This (Friday) morning, Brian Moran appeared on the Kojo WAMU Politics Hour Show with Kojo Nnamdi. The subject of Terry McAuliffe’s fundraiser last week with the bipartisan lobbying BGR came up. According to the McAuliffe campaign’s "Terry Facts":
... Out of 11 event chairs, 10 were Democrats, including Terry's longtime friend Jonathan Mantz, who has spent his career fighting for Democratic candidates and causes. Mantz was the principal host of the event. Throughout his career in Democratic politics, Terry has built relationships with many people, both Democrat and Republican. This ability to reach across the aisle is part of what will make Terry an effective governor.
Apparently, Brian Moran doesn’t see it that way, preferring to focus on the 1 event chair who happened to be a Republican and to bash Terry McAuliffe for sharing a room with him:
Moran: Well, fundraising ties, Republican fundraising ties and this particular gentleman, by the name Ed Rogers, used some very offensive language during last year’s election. Language, that was, um, that was offensive to me as a supporter of Barack Obama. You know, that’s what gives politicians and lobbyists a bad name. I mean, here he is, he’s willing to fundraise with people who do not, um, possess our values. There was a reason we were so supportive of Barack Obama: he was bringing change, he was making sure we were investing in people, once again, and bringing change to, um, to the culture of corruption. And here’s one of my Democratic opponents joining—jumping in bed with someone that supported that. So his fundraising with that particular individual condones what that person said. I find that offensive.
So, Brian Moran claims to be outraged that Terry McAuliffe would hold a fundraiser with 10 Democrats and 1 Republican named Ed Rogers. True, Rogers was obnoxious, but was he any more obnoxious than one of Brian Moran’s OWN EMPLOYEES? As it turns out, one of the top officials (new media director) on the Moran campaign was also one of the worst bashers of both Barack Obama and Obama supporters, which he referred to derogatorily as "Obamabots." Here are a few classics from the Jerome Armstrong encyclopedia of anti-Obama rantings and ravings:
Here we have Armstrong, on March 15, 2009 - nearly 5 months after Obama was elected president, and while employed by Brian Moran – continuing to bash Obama, this time charging that "its hard to imagine Obama's economic leadership being any worse."
Sadly, this was mild by Jerome Armstrong standards. Here is Armstrong from November 26, 2007, mocking Obama for "hopemongering" and claiming that Obama violated FEC regulations.
Here, on December 14, 2007, Armstrong charges the Obama campaign with "talking smack" and with "milking" Clinton campaign co-chair Billy Shaheen’s raising the subject of Obama’s youthful drug use.
Here, on March 17, 2008 Armstrong gives credence to the argument that the Reverend Wright controversy has all but destroyed Obama's candidacy and credibility.
Here is Armstrong on June 14, 2007, calling the enormous movement for Barack Obama "fake" and "vacuous."
Here is Armstrong on January 9, 2009, again while working for Brian Moran, mocking Obama once again: "haha, Kumbaya... The Chicago Way has arrived in DC."
Yet another gem from Jerome Armstrong, this time on February 11, 2008, mocking the concept that Barack Obama could possibly "put together a winning electoral advantage over John McCain." (yeah, besides being an Obama hater, Jerome Armstrong missed that one by a mile).
Here is a classic from January 9, 2009, in which Armstrong screwed up and wrote a comment, in the second person, to himself! Not only that, but he managed to bash Obama again, writing, "Obama is showing us that he really listens to Rahm, I suppose he always has, I was just hoping for better!"
This is just a small selection from volumes of anti-Obama rhetoric from Brian Moran's new media director, Jerome Armstrong, a virulent, even vicious, critic of Barack Obama from early on in the primaries up to the present.
Also interesting, in the context of Brian Moran’s bashing of Terry McAuliffe for the sin of working on a rival campaign to Barack Obama’s, is the fact that his entire campaign is staffed with people who did NOT support Barack Obama. For instance, Moran campaign chair Mame Reiley was a superdelegate for Hillary Clinton. Moran’s media director, Joe Trippi, was a senior advisor on the Edwards campaign. Del. Lionell Spruill was a huge Hillary supporter (reportedly for larges sums of cash). And Brian Moran himself? He stayed heroically neutral in the primaries.
Sad to say, but it’s not just the Moran campaign itself that has been hostile to Barack Obama and/or Obama supporters. It’s also been some of his most active supporters. For instance, here’s Todd Smyth dissing 99% of Obama supporters:
Let's quantify an Obama volunteer worth a damn as having at the very minimum registered over 100 voters and knocked on at least 3000 doors or made 5000 phone calls.
Todd then proceeds to insult Obama supporters further, writing that "In Northern Virginia, every Obama grassroots volunteer worth a damn is supporting Brian Moran." The arrogant and disrespectful attitude of the Moran supporters is incredible, claiming that people are only "worth a damn" if they performed Herculean tasks during 2008, and also if they currently support Brian Moran (not Creigh Deeds or Terry McAuliffe, god forbid) . Sadly, the Moran campaign supporters’ arrogance perfectly reflects the Moran campaign's bad attitude as a whole, including a consistent disrespect for Barack Obama and for Obama supporters.
In sum, the absurdity of Brian Moran’s campaign criticizing Terry McAuliffe – who campaigned hard for Barack Obama last fall after Obama defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination – as somehow opposing Barack Obama is beyond absurd. It’s the most base sort of hypocrisy from a campaign willing to say anything to gain some much-needed traction.
Crosspost at BlueCommonwealth.com, Virginia's Enduring Voice of Progress
Disclosure: I have endorsed Terry McAuliffe for Governor