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WhatTheBuck

WhatTheBuck 28929

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Yes, Florida again

 

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — A social media ad buy in which one candidate says his opponent has passed on genetically defective breast milk to “unsuspecting families” has turned into an ugly campaign mystery.

With some voters having already cast mail-in ballots and early voting starting Saturday, what isn’t clear in the race for New Smyrna Beach City Commission Zone 1 race is who is responsible for the offensive Facebook ad posted on Tuesday labeled “paid for by John Redmond Campaign”?

Not Redmond, he claims. He said he never bought the ad and offered at least some evidence to that effect.

“My Facebook account obviously was hacked,” Redmond said in a phone call Wednesday. He shared a screenshot of an email sent from Facebook at 10:35 a.m. Tuesday, alerting him to a login “from a device or location you don’t usually use.”

After lunchtime Tuesday he said he tried to stop the activity, but had trouble, and it wasn’t until much later that night, following attendance at a City Commission meeting, he decided to deactivate his personal and political accounts entirely.

“I’m not a computer guy. It took me a long time to figure out what was happening,” Redmond said.

Meanwhile, opponent Jessica Realin, the candidate attacked in the ad, and some of her supporters spent much of Tuesday posting on Facebook pages in reaction to the ad, leading to a change.org petition urging Redmond to drop out of the race. As of late Wednesday afternoon, more than 70 people had signed it.

Redmond, a 57-year-old retired businessman and educator, did buy six other $100 Facebook ads since July 17. They all tout his political positions and pledges, including an anti-growth platform. None reference Realin, a 33-year-old public relations and marketing professional, or two other opponents in the primary, Peggy Belflower and Michael Kolody.

Then came Tuesday and the breast milk ad, which showed photos of Realin, who in 2015 co-founded the Florida Mothers’ Milk Bank, which provides human milk to 33 neonatial intensive care units across the state.

The ad reads: “Possibly due to genetic defects in her family donating her breast milk might pass on her inferior genes to unsuspecting families. Her son [name omitted] was born at 24 weeks of gestation in January 2012, and her daughter [name omitted] was born in December 2013 at 29 weeks. Notice the rainbow pin. This is an editorial comment.”

The ad included the children’s names but The News-Journal has deleted them after speaking with Realin. She said she wears the rainbow pin in remembrance of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting victims, as her husband was a first responder at the scene in Orlando on June 12, 2016.

The ad was made inactive later Tuesday. Facebook media representatives did not, in an email, address direct questions about the matter.

‘A convenient story’

Realin and supporters had captured images and were sharing them widely, calling the ad “immature” and “disgusting.”

Jill Dempsey, for instance, wrote: “I don’t know this guy but he definitely has some boundaries issues. Better we see it now then when he is sitting on the city Commission!”

Realin said she had attempted unsuccessfully to reach Redmond by phone Tuesday morning.

“It’s a convenient story, in my opinion,” Realin said in a phone interview Wednesday about Redmond’s explanation. “Whoever hacked him had to want to pay $100. I honestly was hoping he was hacked, but either way — if he was hacked, why didn’t he just answer the phone calls?”

Redmond responded: “My phone number is everywhere. I don’t have a phone call from her. I don’t have an email from her. I’m not saying she didn’t (try to reach me), but if she tried on Facebook, I don’t have that Facebook app on my phone.

“I wish I would have gotten that message,” Redmond said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Redmond said he will continue his campaign for the commission seat.

“Of course I’m going to remain in the race,” he said.

[READ MORE: NSB mayor Jim Hathaway ‘retiring from politics,’ won’t run]

[READ MORE: 6 newcomers contend with growth in NSB mayoral race]

‘I don’t believe it’

New Smyrna Beach Residents Coalition co-founder Sally Gillespie — a close observer of the race and of city politics — said it would be very much out of character for Redmond to attack another candidate in this way.

“I’ve been to all of the forums,” Gillespie said. “He’s never attacked any other candidates. ... I just ... I don’t believe it.”

The influential residents coalition, founded years ago as an advocacy group to give locals a louder voice in city government, has made assessments of all the candidates.

It notes that Redmond moved to the city in 2014 and has “no record of public involvement in growth-related issues prior to his filing.” And it says the same thing of Realin, no record of invovlement in growth issues. While it notes she started the Mothers Milk Bank of Florida, it states she has “little knowledge or understanding of the issues being debated during this election cycle.”

Realin, in another post, accused the coalition of backing Redmond.

“We can agree to disagree on issues but; this gives me a taste of what he will be like if he is voted as our CITY COMMISSIONER,” Realin wrote. “Also, I let New Smyrna Beach Residents Coalition know about this and shared since I know this is the candidate they are behind. Just felt they should know what his character represents.”

Gillespie said Wednesday that Realin is wrong about the coalition endorsing a single candidate.

