April 21, 2008 - 12:59pm
Merkley on Novick on Obama and Clinton
By Lauren LafaroOver the past couple of months, Rep. Jeff Merkley’s campaign has been focused on opponent Steve Novick’s willingness to criticize other Democrats. The latest attempt by the Merkley campaign is a pair of videos posted on YouTube by MerkleyForOregon: Steve Novick on Barack Obama and Steve Novick on Hillary Clinton.
The videos juxtapose Novick’s past quotes (familiar to those who have been following the race, such as “Obama is just another captive of special interests fraud”) with scenes from the Portland City Club debate. Both videos conclude with Merkley’s trying to “picture” Novick going to President Obama or Clinton and asking for help on Oregon specific issues (county payments and the Mt. Hood Wilderness expansion, respectively.)
Novick has repeatedly responded to the line of criticism by saying that he tells the truth; that when someone departs from progressive principles, he is willing to call them out. At the City Club debate, Novick said that he has criticized both Senators, and has, at times, been undiplomatic, a line which makes appearances in both videos.
"It is another desperate move by a campaign that is clearly grasping on how to connect to the voters. You can't talk out of one side of mouth about the new politics of hope and change and then on the other side use the same old gotcha political attacks,” Jake Weigler, Novick’s campaign manager said of the new videos.
“It appears that Jeff Merkley is willing to do anything to get elected - and that is a politics that voters are very, very tired of,” he continued.
When asked for a comment, Merkley spokesman Matt Canter said ”These are Novick’s words. Not Jeff’s. Not mine.”
The videos, posted at the end of last week, are meeting with varying success. The one which focuses on Obama has received almost 550 views, while Novick on Clinton is lagging behind with 87 views.
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Syndicate
Speaks truth to power OR lobs inflamitory bombs?
I'm perplexed by Jake Weigler's attempt to distance his boss from his boss's own words. Is that how he intends to "speak truth to power" in the Senate? Or is this all just about lobbing demagogic bombs, as it certainly appears to be?
Old news from the politics of Old
Your definition of "success" seems as flexible as McCain's when he describes the ongoing $12 billion/month American occupation of a Iraq as a success.
It's all relative, I suppose.
Steve Novick's ad went up on YouTube today. It's already over a thousand hits. Novick's 2 1/2 month old beer ad got another 5,000 hits last week alone, by my count (and counting). Meanwhile, Merkley's ad of roughly the same release date has to date a scant 3,500 hits. Hardly a success, causing Merkley to go into a desperate attack mode. As his ad says, "Whatever it takes..." His week old attack ad attracted 1000 hits.
Anything to distract, I suppose, from his MIA "anti-war" article.
I suppose you have drive
I suppose you have drive people to youtube to watch a TELEVISION ad when it doesn't actually run on TELEVISION very much, huh?
Seriously, has anyone even seen the Novick ads on the TELEVISION? I've only seen Merkley ads. And I suspect those "views" don't get counted on youtube, eh?
ad just now running
the latest ad just went on the air, sheesh! And I wouldn't call 133k a tiny buy, either.
I don't see where Weigler disavows anything. What he's saying is that Merkley appears focused on attacking Novick on subjects that really don't have much to do with issues that are most important to Oregonians. Gotcha attacks aren't working for Hillary, and they won't work for Jeff, either.
ad just now running
the latest ad just went on the air, sheesh! And I wouldn't call 133k a tiny buy, either.
I don't see where Weigler disavows anything. What he's saying is that Merkley appears focused on attacking Novick on subjects that really don't have much to do with issues that are most important to Oregonians. Gotcha attacks aren't working for Hillary, and they won't work for Jeff, either.
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