Our friend over at the 10th Dems, Ellen Beth Gill, apparently spent her weekend protesting the war downtown and otherwise enjoying the nice Autumn weather, only to return to her computer and find to her chagrin that TA and some of the other less liberal bloggers in the 10th District had noticed that her preferred candidate Dan Seals had gotten himself a new gig recently. As noted in previous posts, Dan's new job is over at The Point website as Director of Business Development. The Point seems to be a bizarre mixture of activism without responsibility, as most of the so-called "campaigns" that have been set up have no chance of ever actually engendering enough support to commit any of the participants to actually doing anything. For example, the campaign to stop Best Buy from allegedly selling inappropriate video games to minors demands that 500,000 people sign up before anyone will be committed to boycotting Best Buy. How's THAT for decisive action? Ellen Beth herself, after years of blogging, only reached 50,000 hits a short while ago. I wouldn't be too concerned that Best Buy's holiday shopping receipts are going to be impacted anytime soon...
But, I digress. Ellen Beth chastised us non-liberal bloggers for poor research, but doesn't explain what we got wrong, although from what I can infer, she is upset that some of us have implied that Dan Seals may be pulling out of the campaign because he found himself a new job. Ellen criticizes us for not going to the source (i.e., Dan Seals), and posts what I understand is a direct quote from the Seals campaign:
They're at it again. Not only has Dan's Democratic opponent attacked him, but Kirk's cronies have ratcheted up their Rovian Republican rumor mill. Their attack? That Dan Seals has a job and therefore might not run for Congress! That's right, folks, because Dan isn't independently wealthy, still has student loans to pay, needs to help support his three young girls, pay a mortgage and taxes that benefit the Tenth District, and because Dan can't afford to maintain two residences at once right now- one in the Washington DC area and one in Illinois- like his opponents- they attack him for being a regular citizen candidate! Here's the deal. Dan is a business consultant and adjunct professor at Northwestern University. Being a consultant- like Melissa Bean was wan she ran for Congress- enables Dan the flexibility to work directly with several clients AND run for Congress.
Ellen finishes with a parting shot, saying "Apparently republican bloggers have a lot of time on their hands, but no interest in seeking out and reporting on the truth." At least she's reading TA's blog... I wasn't sure if she could bring herself to do it after she booted me and other bloggers with no acknowledgement. But, I was not surprised to see she provided no link to our posts, lest any of her readers attempt to easily review our work and decide for themselves...
Well, let's look at the Seals statement, which I guess may or may not make it into a formal press release.
First, we all knew Seals was supposedly a private business consultant since not going back to GE. Whether he actually ever had any paying clients, who knows? But, anyone whose has kept up with the blogs over the last few days know that no one was (recently) critical of Seals' gig as a consultant; rather, it is the brand-new gig as Director of Business Development for The Point (which sounds like an entirely different kind of job than his "consulting" work) that makes us wonder about his commitment to his campaign. The statement also does not address the bio of Seals on The Point which clearly identifies him as a "former candidate for U.S. Congress."
The issue is not Dan having a job, kids, it's the NEW job, and the type of job it appears to be, not to mention the description of Seals on the actual website. Either The Point got it wrong, or it got it completely right... I don't think our research is at fault, Ellen. And that "statement" from the Seals camp doesn't even mention the new job. And we're the ones with the "false" scoop, huh?
The statement also tries to gain pity points by painting Dan as a hardworking guy simply trying to make ends meet, still paying student loans, but contributing to the society around him by paying a mortgage and taxes that "benefit the Tenth District."
WHO ARE THEY TRYING TO KID??? DAN SEALS DOESN'T LIVE IN THE TENTH DISTRICT. HELLO?!?
Sorry, I almost lost it there for a second. But seriously, which college intern over at the Seals office actually made that statement?
