Here is an example of the pressure that was put on Vicki Slater, a Madison attorney who is also chairwoman of the Mississippi Association for Justice (trial lawyers group), to drop out of the race against Republican Congressman Gregg Harper. A prominent local attorney involved in Democrat Party politics urged her in this email to drop out of the race. Needless to say, she apparently followed his advice. What was interesting was he urged her to drop out to help Earle Banks in his race against Chief Justice Bill Waller. Read for yourself. Its actually pretty good reading and I don't mean that in a bad way.
Vicki: I think you would be a great Congresswoman. I would vote twice if I could. However, I hope we can take a historical perspective and determine whether a run at this moment is best for you, the Party and those other non-partisan candidates that we support. I am copying xxxxx xxxx with this e-mail and hoping he will contradict me where I am wrong.
First and foremost, the last competitive race in this district was Ronnie Shows, an incumbent Congressman with a very moderate voting record and excellent name ID, who worked on the race for two years and spent $1.5 million (not counting independent expenditures). He lost by either 28 or 32 percentage points. Really. 2 to 1. This district is so unwinnable for a Democrat that I have not given anyone a nickel since Ronnie lost. I promise you the Crymes/Cupit/Liston group will not write checks. It is the reddest district in the reddest state in the U.S.
Second, although I am not positive it was in the same year (may have been) the other races around that district (McRae’s race) cost Jim Brantley the COA position. Too easy to link them. Too conservative a district. Because of your contributions (see below) and your position as the current MAJ president, the Republicans will not even have to lie when they link you/trial lawyers to Flip and to Earle. The sheets won’t lie. This will fire up the tort reform base and maybe even bring in some additional outside money for them. I even think it will help Romney, who will own this state, because at least of few of these folks will stay home before they vote for a Mormon. But they will vote against you (and press the Romney button along the way).
Third, this conservative area will build fires with your contribution record. It’s what keeps me (along with my prickly personality) from running for office. I bet you gave Obama money—the devil. I bet you gave McRae money—Beelzebub. Hillary Clinton. Bill Clinton. John Kerry? Johnny Dupree? It’s the classic ‘no good deed goes unpunished’ political nightmare. Because you have been such an awesome supporter of Jesus-like causes, the Jesus crowd will nail you to a cross.
Fourth, getting stomped is not the good fight. All it does is reinforce the stranglehold the Red Barons have on our state. It discourages Democratic fundraising. It does not polish our brand.
My friend, your candidacy for this position will cost Banks any chance of winning. It will hurt Phillips. And it won’t faze Gregg Harper, who could stay in Washington for the next two months, spend a million dollars and beat you by 20 points. He could beat me by 35 points, even if I spent a million of my own money.
I hope that you and the Party will give these matters considerable thought.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Interesting little email about the Waller-Banks race.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
32 comments:
Boy, there are any number of Democrat pricks, er, Democrats with prickly personalities who could have written that.
Banks' recent need to introduce vagina politics into his run tells me he sees trouble on election day.
eaves?
Vagina politics? If the Talibaptist Mullahs had not spent the last year carrying out legislative terror attacks in furtherance of their jihad against women, all in an effort to energize the dumbest common denominator in the electorate, there would be no need for "vagina politics."
That being said, this email alone is reason enough to vote to re-elect Waller.
Banks will lose because his own kind are way too lazy to bother to vote, to participate. That central Mississippi district has at least a 50% BVAP, that means eligible to register and vote adult black population. They simply don't participate, don't get out and vote. Anywhere else in America if you told a Democratic candidate for office that half of their voters are black folks, they would announce victory and go to the bar!
Mississippi's 3rd CD is no more red than many, many other congressional districts around the country, just like many are as blue as the lights on the roof of a Brandon police car. Banks will have no one to blame but his own kind when he loses because they are crappy citizens who gripe and complain but could elect anyone they wanted to office if they were not so lazy and irresponsible as citizens.
I know Vicki well. She would be great in Congress but she was not forced out by anyone. She simply decided the timing wasnt right. Just ask her. Her number is easy to find and she is easy to access.
I wish Vicki Slater would have ran for Congress. It's everyone's loss that she didn't! I know that she honest, and dedicated to the citizens! It's just too bad.
You can all say whatever you want to feel intelligent and wise. But the truth is not in the alleged intent of this message. Vicki is smart enough to do what she wants without being swayed or begged. Any of you that know her know that. Any of you that don't know her have no place to say a thing if you don't meet her.
The kicker of this message is the electorate of this state. The writer sums up the people and the money in this race exactly. Waller is being pushed by special interests for a reason. Any objective mind knows that, and it's evident he does as well.
Why won't kingfish post Vicki's response? Stir the pot and not give a chance to respond? I know I'm ahead of the game. I'm sure Vicki hasn't got the message to return your call yet. If no call has been made to Vicki, this is a slime piece. Now why would anyone think that?
Understand. Post was not really about her. Why she dropped out is her business and I will not presume to know why she did. The post was more about the pressure or I should say instead, lobbying, that was placed upon her.
Because I'm slime, that's why. There was no need to call Ms. Slater as none of her comments or actions were at issue. In fact, nothing she did is the subject of this post.
Vick is wonderful and would do a fantastic job. I still hope she runs.
None of Ms. slater's actions were at issue? He name is in the middle of this. Thankfully, most of the few people that read this have $2 haircuts.
Ten years from now, you will be reading about this kind of stuff every week in Madison and Ridgeland. You can run folks, but you can't hide!
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20121027/NEWS/310270056/Ridgeland-police-search-Party-City-manager-s-killer?odyssey=nav|head
Ridgeland police are looking for the man who killed a Ridgeland store manager in the process of stealing cash out of the register around closing time Friday night.
