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Monday, September 10, 2012

2012 / Media / Money About That PAC I Allegedly Run

Posted by Goldy on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 3:43 PM

As Eli mentioned in an earlier post, McKenna campaign manager Randy Pepple was asked point blank on a recent conference call why we at The Stranger are not invited onto any McKenna campaign conference calls, to which Pepple gave the campaign's boilerplate answer:

One of their political reporters is the chair person of a political action committee that's stated purpose is the defeat of Rob McKenna for whatever position he runs for in 2012.

Huh. Not exactly.

I just checked the PDC, and it turns out I am still listed as the "Campaign Manager or Media Contact" for the "No Reversing Our Benefits PAC," a committee for which there have been no contributions or expenditures filed in 2011 or 2012. I'll cop to media contact.

I asked treasurer Jason Bennett to form the PAC in March of 2010 on behalf of Aaron Belenky, who had created a wildly popular Facebook page protesting McKenna's involvement in the health care lawsuit. But by the time we got everything in place the online fervor had died down, and there was little opportunity left to raise much money. Less than $2,000 in cash contributions were raised.

I also put up a quicky web page, which Site Meter tells me has received exactly 219 unique visits over the past 12 months.

Bennett has apparently continued to dutifully file annual C1PC forms with the PDC, presumably because there must still be a few hundred dollars left in the account, but I've had nothing to do with its operations (or lack thereof) since March, 2010, almost a full year before I joined the staff of The Stranger. In fact, I'd totally forgotten about the PAC before McKenna's campaign started bringing it up.

So, did I once start a PAC targeting McKenna? Absolutely, if not much of one. But I've had nothing to do with it for the past two and half years.

According to Pepple it is this minor bit of two-and-half-year-old politicking that forever bars me from the journalism profession. But if that is the standard, then I'm not alone. Radio hosts Dave Ross and John Carlson both ran for office, so clearly, they can't be journalists. Likewise KING-5's Robert Mak should be permanently barred from press conferences due to his working as a political shill for former Mayor Greg Nickels. And so on.

No, the real reason I'm barred from McKenna's press conferences is not that I once helped start a shell of PAC; it's because McKenna's not man enough to take my questions.

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Comments (28) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Is there anything a Republican WON'T lie about?

Serious question...anything???

Posted by Rujax!

on September 10, 2012 at 4:02 PM

@1:

IOKIYAR

Posted by N in Seattle

on September 10, 2012 at 4:11 PM

Well if it helps I donated another $150 to Inslee today in part because of nonsense like this. So, um, nice work Randy Pepple.

Posted by brian on September 10, 2012 at 4:16 PM

At least 220 now, and would a contribution mean anything today?

Posted by seatackled on September 10, 2012 at 4:19 PM

@5 - I had been dithering about how much to give presently, having given a chunk to Inslee early - after this, it'll be more than what I originally planned.

"Rob McKenna - Not man enough to answer your questions."

I like it - it sings. :-)

Posted by palamedes on September 10, 2012 at 4:27 PM

@3 - my error.

Posted by palamedes on September 10, 2012 at 4:29 PM

@4 I don't believe the PAC has been set up to process contributions since sometime in 2010. If you want to make a contribution, make it straight to the Inslee campaign.

Posted by Goldy on September 10, 2012 at 4:53 PM

I'm curious if McKenna would let The Stranger in on this stuff if Eli were assigned this beat. I'm sure you wouldn't do that, but it's kind of hard to call a Pulitzer winner a "non journalist."

Posted by Matt from Denver on September 10, 2012 at 4:58 PM

Actually it's because you're a tremendous egotistical preening whiny cock

Posted by Reader01 on September 10, 2012 at 5:07 PM

I know! I hate it when I'm listed as the current "campaign manager/media contact" for an political action committee that I haven't though about in literally years! It's clear that you believe you're God's gift to political journalism. The unfortunate thing is that your self-aggrandizing rhetoric has others (albeit people who think they're too smart to read anything but Slog) believing it too.

Posted by hermann on September 10, 2012 at 5:10 PM

Certainly Rob's Annointed Pasty Politician Yawners Lie About Why You Endorse Responsibly.

Posted by sperifera on September 10, 2012 at 5:14 PM

@8

I don't know if McKenna considers Cienna a journalist, but they've barred her before.

Posted by seatackled on September 10, 2012 at 5:43 PM

12

she's a cunt.

Posted by oh, and they burned your ass, goldy. on September 10, 2012 at 6:03 PM

Hate McKenna. But it's hard to feel sympathy for a hack who's the Manager or Media Contact for a group whose threadbare webpage states prominently enough:

"Every dollar you contribute to No R.O.B. PAC will be spent to defeat Rob McKenna in 2012."

Is he required by law to invite you to his campaign conference calls? I don't think so. Is it in his interest to invite you? Again, I don't think so.

So, what's your whining about? McKenna's not man enough to take your questions? Maybe. I haven't checked under his kilt. More likely and more obviously he's just smart enough to recognize that it serves him no good purpose to suffer fools.

I'm happy to be proven wrong. Perhaps Goldy can supply a question that he would ask that a real journalist wouldn't.

Posted by BLUE on September 10, 2012 at 6:11 PM

Oh Goldy,
speaking of the whole "not man enough to take my questions...." thing;
have you ever had the experience of having posts closed to unregistered comments just because the chicken assed coward pussy poster couldn't handle dollops of The Truth you were serving?
As one professional asshole to another, how would you handle that situation?

ps-
they totally burned your punk partisan hack ass.
and then reamed you a new one.

Posted by is shitting more efficient with two assholes? on September 10, 2012 at 6:22 PM

@15

crude!

Posted by LEE. on September 10, 2012 at 6:26 PM

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Rob McKenna = Lying Sack of Crap. Say it again:

Hi Google!

Posted by Rob McKenna: Lying Sack Of Crap on September 10, 2012 at 6:32 PM

16
what about 13?

Posted by Cruder? on September 10, 2012 at 6:35 PM

@13&18

heavy-handed!

Posted by LEE. on September 10, 2012 at 6:41 PM

How is this different than Mitt's claim that he wasn't really running Bain for a couple of years, no matter what the paperwork said. Keep in mind that I'm definitely a Romney critic, and voting for Obama, it is just that I don't think Goldy's defense is as strong as he thinks it is.

Posted by ohthetrees on September 10, 2012 at 6:44 PM

@15 in consideration of the quality of comment that come from unregistered comments it's pretty clear as to why that happens. You should register. Think of it like those photo ID laws you most likely support.

Posted by CbytheSea on September 10, 2012 at 6:46 PM

How much money have the editors and owners of "real newspapers" given to McKenna? Just curious.

Posted by 1971 on September 10, 2012 at 7:32 PM

@17 ftw

Posted by Will in Seattle

on September 10, 2012 at 9:34 PM

What BLUE @14 and ohthetrees @20 said.

Posted by lostboy

on September 11, 2012 at 7:30 AM

talk about smoking fucking guns....

they owned your ass, Goldy

Posted by you're an even more pathetic shit than we ever imagined.... on September 11, 2012 at 7:40 AM

Isn't this the same logic that allows Romney to claim he had nothing to do with Bain during the Olympics?

(Don't take this as support for either politician.)

Posted by xizar on September 11, 2012 at 9:04 AM

Isn't this the same logic that allows Willard to claim he wasn't at Bain while working on the Olympics in SLC?

(Don't construe this as support for either politician, or condemnation for writers at The Stranger.)

Posted by xizar on September 11, 2012 at 9:06 AM