Also, in case you missed it, the Seals camp does try to get a subtle dig in at Footlik at the same time, as it mentions Seals' "opponents" (plural) that maintain two residences, one here in the District, and one in D.C. Well, if Dan wants to cry poor, let him release his tax returns, as Mark Kirk has done. Let's see how much The Point thinks he's worth, and let's measure that against the time that a normal person would have to put in to demand that kind of salary. For example, if Seals is pulling in 200K a year from The Point (not unheard of for a U of C MBA in a full time job), it probably isn't going to leave him much time to campaign... at least, not much time to campaign and still put in an honest days' work. But, I'm not going to hold my breath to see the Seals tax returns available to the public any time soon.
In any event, I'll be looking in over at Ellen's from time to time to await her next post, where she promises to explain how we have all made a horrible mistake and got our facts and conclusions totally bass ackwards.
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28 comments:
TA TA
Maybe the Lake County Regional Planning Commission could give Seals a job.
Ah, I detect a note of desperation from someone out there who thinks that TA can be intimidated into qutting under threat of being outed. Aside from being gauche, it won't work. Most LC Republicans already know who I am anyway; it's not that big a secret.
Besides, the RPC doesn't pay (it's strictly voluntary), and you have to be qualified. I'm still trying to figure out what Seals is qualified for, besides torpedeoing his own campaign.
No threat or desire to out you is intended.
You deserve to have your privacy protected, even though so many of our elected officials who took an oath to protect the Constitution from enemies WITHIN and without seem to have forgotten about that right. Better to be afraid than be free, I guess.
Actually, I miss you at Ellen's. You were one of the rare Republicans who had the courage to dialogue intelligently with Democrats and you were always entertaining.
Now, if only Mr. Moderate Kirk was willing to speak and listen to the half of his constituency he consistently ignores... Since he was unwilling to speak with us, at least we could talk with you to hear another side of things. Maybe those of us dems who aren't afraid of another opinion worth considering should all just migrate over here.
You inaccurately quoted Ellen's blog. The entire "parting shot" was:
"Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that they were spouting off that Dan wouldn't run because he didn't have a job. Apparently republican bloggers have a lot of time on their hands, but no interest in seeking out and reporting on the truth."
TA,
Have you thought about a Halloween blog yet? The fact that your counterpart sits home alone all day with a black cat scares me year round.
Nice blog post here. You've got the Seals team scrambling which is great. When will Footlik use this stuff? He's a battleship out to sea refuses to fire the guns.
The best thing the Footlik campaign has going for it to diss Dan Seals is Seals’ mouth. Anytime it is opened, it is good for Seals’ opponents.
Anon 5:19- fixed that, to the extent it matters.
Anon 10:48 p.m.....Congressman Kirk DOES listen, DOES respond, DOES have the pulse of this District. Perhaps you don't always like his response, but please don't say that he is not listening or talking to his constituents. That's just another of those 10th district urban myths perpetuated by that blogger on the other side. I've been to most of his Town Hall Meetings recently. The last one was disrupted by the ever-present anti-war group who want to hear only the sound of THEIR voices. And to set the record straight: Congressman Kirk, until the last cycle, held as many Town Hall Meetings as his predecessor John Porter. Kirk held a Town Hall meeting every 3 months and that's a fact that can be substantiated. I don't always agree with Mark Kirk's positions. I didn't always agree with everything John Porter talked about and voted on. Ms. Gill and some of the attack dogs who are found on her site are just partisan folks who don't believe that Congressman Kirk can tie his shoes correctly. What's great about TA and this new Blog is that the responsders appear to be more balanced and more willing to dialogue. And I'm grateful that on TA's Blog we are not going to read idiotic and hurtful personal "statements" about our congressman and his family. That hit a new low, even for some of the 10th Dems. Let's talk, debate, discuss real issues. This is going to be a very interesting year. Once we get through the Primary it's going to get EXCITING for sure. So let's all try to stay factual, stay on the issues and away from attacking with falsehoods and downright lies. And to those of you who can't find a pleasant word to say about Mr. Kirk, try LISTENING, it might just be a whole new world for you.
Now let me get this straight, Ellen Beth Gill has written that Dan Seals still has outstanding student loans? Good Lord, the man has not worked for a good portion of this century. As one who also attended school using that program I have only one thing to say to Mr. Seals and I will paraphrase Snoop Doggy Dog, Danny Dan needs to get him a jobby-job!
