Ben Tribbett over at NLS isn’t backing off of his story. In fact, he’s putting the helmet on and digging the trenches:
It’s clear the confederate flag is on a flagpole. Sitting on a table.
Now, look which booth that table runs into. It runs under the “Sportsman for McDonnell” banner. In addition it is clear that table does NOT run into the next booth over. You can also see from the booth on the right, that it is not a table that is in every booth.
Problem is, if that were true you could have taken a picture head on and resolved this nicely. I still argue this is a simple photographic trick of the eye — parallax is the ten-cent word for it, and a simple look at the posters tell the tale of the tape, enough to convince Delmarva Dealings that this is about as non-issue as it gets.
Nonetheless, it’s painfully evident that this is not what Creigh Deeds wanted or needed right now. Bob Holsworth this morning absolutely eviscerated the claim by Deeds spokesperson Mohammed Ellithee that Joe Abbey’s mistweet was merely personal:
Let me get it straight.
The campaign manager for a gubernatorial candidate makes a claim about his opponent that cannot be substantiated
About a highly emotional issue that has often had a significant racial dimension
But it’s a mere “personal retweet” unrelated to the campaign?
Could Mo have said this with a straight face? Or was they’re a bit of a wink and a “boy did we screw up” demeanor?
I’m not sure how the press corps can let it end with this.
Nor can I, Professor Holsworth. Still, I’m certain someone in the MSM will equivocate the attack into a tit-for-tat.
Reactions from across the Virginia blogosphere:
Bearing Drift: “Today’s joint failure by Tribbett and Abbey is shameful and should be condemned by all bloggers, regardless of their political stripes. And Sen. Deeds should take his campaign staff to the woodshed, in particular Joe Abbey, for his actions today too…unless, of course, he condones this sort of behavior.”
Timothy Watson: “Tribbett couldn’t tell us what county Heathsville is in, much less find it on the map, but he ends up with video from a DPV tracker, as well as a picture from a Mechanicsville gun show, and we’re supposed to believe that this junk is anything but astroturfing?”
Virginia Tomorrow: “I think it’s an opportunity (and probably an obligation) for Creigh Deeds to step forward personally, to tell Virginians in the clearest possible terms what kind of person he is, what kind of behavior he expects from his own staff, and how he intends to hold the folks who work for him accountable.”
Crystal Clear Conservative: “It appears that the Democrats have run out of attacks, when they resort to spreading lies about Bob McDonnell’s campaign having a Confederate flag in their booth. The flag was in the neighboring booth, not McDonnell’s booth, as reported on Not Larry Sabato. This picture clearly proves what I am talking about. This is exactly the type of reporting that will hurt bloggers and give us bad credibility.”
Blue Virginia: “First of all, the Deeds campaign touches the Confederate flag story, a mistake on so many levels it’s hard to even know where to begin (distracts from the campaign’s real messaging, is a controversial subject that is much better off being handled by “surrogates,” etc). Then, in the Washington Post no less, we’ve got the campaign’s senior communications guy clarifying and contradicting the campaign manager. Not good at all.”
…and again, I say — the biggest mistake Deeds is making right now is benching Lowell Feld.
Right Wing Liberal: “Ben Tribbett (a.k.a. Not Larry Sabato) immolated himself with Duck-Dodgers-like effectiveness today, leaving the Deeds campaign squirreling for cover like Cadet Porky (actually, the cadet was far more intelligent than the Deeds campaign, but I digress).”
Cathouse Chat: “It’s not surprising that – even today – political bloggers are regarded with some suspicion and disdain by the general public when this sort of muckracking and ad hominem idiocy seems to run rampant. And, while I know there are more than a few right-leaning bloggers who really like to pile on, it seems to me that it’s the lefty blogs that love to wallow in hypocrisy, double-dealing, and character assassination.”
The Write Side of My Brain: “We understand the left’s desire to find that “gotcha” moment that they can use to destroy a candidate. They’ve done it before. And, given the opportunity, will do it again.”
RedState: “reigh Deeds is running the most pathetic campaign for anything since Alan Keyes challenged Barack Obama for the Illinois Senate. My city council campaign was run better and more successful that his gubernatorial campaign is going.”
SWAC Girl: “Anyone who has worked in carpentry knows the old saying, “Measure twice … cut once.” In other words, be certain before putting saw to wood. The same could be said of bloggers. ‘Verify … recheck … and then write.'”
Virginia Virtucon: “Tribbett, Abbey and Deeds can save the phony outrage. Were any of them complaining about Democrats who employed the Confederate flag or spoke of it with reverence such as Sen. Jim Webb or Ben “Cooter” Jones who ran for Congress? Didn’t think so.”
J’s Notes: “Yesterday, Ben Tribbett of Not Larry Sabato measured once and then cut clean through his thumb, posting a picture of a Confederate Flag near a Sportsmen for McDonnell booth and shouting from the hilltops that clearly, despite the rigged angle of the shot, that flag was smack dab in the middle of the McDonnell booth, displaying for all that McDonnell’s campaign is as wrapped up in southern heritage as Senator Jim Webb and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Creigh Deeds.”
Delmarva Dealings: “When you’re behind in the polls far enough, I guess there is nothing that some won’t do. With the Democrat ticket behind by 8 – 14 points, certain members of Virginia’s blue blogosphere are willing to stoop pretty low.”
That’s one heck of a roundup.
UPDATE: True to form, rather than ask the questions Bob Hollsworth eruditely put forward (“Personal retweet? Really, Mo?”) or ask where the picture came from, the WaPo has chosen to just ask about the appropriateness of the Confederate flag in general:
Plenty of people are offended by it and think any candidate who fails to refute it entirely embraces Virginia’s racist past. Plenty of people believe it’s a symbol of their heritage and would disown any candidate who said otherwise.
…
We asked both campaigns Wednesday afternoon the same question: Does your candidate believe it is ever appropriate to fly the Confederate flag?
Neither campaign answered the question fully. The McDonnell campaign said their campaign does not display Confederate flags. The Deeds campaign said their candidate does not believe the flag should be a part of official displays of the commonwealth. Neither camp said whether they believe the flag’s display is ever appropriate.
Now that’s the sort of crack reporting I’d expect from the Washington Post. Nevermind where the picture came from, the obvious angle and intent to smear McDonnell, the mistweet, the open playbook of the Democratic social media machine just lying there on the floor… nah — we’d rather ask esoteric questions that put a pox on both houses.
Ugh. Thank God there’s a blogosphere.
UPDATE x2: Vivian Paige chimes in, and couldn’t be more right:
The Deeds campaign didn’t have to have anything to do with this whole incident – that is, until campaign manager Joe Abbey retweeted Tribbett’s tweet. Again, we are back to juveniles running the place. What was going through Abbey’s head at the time he did that only he knows, but no amount of spinning is going to remove the stain – nor the impression – that the information was being spread by the Deeds campaign.
As if they hadn’t already done enough damage, another photo appears with Bolling having a sticker on which contained a Confederate flag. First rule of holes: when you’re in one, stop digging! I seriously doubt Tribbett has an archive of photos, so the kiddies are at it again.
I’m calling on the grownups – DPVA Chair Dickie Cranwell and Creigh Deeds – to stop the madness. It’s beyond time to clamp down on this behavior.
That is, unless you’ve got other plans for November 4.
Spot on. That the problem with Camp Deeds in a nutshell, and the sooner they sort it out, the sooner we can have a conversation on issues that matter.