Former Senator John Edwards has hit yet another snag in his campaign for the Democratic nomination as one of his current consultants has been working for an anti-union group, which will antagonize the union voters in Iowa he needs to be competitive in the state. Matthew Mosk reports for The Washington Post:
While on a tour highlighting poverty this week, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards faced more questions about whether his focus on the issue was undermined by, among other things, his work at a hedge fund and his $6 million house. A closer look at his campaign finance reports reveals another potential contradiction: His campaign paid more than $200,000 in May and June to a Georgia-based media consultant that was working at the same time with an antilabor group dedicated to exposing the way unions have plowed "mandatory union dues" into their "radical political agendas."While Edwards was launching his first campaign ads, the group Center for Union Facts launched its own advertising aimed at stopping unions from using membership dues for political contributions. (The ads can be viewed at http://www.unionfacts.com/ads.cfm.) Edwards's consultant, LUC Media, operates from the same suite, at the same address, with the same chief executive as the agency that purchased advertising time for the Center for Union Facts, a company called 1-2-1 Interactive Media.
Christopher M. Werner, who is listed on Georgia incorporation papers as the CEO of both firms, said the two companies are "totally separate entities, with separate staff." Werner said, "I have an interest from way back, but I don't do any work for [1-2-1 Interactive]." He added, "We're thrilled to be working for Senator Edwards."
Read the full post at the link above. Much will depend on whether voters buy the "totally separate entities, with separate staff" explanation, given the firms operate from the same business address. In any case, these are questions Edwards definitely doesn't need as he mounts his final push in Iowa, a state where he must do well to survive in the campaign.
Even if the separation turns out to be legitimate, it reminds us of a repeatedly observed weakness of the Edwards campaign: the inability to thoroughly check out the people they bring in. Imagine this group running the selection of Cabinet nominees . . .
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Filed under:
2008 Presidential Race, Democrats, Edwards, Primaries
Tags: consultant, Edwards, presidential campaign, primaries, union thugs
Comments (1)
This story is over 4 months... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Lee Ward | November 27, 2007 10:30 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
This story is over 4 months old. Check the date on the Washington Post article -- July 20, 2007.
/Snore!
1. Posted by Lee Ward | November 27, 2007 10:30 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 27, 2007 10:30