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An editorial in this morning’s UL attempts to suggest the voting results demonstrate a unique character to New Hampshire’s electorate but it makes some assumptions that to me seem a bit naive
That’s not to say the premise is wholly wrong, just that anyone who was really paying attention to the finer details during the primary would not have been fooled.
I’m not sure what that level of commitment entails, but symbolically it invites the supporters of both candidates to assist in the shared goal of removing a guaranteed vote for anything Pelosi proposes in all it’s destructive glory whether she is a majority or minority leader.
NHDP Chairperson Ray Buckley likes to pretend things about who we should and should not vote for. This time around it’s the governors race, and the object of his affection is John Stephen.
If Republican Primary voters watched WMUR last night they would vote for Jack Kimball for governor because Johnny Stephen did a terrible, terrible job. Let’s hope they vote for Stephen, his vacuous platform and profound lack of even a basic understanding of issues past silly bumper sticker slogans will flop big time in November.
-From Ray’s Facebook page
Silly bumper sticker slogans? Oh, like, "Yes we can?" Or maybe "We are the ones we’ve been waiting for?" How about "Hope and Change?" Ray knows all about the "profound lack of even a basic understanding of issues." It’s called the daily White House Press conference. Or maybe the average NHDP press release?
Under the direction of the disclosure-challenged Pat Hynes Sean Mahoney has surrounded himself with a group of advertising and political consultants who all share a common thread. They were all at some point (or still are) part of American’s for Job Security (AJS) and are connected to Mahoney and his Potemkin campaign.
Stephen DeMaura–from Cross Target Poll fame, is the current head of AJS. Pat Hynes, according to at least one source, is still listed with the Virginia Secretary of State as an AJS director but regardless has been a director with the group; Hynes is of course also involved with CrossTarget, and in the employ of Mahoney to the current tune of at least $32,000.00. Dave Carney is a former top staffer at AJS and the current CEO of Norway Hill Associates. Norway Hill has netted over $28,000.00 from the Mahoney campaign for consulting and printing so far. Michael Dubke, former head of AJS, runs Crossroads Media which is apparently in the same suburban Washington Office Park as AJS; Crossroads has been paid over $569,000.00 by Mahoney for advertising and consulting–mostly Radio and television I would guess. Dubke, interestingly enough, is valued as an attack ad guy, which explains a spin off from Crossroads–Target Point Consulting which appears to focus on micro-targeting and research, probably for negative campaign strategies. Target point’s customers are a well kept secret, so we can hypothesize that Crossroads funnels money to them for research it uses in its ad campaigns for it’s customers, of which Mahoney is a big one. And oh, look–Mahoney went negative.
Keep following the money–it get’s better.
The recent polling done by CrossTarget for Americans For Prosperity (AFP) has too many links to Mahoney to be taken seriously as an outside poll. And while trying to research the poll and the people connected to it, I discovered an almost incestuous collaboration of professional political consultants, and insiders to the Mahoney for congress checkbook that all circle around Americans For Job Security.
CrossTarget, the polling organization, was created by Stephen DeMaura and Patrick Hynes, both connected political insiders. DeMaura is no fan of Guinta, and Hynes works for Mahoney. So why would AFP choose CrossTarget for a poll given these obvious questions of conflict? I have no idea why, but it was a bad call by Lewandowski and it questions AFP’s neutrality on the race if there even is one.
As for Hynes and DeMaura, they have connections to a more complex relationship with current and former members of AJS (maybe there’s no such thing a a former member of AJS) that conveniently lead repeatedly back to Sean Mahoney’s campaign expense report.
The Mahoney campaign has gone all-in (and all out) on the negative campaigning. In fact you may have gotten a piece of glossy mail from them referring to votes by Frank Guinta which Mahoney has framed in a negative way. Now I could squawk about how these are cherry picked procedural votes he is focusing … Read more
The recent bit of ‘internal polling’ conjured up by the Mahoney campaign might better be described as vanity polling. It’s like asking Burger King customers whether they prefer the Whopper of the Big Mac. You’re guaranteed to get good numbers. Of course the last time I checked with the FEC Mahoney only had 134 donors … Read more
Is it absurd to think that a guy who earned almost $400,000.00 last year, and probably something similar in preceding years, would have no additional income to declare to the Federal election Commission. No savings accounts, no IRA’s no investments of any kind?
How about a guy who was also a lobbyist at least somewhat familiar with the election laws about money in politics?
