NY-26: Erick Mullen Defends Anti-Powers Site
by Matt at Aug 3rd, 2008
Well, I’ve been busy this weekend, but apparently a lot has been happening. For one thing, via Buffalo Pundit and 26th District I heard that Erick Mullen, the man behind the Davis campaign’s anti-Powers website, defended the site on The Batavian. Here’s what Mullen had to say:
Hi, it’s Erick. Look guys, have a sense of humor and focus on the facts:
Powers’ side wants to dispute the medium but they can’t and won’t dispute the facts presented on www.powersplatoon.com.
Fact: If you round the figures down, Powers has received 90% (93) of his funding from outside the district and a full 40% comes from PACs and lobbyists.
Fact: he’s violated federal election law by paying himself rent. Even if you give the candy back to the store owner, walking out the door with it is shoplifting.
Fact: Rick Snowden has a leadership role on Powers’ finance committee - so says the invitation I have with his name on it.
Fact: Powers solicted the endorsement and support of NY Democrats for Life then switched to a pro-choice position. Rochester NOW dinged him for his duplicity.
Fact: Powers refuses to call for a withdrawl of troops from Iraq. Although they’ve begun pulling down all his YouTube videos, it’s still there.
Fact: Powers, on Harding’s show, equivocated on FISA. Just listen.
He’s blown half his money already without advertising and has a vote share in the teens. His burn rate this past quarter was 68% - simple malpractice.
When the fairy dust fades progressives will see that this guy is just like the rest, for better or for worse, and that’s fine, but the name-calling, the gnashing of teeth over the spots and the websites is better used against the GOP candidate who has millions of his own (well, his daddy’s) to spend.
All good points, and I’ve said before as well, it is quite revealing that the Powers-supporting bloggers have said next to nothing about the site’s content and focused pretty much 100% on gripes about the presentation… case in point from Buffalo Pundit:
Forget for a moment the content of the powersplatoon site. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that it’s all true. No doubt that Jack can make whatever political hay he wants of these things.
The fundamental problem I have with it is the way in which it’s presented - it is almost an exact replica of Powers’ own site, and uses as its url a term associated with Powers’ campaign.
It is, plain and simple, designed to deceive and trick the reader, and that’s what makes it a low blow.
Again, the whole issue of the presentation of powersplatoon.com is a red herring. If there was any legal issues with the site, I suspect something would have been done already… by the Powers campaign. But, they’ve been more vocal about Jack Davis and his fortune than about the allegedly illegal website. Still, I have no doubt that had the site been substantially different in its design the pro-Powers bloggers would simply find another reason to avoid addressing the content of the site.
There is most certainly a very ripe legal issue here, however Matt, it is senseless for a candidate such as Powers to mount a legal challenge against a millionaire such as Davis, who can afford to engage in whatever illegality he wants with impunity due to his warchest.
But I guess, in your view, that makes it ok.