Realin’s friend and neighbor, Britney Gaither, said she noticed the ad in her Facebook feed around 2 p.m. Tuesday. At 9:53 p.m., it became inactive.

“If (Redmond) was hacked and he can prove it, then that’s great,” Gaither said. “We can put this behind us. But if he wasn’t, ... I think that he should step down.”

It remained unclear on Wednesday afternoon whether, or more particularly how, a potential Facebook ad-hack might be investigated. Who bought the ad? Might it be a campaign violation? Those questions remained unanswered by Volusia Elections Supervisor Lisa Lewis Wednesday afternoon.

But at least some seem to think it is a mystery worth solving.

Gaither never imagined a municipal race could get so unusual. She said it has many in town talking about how the ad came to be.

“That’s what we’re all trying to figure out,” Gaither said. “How did it get this nasty?”

Candidates from Zones 1 and 2 and the mayor’s race are all invited to participate in a public question-and-answer forum at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Sugar Mill Country Club inside the Sugar Mill subdivision at 100 Club House Circle.

Redmond must be a Republican. 

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You said it in the only way that matters: you voted for it. 

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 26239

Posted
Posted

Email I just received about Issa's seat:

 

Gil -

We just learned that former Vice President Dick Cheney is set to headline a fundraiser tomorrow for my Republican opponent, Diane Harkey.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The same Dick Cheney who wholeheartedly supported the deficit-busting Bush tax cuts (not paid for), and two wars (not paid for), now wants you to believe that Diane Harkey can be trusted to effectively manage the taxpayer’s money. Yeah, right.

Using recent history as a guide, President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress, including our very own Congressmember Darrell Issa, have gladly continued down the reckless and irresponsible path of passing tax cuts for the very wealthy without any consideration of the long-term fiscal health of our nation.

Diane Harkey would be another vote in support of these dangerous policies.

So, I have to ask you: do we trust Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, Darrell Issa, and Diane Harkey to protect our Social Security and Medicare, and to do what’s right for American families?

Please make a contribution to our campaign today and help me send the message that it’s time for our elected officials to stand up for working families and the people they represent, instead of just standing up for themselves.

Thank you,

Mike

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13730

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Email I just received about Issa's seat:

 

Gil -

We just learned that former Vice President Dick Cheney is set to headline a fundraiser tomorrow for my Republican opponent, Diane Harkey.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The same Dick Cheney who wholeheartedly supported the deficit-busting Bush tax cuts (not paid for), and two wars (not paid for), now wants you to believe that Diane Harkey can be trusted to effectively manage the taxpayer’s money. Yeah, right.

Using recent history as a guide, President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress, including our very own Congressmember Darrell Issa, have gladly continued down the reckless and irresponsible path of passing tax cuts for the very wealthy without any consideration of the long-term fiscal health of our nation.

Diane Harkey would be another vote in support of these dangerous policies.

So, I have to ask you: do we trust Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, Darrell Issa, and Diane Harkey to protect our Social Security and Medicare, and to do what’s right for American families?

Please make a contribution to our campaign today and help me send the message that it’s time for our elected officials to stand up for working families and the people they represent, instead of just standing up for themselves.

Thank you,

Mike

"Reagan proved deficits don't matter"  - Dick Cheney

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Js1

Js1 87182

Posted
Posted (edited)
55 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

He's been going on hard at this lately.  Is he in trouble?

He’s polling way behind in 3rd for the jungle election. He’s not going to make the run-off after November

Edited by Js1
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gmr548

gmr548 16699

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Js1 said:

First House tracking forecast by 538.  (DURR IT SAID HILLARY WOULD WIN DURR RED WAVE - getting that out of the way)

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/house/

Average gain is +35 for the Democrats.  75% chance of the House flipping. 

Notable seats:

TX-7 is basically 50/50 right now

TX-23 is about 75% chance of flipping from Hurd

CA-48 (Putin's bitch Dana R.) 67% chance of flipping

538 has established a pretty damn good track record on election predictions. Obviously they nailed 2012 and that was their claim to fame, but they were still one of the most accurate in 2016 (gave Trump a 30% chance when most gave him 0-10) and have been providing really good analysis on down ballot races since. I really like their work.

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Js1

Js1 87182

Posted
Posted

Will Hurd goes fully aggy

https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2018/aug/15/will-hurd/will-hurd-way-foe-getting-way-more-money-massachus/

Quote

An Aug. 8, 2018, San Antonio Express-News rundown of the race between Rep. Will Hurd of Helotes and Democratic nominee Gina Ortiz Jones quotes Hurd saying of Jones: "When you raise more money from Massachusetts than you do from Texas, that is not a good indication of your broad-based support."

