Talking Points Memo has a fascinating new campaign spot from Florida Rep. Tom Feeney, who is shown apologizing directly to the camera for a Jack Abramoff-sponsored trip he took:
As you can imagine, this piqued the interest of Colorado Senate candidate Mark Udall, whose opponent Bob Schaffer could reasonably be asked to shoot the same commercial.
“Bob Schaffer was up to his neck in the same kind of corrupt dealing with jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff that Tom Feeney was,” said Udall campaign spokeswoman Tara Trujillo. “Schaffer took Abramoff’s trip and then he took Abramoff’s marching orders, turning a blind eye to human trafficking and forced abortions in the process. Tom Feeney is at least taking responsibility for his actions. When will Bob Schaffer?”
H/T: Squarestate.net
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but that ad took guts.
Its all Boulder liberal Mark Udall’s fault,
It’s an inexperienced interns/outside ad agency’s fault
It’s legal bullshit
The State Dept. never informed us we were undermining the troops
And the still-life-like fruit in the bowl?
Maybe Tom Feeney is truly repentant, and that’s all well and good.
But the homey additions, cited above, give the commercial a patently phony touch.
And he should’ve said: I bought my wife a Scottish wool cloth coat during the trip. I’ve paid back the money for the trip, but my wife’s keeping the coat.
his little dog Fala.
I’ve been thinking about what Feeney’s handlers could possibly have wanted to convey by some of the props that were included in his commercial.
At first, I considered that the message is this: all in all, he’s a homey kinda guy. It’s a feelgood, family kind of spin. He’s at the breakfast table, after all.
But now I think, it’s this instead: Feeney’s saying, “I’ve been reading the papers, and it’s time for me to wake up and smell the coffee: if I want to get re-elected, I’d better act contrite about the whole Abramoff thingamajig, before this whole bananas business gets overripe and stinks even more.”
is something to be proud of when you’re turning squarely against the herd. Conventional wisdom would say to deny everything and attack the accusers. Its says something that a single candidate showing some personal accountability sends shockwaves across the country, but the result can only be good.
kudos to him for owning it – even if he felt that was his only option, it still requires a lot of guts.
or a strategic move to keep his seat? He took the trip five years ago.
He was re-elected in 2006 and didn’t feel an ounce of remorse then, when everyone else connected with Abramoff was running as far away from the guy as possible and donating contributions to their nearest food bank.
But now, when he is suddenly facing opposition from a surprisingly strong candidate, he suddenly discovers his true ethical self?
I’m not buying it. Sorry to be cynical but I’m not. This is a 2006 scandal that is haunting his campaign in 2008 and it’s showing up in his internal polling.
Late is better than never, especially when most public leaders choose never when it comes to this sort of thing. Even if its for political reasons, most choose never to take responsibility and to attack, attack, attack and change the subject. Maybe its rising to the top of a limited field, but its still something at that.
Well said. Good point.
Reports from yesterday indicate he is only up by one point and the Democratic challenger has way more money
1. Report his lapse to the ethics committee.
2. Repay the money for the Marianas trip.
3. Do a commercial saying he’s sorry. (Of course, the “rookie mistake” angle won’t work.)
4. Fire Dick Wadhams and concede the election.
Sounds like a plan!
http://www.rasmussenreports.co…
How come Schaffer keeps hanging around?