| Well, a few days ago I posted a diary about the Kurt Wright campaign slamming Miro Weinberger for seeking campaign cash from "Washington elites," as opposed to soliciting only Vermont elites, which I guess is a purer form of filling the moneybags. (Weinberger netted $8,000 from a gathering of 70 "Washington elites," many of whom had strong Vermont ties; that's a decidedly non-elite average gift of $114.29.)
I pointed out the sheer hypocrisy of any Republican slamming an opponent on this subject, since the GOP is the Grand Champion of big-dollar, out-of-town fundraising.
So now, the Weinberger folks have felt compelled to strike back at Wright. And pardon me if I'm underwhelmed. The big scoop on Wright, per Andy Bromage on the Seven Days staff blog:
According to public campaign reports, Wright raised $850 from four out-of-state corporate political action committees for his 2010 campaign for state representative. He accepted $200 each from Pfizer PAC in New York City; Anheuser-Busch Co. PAC in Whitehouse Station, N.J.; and ENPAC (the corporate PAC for Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Corp.) in Jackson, Miss. He also accepted $250 from GlaxoSmith Kline PAC in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Weinberger campaign, which described its D.C. fundraiser as a gathering of Vermont "ex-pats" and family friends, dug up the same information and is now accusing Wright of hypocrisy.
Eight hundred and fifty dollars? Come on, Eileen. That's a drop in anybody's bucket. Does Weinberger really think this will help him win the mayoralty, when (non-felonious) fundraising brouhahas never seem to make any difference with the electorate?
(Now, on the theory that you should never let an attack go without a response, here's how I would have addressed Wright's original accusation: "We fought a tough five-way primary for the party's nomination. We face an opponent with deep pockets and the support of some very wealthy people. So as part of our campaign effort, we reached out to fellow Vermonters and friends who happen to be living in Washington." And leave it at that.)
Wright continued the pointless exercise by positing a difference between running for Mayor and running for the Legislature -- outside money is okay for the latter but not for the former -- and that's absolute nonsense and he should stop it.
This whole thing was minuscule to begin with, and it just keeps getting smaller and smaller. It doesn't help either man. They would be better served -- and would look more like the kind of leader Burlington needs -- by simply dropping the matter and getting back to the issues. If anybody is gaining anything from this, it's Wanda Hines. |