Anon at 10:48: If you miss us at Ellen's you could come hang out at our blogs. You will be pleasantly surprised to find out that thar not only is there is no shortage of Republicans who can dialogue intellegently with Democrats, there are also a fair number of former Democrats. I wouldn't want a one party system, and we could all be friends.
Oops, I published before I forgot to make the most important point. Do I read Ellen correctly, that Dan Seals has 2 residences: here and in Washington, DC? TA, I think you would catch the drift here . . .
Publia- no, I think the point in the Seals statement was that Seals is the only candidate that DOES NOT have two residences- I guess the Seal Team is trying to include a dig at Footlik as well.
It's a stupid point, really, at least as to Kirk. Of course Kirk has to have somewhere to stay when he's in DC representing the district, as do all congressmen. Where does the Seal Team expect him to sleep? In his car?
TA, I'm laughing. They DO believe that Congressman Kirk is always here and not in DC! I'm not kidding. Some of our "brain trusts" in this area have no idea that all 535 House and Senate members maintain 2 homes. When they complain that they barge into the Disrict Office mid-week and they don't fine him there a few think he's hiding "under the bed". No, he's in DC! When he's on Active Reserve Duty in the Pentagon and not here on a week-end again they assume he's hiding. Thanks for this great Blog........you have restored my faith in the two-party system. I can now read posts from Dems who actually DO want to dialogue and not take, at face value as truth, what that other "blog" spews out with his new day. Let's keep this going. It's also going to drive HER to join her cat under the bed!
TA, Thanks for your take on the DC issue; I am not so sure that Seals actually lives in Wilmette, but its more gut (coupled with some research which has not been dispositive) than anything else. If you have ever done campaigns its pretty clear that the Seal Team is imploding, although its early yet, and he may be able to get back on track. I imagine his team is spending some time doing that now.
Politics depends on plenty of people willing to be chewed up and spat out as candidates, and its kind of sad to see it happen to an earnest fellow like Seals who probably didn't know any better when he got into this. Even if I really dislike his politics, I don't think he is a bad person, just extremely misguided.
I had actually drafted a post before the last election that announced I was taking down all my posts, as Mr. Seals was returning to life as a private citizen and my comments were directed against him as a candidate, and there was nothing personal involved. Before I got that far, he was planning his next run, so I never published the draft and never did the takedown.
Publia, don't loose that draft, it may come in handy yet ;-)
Big deal. Kirk listed his father's residence during his first campaign in 2000, even though he lived in the DC area all those previous years as Porter's chief of staff. Let's not be too hypocritical. By the way, for the record, Kirk has no residence in the District of Columbia.
Let's face it, Kirk didn't win the last election because he has a residence in the District. This next election will be won because of Kirk's record and courage to be a moderate (and his willingness to talk/work with Democrats).
Hey, Anon, 5:55 p.m. Congressman Kirk lives in Alexandria, VA which is just outside DC. Yes, he did use his dad's address way back there in 1999 until he got an apt. IN the district before he filed his petitions. Congressman Kirk WILL win for more than his ability to work in a strong bi-partisan manner. He WILL win because he works for his constituents, he understands this district where he lived all of his life before heading to DC to become Porter's COS. Congressman Mark Kirk is a leader with ideas. Enough said. We are more than lucky to have this man as our Representative.
No Left Behind:
You were factually correct on your first two points. Your third point is a hopeful prediction, not a fact. Your fourth point is inaccurate -- according to his bio, he went to college in New York State and England (not commuting distance). And you're correct that Mark is a leader with ideas. So, I give you 60%, which is about a D grade. Back to school for you!