Quote

Off the bat, we noticed that Hurd’s analysis counts donations made by individuals to the Jones campaign via the ActBlue PAC, based in Somerville, Mass., as originating in Massachusetts. Pfeiffer said: "I counted the money Jones received from ActBlue as receipts from the state of Massachusetts because ActBlue is a PAC in Massachusetts."

However, ActBlue doesn’t make candidate donations. Rather, Democratic aspirants and groups use the PAC’s online tools to manage donations from all over the country. The PAC says on its website that it "acts as a conduit federally and in most states, which means we provide the infrastructure for campaigns and organizations to fundraise online, but we don’t fundraise on behalf of anyone."

Quote

A center analyst, Douglas Weber, replied that by its sort of itemized donations by individuals reported by Jones to the FEC, her campaign through June 2018 had raised $193,879 from Massachusetts residents and $353,293 from Texas residents. "We generally do not count PAC contributions," Weber said by email, "as many PACs are based in the D.C. area regardless of the organization."

Separately, Judith Ingram, an FEC press officer, responding to our inquiry by checking Jones’s filed reports for donations fielded in each state. Ingram emailed us spreadsheets showing Jones getting $339,599 from more than 800 Texas donors and drawing $117,950 from more than 120 Massachusetts donors--with PACs not included in her tallies.

Hurt's campaign doubles down in aggy fashion. "It doesn't matter where the contributions came from, Act Blue is in Mass and there ore, WE ARE RIGHT!"

Quote

Pfeiffer, Hurd's spokesman, indicated by email that Hurd stands by what he said. Pfeiffer wrote: "Based on the congressman's quote, the relevant question here is whether more money is flowing to Jones from Massachusetts than Texas. Jones is receiving a large amount of money from ActBlue, which is based in Massachusetts. What type of PAC ActBlue is does not change where they are based or the proximate source of the money flowing to Jones' campaign," Pfeiffer said.

Narrator: They're still wrong.  And Hurd might want to not throw stones, considering his PAC money comes from DC, Virginia, etc.

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Js1

Js1 87182

Posted
Posted

Yeah, someone said Corey Stewart is going to do to Virginia GOP what Pete Wilson did to California GOP.

And to put that in a reference they understand - Corey Stewart is leading the Virginia GOP to the gas chamber.

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Zonahorn

Zonahorn 8079

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Js1 said:

Yeah, someone said Corey Stewart is going to do to Virginia GOP what Pete Wilson did to California GOP.

And to put that in a reference they understand - Corey Stewart is leading the Virginia GOP to the gas chamber.

T'was me

 

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Newdoc

Newdoc 3511

Posted
Posted
On 8/16/2018 at 11:38 AM, Js1 said:

Average gain is +35 for the Democrats

The republicans certainly have laid their bed, and Trump’s behavior isn’t helping, but this current flip prediction looks like of all the 2016 no way Trump wins projections.

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Js1

Js1 87182

Posted
Posted

None of what you just said is true unless you ignore empirical evidence of the average shift in special elections being D+8. They need 23 seats and a 4-5 point win in the popular vote. 7-8 gets them 35 or more. 

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 15136

Posted
Posted
Yep. 10 years ago, "spinning it" was "I misspoke or exaggerated."  There actually was a level of accountability and saying "damn, I fucked up."
Now it's "FAKE NEWS!" No self blame.


“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

“Read my lips: no new taxes.”

“You can keep your doctor.”

1122563.jpg
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cactusflinthead

cactusflinthead 27627

Posted
Posted

Just finished reading Rick Wilson's book. There are parts that I am going to read again. I didn't know he worked to take down Roy Moore. It was partly payback to Bannon. 

He's got some valid points in his words to the Democrats. Conor Lamb typifies what he said. It's being played out in other races too. You can be the candidate for that district or state. 

It doesn't surprise me that the polls are getting a lot of shade thrown at them. As if that's the first time in history that there was a surprise at the polls. It was a shitstorm of Lahey proportions. I don't know what is going to happen with the Republicans. Running off all the conspiracy theory loons, alt-right, and anyone with a whiff of racism is a tall order. Seriously he said that. 

In nearly any other time, had I known of Rick Wilson and the work he did I would have called him a sorry sumbitch but respected him as an opponent. He was good at what he did. Somebody is going to hire him again if he wants to go back to that life.

 

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Tuco

Tuco 5093

Posted
Posted
Lol. You reap what you sow.

Meanwhile, Trump brags about the coming red wave and brags about Republicans winning primaries. I certainly don’t discourage any Trumpster who believes this, particularly if they are irritated by their Congressman not blindly following Trump. They should definitely cast a protest vote against such disloyalty.
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Js1

Js1 87182

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, gmr548 said:

Lol. You reap what you sow.

Might have a lot to do with that enthusiasm gap.  There's probably 30-40% of "Republicans" who aren't enthusiastic about voting because "the polls are wrong." Trump says it's a red wave, they don't need to show up.  Literally the opposite of 2016.  

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