Owens says "No" to Sharkansky's stupid game
David Postman reports that Supreme Court justice Susan Owens, who is being challenged by BIAW-backed Stephen Johnson, is refusing to play Sharkansky's stupid game and be ambushed in a debate scheduled for tonight. The debate was to be sponsored by The Downtown Republican Club.
From Postman on Politics:
This is why we are so quick to call "baloney" on stuff. Because the insane right wing never stops with the baloney. They have to seek an advantage everywhere, all the time, no matter what. As usual, conservatives have soiled their own bed. Nice.
Then when they get called on it, they whine and whimper. Lord can they whimper.
Let's be clear about this: the event crashed and burned because of Johnson and Sharkansky, not Owens. If they had any integrity they would have replaced Sharkansky, and things would have stood even-up. So as the righties engage in predictable cries of "chicken," it's pretty clear which side needs not only a home field advantage but to own one of the refs.
It was a cheap, petty move to bump Feit, and now their event can and should be ignored by media outlets.
MORE--Feit weighs in late this afternoon at Slog, noting that Sharkansky is trying to spin the situation on his web site by leaving out crucial information.
EVEN MORE Now the Johnson campaign is telling Postman that The Stranger was mean to him. (quotations denote where Postman is quoting from the Johnson campaign.)
If I have to choose between the credibility of an alt weekly known for ribald and even graphic content, and the likes of Johnson and Sharkansky, the choice is pretty clear. The Stranger may scare me sometimes, but they weren't the ones who declared an "Orange Revolution" based on spreadhseet hokum. Does nobody in the daily print media remember the recount?
Sharkansky should never even been considered to host a serious debate. The fact that The Downtown Republican Club thinks Sharkansky is a serious figure only shows how far the GOP has fallen in this state.
From Postman on Politics:
Originally Josh Feit of the Stranger had that role, but he was bumped after complaints from the campaign of Sen. Stephen Johnson, Owens' opponent. The Johnson camp was unhappy with what the Stranger had written about him, including an endorsement last week of Owens.According to Postman, the event will go ahead anyway. So whatever, I was stunned that Owens had agreed to a debate involving Sharkansky in the first place, and when Johnson/Sharkansky bumped Feit, it was clearly a set-up.
Owens' campaign issued a press release this afternoon saying the justice would not attend because Sharkansky has donated to Johnson's campaign, supported him on Sound Politics and "is an outspoken critic of Justice Owens and many of her colleagues."
This is why we are so quick to call "baloney" on stuff. Because the insane right wing never stops with the baloney. They have to seek an advantage everywhere, all the time, no matter what. As usual, conservatives have soiled their own bed. Nice.
Then when they get called on it, they whine and whimper. Lord can they whimper.
Let's be clear about this: the event crashed and burned because of Johnson and Sharkansky, not Owens. If they had any integrity they would have replaced Sharkansky, and things would have stood even-up. So as the righties engage in predictable cries of "chicken," it's pretty clear which side needs not only a home field advantage but to own one of the refs.
It was a cheap, petty move to bump Feit, and now their event can and should be ignored by media outlets.
MORE--Feit weighs in late this afternoon at Slog, noting that Sharkansky is trying to spin the situation on his web site by leaving out crucial information.
What Stefan leaves out is this: The reason Owens got to choose a second moderator is because the original second moderator, me, was kicked off the panel—by the Johnson campaign. Owens had only agreed to the debate after Sharkansky and the Republican club told her I was one of the moderators, and would provide balance to Sharkansky.Now before anyone gets all steamed up about how Demorats are angry about certain daily newspaper endorsements, that's not the point. The point is that Sharkansky is again being duplicitous. What, does he have to dress up in a gorilla costume before the media stops giving him any attention?
When our Owens endorsement came out last week, Johnson’s camp threw a tantrum, and I was taken off the panel at his request.
EVEN MORE Now the Johnson campaign is telling Postman that The Stranger was mean to him. (quotations denote where Postman is quoting from the Johnson campaign.)
Fawn Spady from Johnson's campaign says it wasn't that the Stranger endorsed Owens that led them to reject Feit. The PI endorsed Owens and Johnson would accept Connelly on the panel.Johnson and Sharkansky will obviously say whatever they want to talk their way out of this embarassment. They tried to set Owens up, they got caught, and now they whine. And whine. And whine.
"The Stranger was unprofessional in the ed board meeting and used personal attacks verbally and in their pieces."
If I have to choose between the credibility of an alt weekly known for ribald and even graphic content, and the likes of Johnson and Sharkansky, the choice is pretty clear. The Stranger may scare me sometimes, but they weren't the ones who declared an "Orange Revolution" based on spreadhseet hokum. Does nobody in the daily print media remember the recount?
Sharkansky should never even been considered to host a serious debate. The fact that The Downtown Republican Club thinks Sharkansky is a serious figure only shows how far the GOP has fallen in this state.
