This obviously means that Cantwell had a DUI as well.

I'm not sure what you're asking for here. You say yourself the thing was expunged from his record, and you can't get it. So why do you expect the Democrats to have had it?

I still think that hammering him for a 12-year-old DUI that he copped to himself is a terrible strategy that is going to backfire. What the Republicans have isn't just "mean and dirty", it's "smart". Know your opponent and all that. A single DUI isn't that big a deal, and the "I have sinned, and seen the error of my ways" storyline is WAY more powerful than "my opponent is a bad, bad naughty, bad man".

There ARE substantive things you can hammer him on. Do it. Not this. It's stupid.

And remember, Josh - the opposition research firm the Cantwell campaign has no doubt hired to pore through every detail of McGavick's past doesn't necessarily have any better access to expunged Maryland court records than you do.

They need to keep hammering the fact that McGavick and his views are identical to Bush, and those policies have been a total disaster for the country. Dems, stop chasing your tails!

Hi, I'm Josh Feit, and everybody else is stupid but me.

Barb,

Cantwell's oppo research can do more than hit up public records. They're all politicos and know people who know people who know McGavick. They're paid to get that stuff. Certainly, some people in the political world knew McGavick had some sort of ruff spot in the early '90s.

Certainly, since I'm a reporter, you could say that I should know people who know people etc....but really, I'm not paid to gum shoe on McGavick full time like the D oppo team is. It would have never occurred to me to look up a DUI in Montgomery County, MD from 1993. It should have occurred to people that are paid full time to research and beat Mike McGavick, though.

Josh, you're being a dick again. Assuming Cantwell's campaign DID have this stuff, why would they bother using it? The current Congresscritters with DUI's on their record would suggest that either A: the public doesn't give a shit about this, or B: the public really likes electing drunks. So why use it, when you've got his support for id in schools, misleading ads about bullshit tax bills, and sycophantic support for batshit crazy Ted Stevens? There's plenty of stuff to beat Mike! over the head with without resorting to stupid stuff like this.

I can see the attack ad now: Fade in from black, photo of McGavick making an angry scary face. Announcer: "13 years ago, Mike McGavick was charged with a DUI. Also, he's a bad father. Is this the kind of drunken child-hater you want in the Senate? What a douchebag!" Maria: "I'm Maria Cantwell, and I approve this ad, because we've got enough douchebags in the Senate already." Fade from McGavick photo to photo of Osama.

This will be a blip on November 7; a little brief excitement over nothing.

How the heck would anyone know about a buried DUI in a state near the Beltway when we all live here? Except for Mr. DUI Alaska Mike McGavick himself, who probably had to practice making sure he didn't let slip about all the other times he drove wasted on more than six stiff martinis worth (given his weight and height).

I mean, seriously, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of demons, other than the demons themselves?

Josh
What evidence do you have that McGavick had this expunged from his record?

If he had it expunged, it's no longer in the public record. If it's not in the public record, it's virtually impossible to find, whether you're a researcher or a reporter - and trust me, DUI records are among the first thing that a researcher would look for.

I'm sure that Maria's research people are among the best in the country. If they couldn't find it, it's not findable.

Interesting. McGavick *says* he's had a DUI. But what do we really know about Mike McGavick?

We dont have any evidence. No witnesses, no paper trail, a record thats supposedly been "expunged" (whatever *that* means). We're simply supposed to take his word for it.

I hear from people who know pwoplw who know McGavick that he claimed he could drink, but it was all talk. He used to pay Maryland bartenders under the table to leave the gin out of his gin and tonics. And did anybody actually see him down those jack daniels shots.

McGavick's got big shoes to fill. Rep. John Sweeney can hang at a frat party but he's only in the House. (http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/sweeney4.jpg) Pete Coors got a DWI, and still lost. If Mikey's gonna win hes gonna have to show he can hang.

We hereby challenge McGavick to allow the public full access to all his court files, arrest records and blood alcohol tests. Thats the only way we will know the real truth about Mike McGavick.

Signed

Booze Hounds For The Truth.

Who's Maria?

Again, the Democrats are surprisingly smug and complacent about a race that the elephants are grabbing by the balls. Same story, different year.