I smell a lurker in here, and her initials are EBG. Probably because she no longer has many comments on her blog, she is suffering as she can' beat up on her readers. Missing that pleasure, she has come over for a little exercise in grading. I am glad she is here because she might learn something useful which might add interest to her usual Bolshevik rhetoric
Anon 11:20- We know that EBG has at least swung by for a look, as we all know she devoted an entire post to trying to defuse the issue of Seals' new job at The Point. Once she figured out that things were happening over here, I doubt she'll be able to stay away, because even though she has the solice of her convinctions and will never be turned back to the good side of the Force, she is an information hound, and knows that to play defense, she needs to know what the other side is saying about her guy Seals. I agree she would probably never comment under her own name, because she would view that as legitimizing this Blog, which she has already baselessly accused of lies and misrepresentation.
That being said, I doubt the Anonymous "grader" post above was EBG- she would never admit that Mark Kirk is a leader, and never give him any grade beyond a "T" (for Troll, for you non-Harry Potter fans).
Anon 9:25 p.m.....I love learning, perhaps YOU should try that yourself. No, let's change that. I hope you and the other 10th Dem folowers can find a school teaching correct FACT from FICTION. Mark Kirk did grow up in the 10th District. That's a proven, well documented fact. He graduated from the Joseph Sears School in Keniloworth. Check it out. Fact. He is a New Trier grad. Check it out. Most kids then go on to college. Mark Kirk did that. His undergrad degree is from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Fact. Check it out. Since he couldn't "commute" to Ithaca each day he, like most kids, had to actually live in Ithaca. Get it. But he returned home for breaks and vacations. When he was a student at the London School of Economics again he couldn't "commute".......so.....figure it out. Bottom line, Anon. Mark Kirk IS a life-long 10th District resident. Get over it.
What this leader has done on issues that benefit all of us is also well known and very well documented. I'd suggest that while you are a partisan Dem it still should obligate you to deal with fact and not your version of the same. You don't want him in office. Most of the people in this district DO want him, do appreciate all that he has done since he became our Congressman. Prove one point that is not backed up by fact. You can't. It's just YOUR version of "fact" versus your ongoing attacks. So, Anon...I'm wishing you well in this next election........not THAT well, but you get the point. As your heroine always says, facts are stubborn things. You bet. The great thing about Congressman Mark Kirk's record, his REAL record and not your sorry distortions of the same, is that it can take the test of bright lights shining on it. Go to the school of reality, Anon.......run, don't walk.
Dear No Left Behind.
From Anon 9:25.
Sorry that I prefer we deal with facts instead of slogans. But thanks for the sad and irrelevant rant. Most of your facts are correct except a BIG one.
I've never been a Democrat, I'm an Independent...one of those folks that Kirk really needs to have on his side to win elections and, I believe, what Mark claims for himself when he says he represents "Thoughtful, Independent Leadership."
I was on his side ever since his first election and will most likely repeat this time (no thanks to the Repub-Idiots who often make it hard for an Independent to vote Republican).
There doesn't seem to be a blog for people who can think for themselves and are willing to question press releases and talking points from headquarters (from either side). I had hopes for Team America's blog, but unfortunately it seems he's only attracting "The Choir."
So. Anon, 9:25....you left out a FACT....what are you questioning and saying isn't correct? Name it and then claim it and let me respond. Sorry you feel that TA's Blog is just attracting the "choir". Not true. It is attracting people who do support Mark Kirk, but who also have thoughts and ideas to share. What a concept.
Sorry....it's Anon 10:29.....but the question is the same.
Dear Faithful readers- I certainly can't force anyone to pick a nickname, but for people that like to go back and forth with comments (which we certainly encourage), it makes it a lot easier to follow the discussion chain than trying to remember what the heck time an "anon" poster put up a comment so we can keep track.
Plus, it's fun to take on a comment persona.
No Left.
The big FACT I'm questioning, obviously, is that you state that I'm a Democrat. Like you know what the heck you're talking about! I have never been a Democrat.
Wake up. Pay attention. You ranted endlessly with a false premise.
I'm tired of your infantile righteousness and paranoia. You're an embarrassment.
Kids, kids, kids! Don't make me ban anyone for playground bullying.
Anon 9:06.......You're not insulting me. To the contrary, you just prove my point. Have a great day!
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