Crossposted from West Virginia Blue.
I read the latest drivel from rightwing “strategist” and former West Virginia Republican Party executive director Gary Abernathy and had the usual reaction: “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”
Once again, Abernathy treats politics like it’s a junior high school clique and he’s the gossipiest girl in school.
In taking aim at State Sen. John Unger, however, Abernathy inadvertantly shot Unger’s opponent, vulnerable Rep. Shelley Moore Capito in the foot.
Unger’s WEPM radio cohost, news director Chris Strovel, took a job as a field staffer for Capito. Now I’m about as partisan as you can get and no fan of Capito’s, but my initial reaction was I was glad Strovel finally got a job that would pay him money. After carrying water for conservatives for years, it was about time he got some pay back for his efforts.
My second thought was how weird the Martinsburg Journal was for not mentioning Unger in their story on Strovel.
But Abernathy, political “strategist” that he is, tries to make it about Unger.
Probably no one knows John Unger better than Chris Strovel, and the fact that Strovel is taking a job with the person Unger wants to topple should tell us all we need to know about Unger and the feelings of the people who know him best.
That’s it? That’s all he’s got?
As a regular listener of Panhandle Live, I know that Strovel and Unger have commented on their friendship and respect for each other many times over the years.
Now Abernathy can either call Strovel a liar or he can admit he is desperately throwing any kind of mud, including made-up mud, to find something to stick to Unger.
Considering how often Abernathy has made up shit about Unger, it’s pretty safe to say Strovel is not a liar.
But what is interesting is how Abernathy’s post also reveals about his “skill” as a political “strategist.”
I’m an amateur blogger. I saw how he shot Capito in the foot immediately. Professional Republicans are probably screaming, “Abernathy, you f’n idiot! Capito doesn’t need friends like you!”
You see, in his poor effort at reading the tea leaves, Abernathy highlights a story that:
- Shows a veteran staffer of Capito’s left her before an election where many consider her vulnerable. In other words the rats are leaving her sinking ship.
- We can read Strovel’s words for ourselves and not only does he not say anything negative about Unger, he also does not say anything positive about his new boss Capito.
Now I’m not dumb like Abernathy, so I won’t read anything into that and unlike Abernathy I’ll let Strovel speak for himself.
But if Abernathy wants to continue to make things up, I’ll be happy to report soon on what I “dug” up on him. It’s despicable behavior even for a Republican and it is something he has never denied doing.
However, with “strategic” “thinking” like his latest, it is easy to see why the West Virginia GOP tossed Abernathy aside.
John Unger has his first email fundraiser out, using the Obstruction of Justicer’s appearance in Martinsburg with vulnerable Rep. Shelley Moore Capito.
Do we have an Al Franken Jr. race broiling?
My blog mate wvablue has a diary up rounding up recent events. It’s kind of odd after beating the drum for him on the blog for his state senate race and then going after the 2006 defeat of Mike Callaghan to writing Draft Unger diaries to actually have his race as a top tier race for the DCCC. I don’t know how much influence my blog had on the DCCC when they called him to suggest he run for the race and promising support, but I know we had a lot of site hits from the DCCC and saw someone there had read everything we’d written about him.
I’ve known him for more than 10 years and though he’s not as progressive on some issues as I’d like, neither is my WV-02 district. I hope we have a chance to replace Capito with a Democrat. She markets herself as an “independent” and a “moderate” but it’s false advertising. In the end, she’s a reliable rubberstamp for Bush and the most extreme corporate agenda.
Weird. I forgot Franken worked radio too. Unger got the radio gig after he was elected to the state senate iirc. Personally I think he’s too fair to the other side. Often he’ll listen to Strovel, then explain in a better way Strovel’s attempt to state a conservative position that Strovel obviously only half-understood, then he’ll state the left’s view. I’d much prefer if he’d have thrown an anchor to Strovel when he’d often flounder on the air in trying to argue a rightwing argument, but Unger’s the kind of guy who throws people lifelines. He’s really a nice guy. The rightwingers of the state and their friends in the media like the editor of the Martinsburg Journal (one of the larger papers in the district) have been trying to paint him as something else, but the Unger I’ve known for years is a down to earth, decent guy. He has a few quirks such as I think he has a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve about different issues and he pinches pennies when he campaigns to the extent people have to sign off for a campaign yard sign so he can get them back after the election and use them for the next race. But as a donor, I kind of like having someone like that whose going to be careful on how he spends the election campaign funds.