Lisman, et al. Whereas Weinberger is taking money from Washingtonian elites. Er, sort of:
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy headlined the 70-person soiree, which took place at the home of his former chief of staff, Luke Albee. Co-hosting was Bob Rogan, U.S. Peter Welch's chief of staff.
Weinberger spokesman Mike Kanarick noted that the attendees were "'people who have connections to Vermont, deep affection for Vermont and Burlington' or are Vermont 'ex-pats' living in D.C." And aside from this D.C. fundraiser, there were 163 donations to the Weinberger campaign in January; 149 of them were from Vermont. Not bad, really.
Also, hmm, $8,000 from 70 people. That's $114.29 per person. Not exactly elite-level giving.
So the "Washington elite" stuff is awfully thin gruel: is Pat Leahy really any more of an out-of-touch "elite" than Ray Pecor? It's also tiresome on a tactical level; complaining about an opponent's fundraising is kind of a kneejerk reaction, but it never seems to make any difference to voters. (I wish it did make a bit more difference, but it doesn't.)
In short, it's a tired, ineffectual, hypocritical wheeze.
And seriously, Andy Bromage, stop using "Democrat" as an adjective. |
