Thursday, May 14, 2009

Livingston Independents Cool to GOP Personal Attacks?

One robin does not a spring make, or something like that. And one letter to the editor does not represent a trend.

Yet it was heartening to read a recent letter to the Livingston Press and Argus sternly criticizing Undersheriff Mike Murphy, chair of the Livingston County Republican Party, for his letter to the editor calling President Obama a traitor for merely stating that the U.S. will follow its own laws and not torture detainees.

The letter, written by someone who is in no way affiliated with the Livingston County Democratic Party, says that "Murphy's comments and opinions regarding President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party warrant his immediate resignation as undersheriff."

It goes on to suggest that Murphy's bias toward the Democratic Party poses a conflict of interest in his job as undersheriff. "Would he protect and serve an outspoken Democrat?" asks the writer, adding that Murphy "should pretend to show a little respect for the president."

I have only met Mike Murphy once and he seemed genial. There may be some projects we can cooperate on down the road. But I thought his letter was over the top and I tried to reply with one based as much as possible on facts.

As to whether he should resign, I'm not suggesting that. His dual role does raise a red flag, but I've seen nothing so far to cause me any concern. I'll be on the look out for anything, of course, and I'm sure he is well aware of that.

The more important message that the writer is sending is his concern about hyper-partisanship in this country that results in the perpetual campaign as practiced by Karl Rove and the Bush White House.

The letter may well be a sign that independents are rejecting negative campaigning and personal attacks on political figures. Or it may be just one person's disgust.

I'm hoping it's a trend.

8 comments:

kevins said...

Your "desire" to avoid personal attacks loses all credibility every time you quote communications guru. He lies, he tells lies about people who post on his site, and he vulgarly and viciously attacks people who disagree with him...especially those who are so impolite as to present facts that challenge his view of the world.

And he makes no apologies for it. If you mention his penchant for dropping the f-bomb (only against those who disagree with him), he gets indignant, insults the poster, and gets even more profane...just to show he can, a trait most people quit doing in 7th grade.

Yet you choose to quote him and link to him as though he is some sort of unquestioned sage. As long as you do that, you are putting yourself on the side of those who get personal and go into attack mode...and you appear hypocritical since you only disparage those tactics when they are done by the other side.

If guru is the best you can do, you need to look for better spokespeople.

Unknown said...

The letter in question carries no credibility. It was written by an ex-con who did time in prison for rape, blamed the police for setting him up, and then wrote a book about it. He's hardly just an "independent" voter. He's an ex-con with a grudge against cops.

This is NOT the poster boy the Democrats should be holding up as an example.

Communications guru said...

What a load of crap, brett. You are the one who is lying. Here’s the thing, if the claims you are making up were really true, then simply don’t read and post on my blog anymore. There are thousands of blogs you can read and make up stuff on.

I guess if I lost as many debates as you have I would be a little bitter, too.

kevins said...

I need to admonish/advise the host of this site. If you continue to let Guru lie about me, I will feel obligated to respond vigorously and in a less gentile way than you might like. You must take responsibility.

I am not Brett. He knows I'm not Brett. I know nothing about Brett. But Guru nonetheless continues to lie about my identity.

I expect as much from a guy who admits that Pelosi lies and flip-flopped about waterboarding, and then denies he did such.

Look...I've kept quiet here about the disturbing things I found on the State Police sex offenders registry. But I may not continue to show restraint if he continues to lie about me.

He's childish, immature, often inaccurate and has a serious anger problem. He posts under multiple user names and then dishonestly accuses others of doing so.

Is this really the best Democrats have to offer in Livingston County?

Communications guru said...

What a joke, brett. Like I said here, there and everywhere: go ahead and roll out your best, false smear.

kevins said...

I did tell you that you needed to monitor guru. He continues to lie about me. I shall respond as I promised. Everything I say, unlike Guru, will be the truth.

In fact, much of what I post in the future will be direct quotes from him. If you don't have a problem with it, that's your right. It's your blog after all.

But if you don't like the content and language, please be honest enough not to admonish me. I'm only quoting guru directly. Or..you can tell him that he isn't welcome here if he continues to lie about me.

I am not Brett. I do not disguise my identity under different names. I have never been listed on the sex offeders registry. Can guru say the same?

kevins said...

I did tell you that you needed to monitor guru. He continues to lie about me. I shall respond as I promised. Everything I say, unlike Guru, will be the truth.

In fact, much of what I post in the future will be direct quotes from him. If you don't have a problem with it, that's your right. It's your blog after all.

But if you don't like the content and language, please be honest enough not to admonish me. I'm only quoting guru directly. Or..you can tell him that he isn't welcome here if he continues to lie about me.

I am not Brett. I do not disguise my identity under different names. I have never been listed on the sex offeders registry. Can guru say the same?

Communications guru said...

I think brett has gone off his meds. But, I’m still waiting for that “vigorous” response and the “disturbing things (he) found on the State Police sex offenders registry.”

Yes, but I don't know about you or care.