At least Hagan is consistent
As expected, senator-in-waiting Kay Hagan has dropped her lawsuit against Elizabeth Dole, the incumbent senator who during the campaign viciously, slanderously and unconscionably (how’s that for adverb overkill?) accused Hagan of being “godless” — just because Hagan traveled to the Boston home of two members of a political group called “Godless Americans” to pick up a fat wad of money.
Oops. Sorry. I think my disdain is showing.
As I’ve mentioned before, Hagan’s lawsuit was either stupid or craven. If she truly thought Dole’s campaign ad went over the line into slander and defamation, and that the court system should be called upon (or would even be willing) to referee political charges and countercharges, she’s a fool who has no business being in Congress. And God knows we’ve already got a surplus of them. On the other hand, if Hagan knew there was no chance the lawsuit would be successful but filed it anyway, she’s guilty of cynically overburdening an already clogged court system simply to gain a campaign advantage.
You make the call. But before you do, consider how Hagan’s spokeswoman explained the decision to drop the suit:
“This lawsuit would just continue the focus on a very personal and negative attack against Kay, instead of focusing on the people of North Carolina,” [campaign spokeswoman Colleen] Flanagan said in a prepared statement. “We need leadership now more than ever, and Kay is prepared to get down to work with (Republican Sen.) Richard Burr and the rest of the North Carolina delegation and help the people of this state.”
I didn’t think Hagan could be more craven, but I was wrong. After making the legal system an unwitting partner in her campaign and milking the resulting news reports for maximum advantage, Hagan — now that she’s been elected — goes on to portray her abandonment of the suit as a sacrifice on behalf of the public.
Hagan hasn’t even taken custody of her office yet, and she already shows the instincts of an experienced political hack.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Dan, I’m amazed that a person of your…um…experience still apparently holds out some hope that politicians have some boundaries on what they will do to get elected.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Dan is a provocateur.
He just provides the bait.
Frankly, I don’t know which one is the more oleaginous, Hagan or Dole.
And I don’t know which episode was more nauseating and smarmy, Dole’s ridiculous ad or Hagan coming out to tell everyone that she is a “Sunday school teacher”.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Yes, BP, in many ways I’m a wide-eyed, innocent lamb, dismayed by all I see and vulnerable to the horrors of the world. Good thing I’m heavily armed.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Heavily armed with your daily Rush Limbaugh talking points maybe. It was Dole’s poor choice in running the ads in the first place that cost her votes. It was maintaining that there was nothing wrong with the ads that cost her the election. Now, Republican die-hard apologists like you want to point fingers and call names.
The implication of the original Dole add was unmistakable. The female voice at the end of the commercial was meant to make the viewer believe Hagen had made the statement, “there is no God.” Was that slanderous? Probably not. Did it defame her character? Absolutely.
If Republicans want to pursue the game of “Guild by Association” they should probably take a long hard look into their own backgrounds. The list of questionable associations is just as damning as those of any Democrat. A better idea would be to get honest and admit that one can associate with people they disagree with and not accept their positions or philosophies. For example, I have several friends who are Republicans, and I’m still a nice guy.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Lee: Actually, the total time I’ve spent listening to Rush Limbaugh since he hit the air is about five minutes. Also, I’ve voted for more Democrats in my life than Republicans.
And in a web post on election day, I said this about the offending ad: “Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s campaign commercial focused on opponent Kay Hagan’s ‘godless’ money was about as low as it got this election season. It was both stupid and clumsy, and may well have cost Dole the election.”
Get your politics out of the way and focus on the point of my column, which was that the court system isn’t the appropriate place to sort out partisan squabbles.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I’d certainly not object to “guild by association”.
I’m in the market for a rich man.
LOL!!!
November 15th, 2008 at 10:04 am
C’mon, Dan, buck up. Hagan’s lawsuit wasn’t “stupid.” She’s not stupid and you know she’s not stupid. Nor was it “craven.” Hagan is certainly not craven and, again, you do know better.
It was a tit-for-tat and a wee bit more. Far from stupid, this not uncommon maneuver helped feed the story about Dole’s idiocy (smart) and no, it didn’t clog the court system. It was a piece of paper that got filed and stamped and trhat was it.
No docket crowded, no bodies in the courthouse, no “crowding” a thing.
Ya have to know better.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
John Drescher has a good column on this subject today.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2711/story/1295578.html