Don't confuse this site with journalism, nor this blogger with a journalist.
Are other confused or just me? Are we to believe she attempted to post here but was 'editorially disallowed'?
@12:17pm, I doubt eaves, he is probably not capable of writing something that long and detailed, much less taking time-away from snake hunting with his brat kids to do it. I would bet Diaz, Winter, someone like that.
Its not Eaves. He didn't brag about himself enough in the email.
I have known Vicki for almost twenty years. She has her mind and makes her own decisions, as she did in this instance, and for that reason, among many, she would make a great congresswoman.
As for why the writer thinks this says anything more about Earle Banks than he thinks it does about Vicki Slater, that is a mystery. There is no indication that Banks had anything to do with the email to Vicki. I would think the writer knows enough about Mississippi politics to know that there are plenty of folks out there who think that they know what others should be doing or what would be best for one candidate or another, one party or another, without regard as to anyone asked their opinion.
There is no indication that Banks had anything to do with the email to Vicki.
You sound touchy and quite defensive. Smoke?
MEMO To: October 27, 2012 8:16 PM
Kingfish is #1 ... The No.1 reporter in all the area for investigative reporting.
What is incorrect about the assessment?
The sad fact is that it doesn't matter that Vicki Slater would likely be an intelligent, honorable representative for the electorate.
And, it is true that in politics today, each party paints any candidate as in lock step with the record and remarks of other candidates in the their party.
It's true that raising sufficient money to run a campaign is nearly impossible if the deep pockets in the party don't think you have a chance to win.
And, it's become extremely difficult to get coverage or people to show up if a candidate wishes to run simply to put forth new ideas or point out problems that should be addressed.
This reads to me like a friend being honest. What concerns me is that you have the email, KF.
Whoever gave it to you is not an honorable person.
This political calculus underlines the great power of the major parties and their contributors over the candidate. But more intellectually significant- the primacy of method over ideas in the political process.
it's hard to measure the pressure being applied through the email without knowing who sent it.
Where can I get a $2 haircut?
Kingfish is #1? Bull.
Go to www.compete.com and see just where Kingfish ranks.
Less than 5,000 unique visitors per month. Compare that to wlbt.com at over 100,000. Clarionledger.com at over 400,000. Jackson Free Press at almost 20,000.
2:07 So? How many people buy a nice Piper-Heidsieck '59 each month, as compared to a case of Budweiser?
Vicki Slater is a great advocate for all people. She is intelligent, ethical and caring. What more could we want in a congressperson besides an advocate who stands up for the people and for what is right, rather than serving herself. I wish there were millions of women like Ms. Slater who is willing to serve the people and fight for our rights.
I am disappointed that she is not in this race, but I look forward to supporting her in a future congressional race. Vicki Slater does what she feels is right in any given situation and I would not have the nerve to expect her to take any orders - doubt others do, as well.
Thank you for your service to the people, Vicki!
KF, I accept that you did not intend to imply that Vicki Slater pulled out because she heeded or was influenced by this email, but that is logically inferred.
Having had brief business with Ms Slater, I'm sure her reasons are sound and one email or advice from one source would not be the sole basis of her decision.
So, I'm left wondering why one's person's advice or opinion offerred to a candidate has any relevance to anything?
Go to www.compete.com and see just where Kingfish ranks.
Do us all a favor and get yourself in to see a doctor ASAP. Seems you've contracted a severe case of stupid.
To SPAMMER re:compete website
Nice try to get traffic from JJ to go and sign-up for access and you get paid for each sign-up.
I love the interwebs, but cannot stand a spammer. Go to the JFP, they are more gullible and you might get two or three sign-ups.
As a note, it is widely known the traffic counts on this site. It is published below the middle column.
There is another aspect to this post, which is that the person writing to Ms. Slater was right about that congressional district. Redistricting has gone far awry in this country. The district in which Ms Slater was considering a run is sliced to give maximum advantage to a Republican. The same is done for Democrats in other states (eg California). The result is a Congress representing the extremes of both parties, and thus accomplishes nothing year after year.
The solution would be either a Federal statute or Constitutional amendment which requires each congressional district to be drawn in a geographically compact manner. Iowa has a state law requiring this, and they have had competitive elections in almost all their districts since then.
The result is a Congress representing the extremes of both parties, and thus accomplishes nothing year after year.
The US Senate last passed a budget Jim on April 29th, 2009. It only takes 51 votes to pass a budget. So spare us the crap about extremes accomplishing nothing yada, yada, yada unless, of course, you are saying that the majority Democrats in the Senate are all extremists.
In Mississippi isn't about redistricting it is about your debauched party.
1st, its hilarious that a few folks are trying as hard as they can to make this post about ANYTHING else except that email.
Seriously, could you shout LOOK AWAY any louder? good grief.
2nd, KF is excellent at what he does and JJ is great website.
3rd, lets take a look at this email:
"I promise you the Crymes/Cupit/Liston group will not write checks." That's hugely interesting.
"other races around that district cost Jim Brantley the COA position....Too easy to link them...Because of your position as the current MAJ president, the Republicans will not even have to lie when they link you/trial lawyers to Flip and to Earle. The sheets won’t lie."
Oops, is that another one saying--sshhhhhh, don't tell anyone Flip and Banks are ambulance chasers, look the other way...
"your contribution record"
"It does not polish our brand."
"our candidacy for this position will cost Banks any chance of winning. It will hurt Phillips.
Its not too hard to see the exact picture painted in this email.
Post a Comment