Backstabbing, All in Good Fun
Roll Call Staff
Wednesday’s blog posting was the last straw for sneering Republican aides who, even as they shook their heads and laughed, had just enough of their colleague David All and his annoying blogging.
All, who has taken a leave of absence from his job flacking for House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Jack Kingston (Ga.) to work for Michigan GOP Senate candidate Mike Bouchard, really won the blog-o-jerk award when he blogged that
Bouchard was a hero, when in fact he pretty much stood around watching a garbage truck burn on a highway.
From reading the blog posting on Bouchard’s Web site, you’d have thought that Bouchard, the sheriff of Oakland County, Mich., who is running to unseat Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), had heroically pulled the garbage men from their burning truck.
What happened was this: Bouchard was on his way home from campaign stops when he happened upon the fiery scene. His press secretary, Jennifer Morris, pulled out a camcorder and hit record, then posted the video blog on the candidate’s site.
“Mike Bouchard leaps into action when a garbage truck catches on fire,” reads the pop-up caption before the vlog begins. A reasonable person would expect to see Bouchard diving in to save people from the fire. Instead, you see him standing on the side of the highway in khakis and a button-down shirt watching the truck burn. “Leapt into action?”
“I guess the ‘leap into action’ line in the opening of the video could be a bit misleading, since the video only captures the end of the event,” All admitted later. “I guess in situations like the fire last night you just feel a bit more safe and secure when you have a 20-year lawman on the scene telling you that.”
All explained that Bouchard “quickly checked to make sure everyone was OK — which they were — and made sure that police and fire were on the way.”
Other Republican aides, friends of All, had a field day making fun of him for yet another tall, or at least small, blogging tale.
“This didn’t have quite the gripping drama of the live blog when a Kingston staffer ‘did not get shot’ during the false gun scare this past Spring in Rayburn, but at least it had some colorful video, albeit completely unrelated to Bouchard’s campaign or candidacy,” a GOP aide told HOH.
Another GOP aide said of All, “If he’s not careful, this thing could really blow up in his face.”
Great friends, tough crowd.
All Nevada, All the Time. Since when does a candidate for secretary of state of Nevada get a host committee that resembles a 2008 presidential primary field? Well, since Nevada became a part of the early primary calendar, of course.
Several notable Democratic ’08 contenders are on the list to host a fundraiser next Wednesday for Ross Miller, who is running for secretary of state. Among them: Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Evan Bayh of Indiana and Joseph Biden of Delaware.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) is chief of the host committee. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack are also on deck to help host the event.
Why? According to Clinton Senate campaign spokeswoman Ann Lewis, “Sen. Clinton is happy to serve as a co-sponsor with her friend and colleague Sen. Reid — of legislation and of events.”
For Bayh, it’s a no-brainer, according to spokesman Dan Pfeiffer. Miller is the son of former Gov. Bob Miller, who was governor of Nevada when Bayh was governor of Indiana. “Bayh and Bob are friends from those days,” Pfeiffer said.
As for Biden, “The Senator has met Ross Miller and, like his father, former Gov. [Bob] Miller, the Senator thinks Ross is a capable leader,” said Biden’s PAC director Danny O’Brien.
O’Brien said Biden committed to hosting the Sept. 27 event for Miller back in June, “long before Nevada was even a twinkle in the eyes of the other ’08 hopefuls.”
But he joked that “not unlike the allure that Las Vegas’ casinos hold out to millions of gamblers each year, Sen. Biden is feeling pretty lucky when it comes to his chances in the Nevada caucuses.”
Energy and Commerce Committee: Barton Holds the Line for the GOP
March 15, 12 a.m.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) knows he’s outnumbered. He knows the Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he serves as ranking member, have the ability to “slam things through” when they want to. Read Full Article
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