Senate Race Gets Dirty
The Republicans, the party that not only invented dirty politics but have perfected it to the point where its actually named after Karl Rove (Rovian tactics), are bitching that the campaign for the Senate seat has turned dirty.
They are pointing to a recent story that aired on a local news station in which the ex-wife of "Professor" Dan Chavez raised issues relating to his ability to handle money in their marriage and during their divorce.
Considering that Dan Chavez repeats the fact that he is a "professor" of economics about as often as he likes to say his opponent is in favor of legalization of marijuana, a news organization would see it as a fair line of questioning.
In case you are wondering about the quotation marks around the term professor, its because as I understand the definition, professor means "In most English-speaking nations professor is the title only of a senior academic who holds a departmental chair (especially as head of the department), or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual."
So as I understand it, he's not really a professor. But then again, people in the south were known to take on the title "Colonel" all the time, even if they weren't actually a "Colonel". That reminds me, I haven't had Kentucky Fried Chicken in a while...
Sorry to get off track, back to the original subject...
Some in the Republican party go so far as to allege that Chavez's ex-wife is secretly working for his opponent. Queue the Gilberto conspiracy music.
I've never seen Chavez's ex-wife anywhere near a campaign event, and I go to a lot of them. I have scoured my vast photo and video library of this years' campaign events to find her and have come up with nothing. That doesn't mean she's not involved, but if she is, she's doing it in secret and certainly isn't having an impact on anything.
Here's the irony of it all, is that the conspiracy theorists in the local GOP have a theory that's predicated on the Democratic party seeing Chavez as a viable threat. People play dirty only when they feel threatened. Exhibit "A" Chavez V. Gonzalez in the Democratic Primary for HD 76. (Remember that reference later in this piece). Exhibit "B" Dee Margo attempting to say Joe Moody was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Interestingly while the GOP is crying foul over the ex-wife thing, a local Republican, Aaron Medina (Larry's cousin), raised an issue dealing with the Democratic nominee's son at a forum.
For the record, I think it's a fair question to ask. Rodriguez is a candidate and the revelation isn't something that wasn't talked about during the primary election. Rodriguez has been around the block and can take it, so I don't critique Medina for asking the question. I critique the Chavez supporters for being big babies and wanting a special set of rules for their candidate.
As Sammy C writes, the way it went down was as follows:
Question (Audience)(Not Really the Audience but Republican Aaron Medina): "Mr. Rodriguez, good afternoon and thank you for visiting our campus. Mr. Rodriguez, as a public official for several years you claim that one of your issues is being ethical and being transparent."
Answer(Rodriguez): "That is correct, in my 16 (or 17) years as a County Attorney I have never received a complaint against me."
Audience (Not Really the Audience but Republican Aaron Medina): "Okay, I have a follow up question related to my previous question. Can you please go into detail as to why your son Nicholas Rodriguez was not prosecuted for felony possession of marijuana."
Rodriguez: Are you planted by the opposing party?
Audience (Not Really the Audience but Republican Aaron Medina): "No sir, I am just a concerned citizen."
Rodriguez: "This is a personal matter, all I am saying is he was found not guilty. I will not go into any more details."
I actually believe Medina when says he wasn't planted by the opposing party. I know the vato and he's got balls, so I have no doubt he did that all alone.
But you memmer when I said to remember the HD76 race and cited it as Exhibit "A" of a dirty campaign? Well, Medina was a big time supporter or Naomi Gonzalez in that race.
The point is, the story about Chavez's financial issues was relevant considering he cites financial prowess as his primary asset.
 |
| From ECA Candidate Forum |
Considering that Dan Chavez repeats the fact that he is a "professor" of economics about as often as he likes to say his opponent is in favor of legalization of marijuana, a news organization would see it as a fair line of questioning.
In case you are wondering about the quotation marks around the term professor, its because as I understand the definition, professor means "In most English-speaking nations professor is the title only of a senior academic who holds a departmental chair (especially as head of the department), or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual."
So as I understand it, he's not really a professor. But then again, people in the south were known to take on the title "Colonel" all the time, even if they weren't actually a "Colonel". That reminds me, I haven't had Kentucky Fried Chicken in a while...
Sorry to get off track, back to the original subject...
Some in the Republican party go so far as to allege that Chavez's ex-wife is secretly working for his opponent. Queue the Gilberto conspiracy music.
I've never seen Chavez's ex-wife anywhere near a campaign event, and I go to a lot of them. I have scoured my vast photo and video library of this years' campaign events to find her and have come up with nothing. That doesn't mean she's not involved, but if she is, she's doing it in secret and certainly isn't having an impact on anything.
Here's the irony of it all, is that the conspiracy theorists in the local GOP have a theory that's predicated on the Democratic party seeing Chavez as a viable threat. People play dirty only when they feel threatened. Exhibit "A" Chavez V. Gonzalez in the Democratic Primary for HD 76. (Remember that reference later in this piece). Exhibit "B" Dee Margo attempting to say Joe Moody was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Interestingly while the GOP is crying foul over the ex-wife thing, a local Republican, Aaron Medina (Larry's cousin), raised an issue dealing with the Democratic nominee's son at a forum.
For the record, I think it's a fair question to ask. Rodriguez is a candidate and the revelation isn't something that wasn't talked about during the primary election. Rodriguez has been around the block and can take it, so I don't critique Medina for asking the question. I critique the Chavez supporters for being big babies and wanting a special set of rules for their candidate.
As Sammy C writes, the way it went down was as follows:
Question (Audience)(Not Really the Audience but Republican Aaron Medina): "Mr. Rodriguez, good afternoon and thank you for visiting our campus. Mr. Rodriguez, as a public official for several years you claim that one of your issues is being ethical and being transparent."
Answer(Rodriguez): "That is correct, in my 16 (or 17) years as a County Attorney I have never received a complaint against me."
Audience (Not Really the Audience but Republican Aaron Medina): "Okay, I have a follow up question related to my previous question. Can you please go into detail as to why your son Nicholas Rodriguez was not prosecuted for felony possession of marijuana."
Rodriguez: Are you planted by the opposing party?
Audience (Not Really the Audience but Republican Aaron Medina): "No sir, I am just a concerned citizen."
Rodriguez: "This is a personal matter, all I am saying is he was found not guilty. I will not go into any more details."
I actually believe Medina when says he wasn't planted by the opposing party. I know the vato and he's got balls, so I have no doubt he did that all alone.
But you memmer when I said to remember the HD76 race and cited it as Exhibit "A" of a dirty campaign? Well, Medina was a big time supporter or Naomi Gonzalez in that race.
The point is, the story about Chavez's financial issues was relevant considering he cites financial prowess as his primary asset.
Comments
Post a Comment
We encourage constructive community dialogue, debate, and conversation - but we reserve the right to refuse to publish a comment or delete a comment if we feel like it. Be a respectful adult. Use common sense.