Well don’t act surprised because NH-01 candidate Rich Ashooh will have to amend his FEC filing. It appears he failed to list all his "secret" bank accounts on his original filing. In fact, the filing fails to list any accounts, no investments, funds, savings, nothing–just his salary income, his mortgage, and the boards and committees on which he sits. Rich Ashooh has no savings or investments? Where’s the false outrage?
The Mahoney supporters seem unwilling to answer to the charge that Sean is playing games with his principles.
Let me break down the problem as quickly as I can.
Mr. Mahoney is on the board of a foundation that has recently (as in since 2008) given upwards of $160,000.00 dollars to pro-abortion groups and abortion advocates. But Mr. Mahoney is pro-life. So to address this contradiction we shouldn’t really address it at all.
My favorite excuse so far is that Sean never inhaled. That is to say that some supporters claim he may not have known or did not approve that spending personally. Maybe, but he never approved the spending in the GOP that drove him to abandon his position as a committeeman on principle. Why hold the GOP leadership to one standard, and the New Hampshire Charitable foundation (NHCF) leadership to another? And more importantly, if Sean did not know about all that abortion money, despite his position on the board, how can we in good conscience send a guy to DC to look out for us when he can’t even smell the blood in the water at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation?
ADR 107 RESPONDENTS: Sean Mahoney for Congress, James McKay, assistant treasurer SOURCE: FEC Initiated (RAD) SUBJECT: Failure to accurately disclose loans NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT: Respondents, in an effort to resolve this matter and avoid similar errors in the future agree to amend reports previously filed with the Commission and to put in place procedures to avoid … Read more
Someone sent me a picture of a campaign sign with a sombrero on it. It was a Mahoney for Congress sign. It was, well…kind of funny, given that Mr. Mahoney stated on video that he was basically supporting the Grahamnesty path to amnesty. He has flip flopped since then, and insists he’s for a border fence first, but it’s a campaign thing…who really knows. But that didn’t make the sign any less amusing. So I posted it.
As with most things a blogger posts, not everyone agrees. And that’s kind of the point. We encourage that, but somtimes the comments are not well thought out. For the record I posted the photo in question with no supporting text.
Comment number one on the jump
For the record, there is a PDF available of Sean Mahoney’s individual donors at the FEC but it is not as easy to access nor review on line as any of the other FEC data for New Hampshire candidates. Perhaps I should be clearer. Out of the 19 candidates reporting receipts to the FEC in all the federal level races for New Hampshire only Wesley Michael Sonner Jr, Timothy Vanblommesteyn (Both in CD-2) and Sean Mahoney do not have their detailed data available on the front end FEC candidate list page for each respective race. I know what you are thinking. Who the hell is Timothy Vanblommesteyn and why are he and Sean Mahoney being dissed by the FEC.
A "little bird" suggested to me recently that in New Hampshire congressional district one, there were two candidates driving hard for the attention of the grass roots, Frank Guinta and Sean Mahoney. The comment caught my attention because it was just a tiny bit derisive, as if neither of them even deserved that kind of support. He was obviously backing someone else so I left it alone, but I did find it interesting that he thought Mr. Mahoney was courting the grass roots. Mr. Mahoney never struck me as the grass roots type. I always pictured him as more of an institutional republican, someone like Rich Ashooh; active and connected, has money or knows people with money, with a hint of the K-street ruling class mentality. You know, like Charlie Bass.
I guess I just didn’t recall Sean Mahoney and no offense to whatever his other redeeming qualities might be, courting the roots, the tips, the tea leaves or anything else. But I can’t know everyone, even though I know enough "someone’s" to have second or third hand access to almost everyone in the NH grass roots. Maybe Mr. Mahoney really was trying to make in-roads and was simply not doing a very good job of it? Or maybe I’d missed out on a well hidden patch of Fescue or Rye and there was something to this?
I’m still trying to figure out where Sean Stands on this issue. Watch for yourself, and then let me know if you know if he knows, then tell me. The Video comes courtesy of the Sandown GOP Forum last week. So, what’s his position? You know it actually sounds a lot like the the Bush-Kennedy … Read more
There is speculation that part of the problem with some incumbants and candidates who are seeking higher office (like an Arlen Specter or Charlie Crist) is that they want it too much. They want the office more than anything. In Specter’s case he switched parties to keep his senate seat. Crist crooned about his devotion to … Read more