I think the issue here is not so much the lobbying tactics of the various folks involved in the public health/smoking ban matter, as: Has the Rybak campaign gone over the edge here by stating that McLaughlin sold his vote out to the bar owners? They have made a very serious allegation - an allegation of criminal conduct.
I think this is way over the top. I think David's option of "overly harsh" doesn't cover it. It's one thing to question the timing of this fundraiser with the Hennepin County Board's apparent re-examination of this issue. That's a legitimate thing to point out, and something the Rybak campaign can legitimately smile over and make sure that we know about. It's something else again to state that McLaughlin sold his vote. If the Rybak campaign has hard evidence of McLaughlin selling his vote, they should give it to us - and the bad timing of a fundraiser is NOT such evidence. If they don't, they should retract and apologize. This sort of tactic makes it really hard to support Rybak. It's not going to help win over the undecided voters. I think Rybak needs to take a real hard look at how his campaign is being run. As I recall, his campaign four years ago was positive, forward looking, and funny. He was a likeably guy running a pretty likeable campaign. This campaign is far from likeable, and it does not reflect well on the person whose name is on the lawn signs. It's also really frustrating that Rybak's campaign took an issue that should have been good for Rybak (McLaughlin's apparent retreat from his support of the smoking ban) and instead of focusing on the facts (and they're pretty good facts for Rybak, one would think) they come out with this nasty rhetoric. In this case, they're risking losing a good story because of the terrible language they're using in telling it. This is one ugly campaign, and, based on this, Rybak's people seem to be leading the charge. It's really frustrating seeing two hardworking public servants get bogged down in this sort of nastiness. I like both these guys, and this stuff just sickens me. Jon Lewis Tired of this in Lyndale REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
