Apparently, both George Allen and Jim Webb signed an agreement with the League of Women Voters to not use the video from last Monday’s League-sponsored debate for campaign purposes. (Note to CBDA: perhaps you could have had the 2nd District candidates sign a similar statement in lieu of the no-taping rule.) It looks as if the video is being used, in violation of the agreement. An ad that started running last week shows clips of Webb. The ad was authorized by George Allen and paid for by Friends of George Allen.
The League of Women Voters, of which I am a member, has requested that the ad be removed. I agree, especially since the LWV is a bipartisan organization. (And it really is -I attended a LWV meeting this afternoon and one of the people mentioned that she was going to place her “Vote NO” sign next to her “Allen” sign.)
It is important that candidates honor their agreements. Friends of George Allen should remove the ad.
UPDATE: Here is the AP story on this.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Hypocrites!
They whine about openness in government and freeflow of information (in fact is was the first question the LWV questioner asked in the debate).
But they want to control the tape of the debate and make sure no one actually uses it in a campaign?
What kind of openness is that?
Hint to LWV and CBDA – you don’t control the media, the blogosphere, the 1st amendment, or the public.
If you want information freely available to you, you should expect to be held to the same standard that you ask of others.
Here’s the problem with your argument: the candidates agreed to it. If they didn’t want to do so, they shouldn’t have. Plain and simple.
It was hypocritical of the LWV to demand it in the first place.
Both campaigns agreeing to do the wrong thing doesn’t make it right.
Insider:
They signed a contract. Legally binding. Allen could be in serious trouble if he continues running the ad. The point isn’t whether it was moral or not to run the the footage in the ad, Insider. He agreed not to show that footage, and he should honor his word. There’s no argument here.
Insider….it appears you think your candidate, George Allen, should not be truthful….In your book it’s okay for George Allen to lie and not follow through on his agreements.
It’s because George Allen obviously can’t be trusted and has sold out his vote to the highest bidder. I RELISH seeing him riding off into the sunset (preferally in that miswest state he “wishes he’d been born in” on November 8th…..
Anyone who is 100% behind Bush’s foreign policy is a fool, a traitor and/or a crook…and I believe that hits the nail on the head for George Allen….
Buzz…Buzz….Mosquito
Insider – I don’t think the LWV was wrong here. This debate was carried live in every market in the state, in many cases, on multiple stations. So there was no 1st amendment violation. Allen is wrong to use the footage. (And since I just saw the ad again, he’s still using it.)
Keep complaining. The Allen campaign loves it. They want you all talking about this ad, talking about taxes, etc. You’re giving them free media and getting out the message. The blogosphere and the Webb campaign continue to show how little they understand these things.
Shhh, Virginian. 🙂
Any organization that sponsors a debate and whines when campaigns use what is said during one is too far gone for logic to help.
By the way, Webb’s folks broke the use agreement first, but apparently that didn’t matter to you, Vivian, mosquito and Danny.
There is a world of difference between linking to the ENTIRE DEBATE and using a CLIP. Not to mention the fact that it was Raising Kaine that did it, not the Webb campaign. And they took down the link as soon as they were asked to. Were the folks at Raising Kaine aware of the agreement? I have no idea. But unlike the Allen campaign, they complied with the request to remove the link.
Who was it that said two wrongs don’t make a right?
use is use.
Vivian, First, You KNOW that the RaisingKaine folks work for Webb. Lowell Feld readily admits that. It’s on every post. Everyone knows who he works for. He works for Allen and runs RaisingKaine.
Second, You also know, as does everyone who has ever even a passing knowledge of politics, that the LWV is NOT a bipartisan organization, despite the fact that you met ONE member who was voting for Allen. Many democrats are less than thrilled with their candidate.
Third, why shouldn’t anyone be able to see the responses of the candidates in every debate? Doesn’t that seem like the freedom of speech, the American way, open and honest, all those things? Why do liberal groups continue to want to suppress information in campaigns?
We all know the answer. If democrats are honest about what they want to do when elected, they won’t get elected. Americans don’t want what they want. It’s as simple as that.
First of all, Insider, how many time do I have to say this:
RAISING KAINE IS NOT PART OF THE WEBB CAMPAIGN.
Webb doesn’t fund our actions. You are allowed to go on RK right now, create an ID, and blog all you want about how horrible Webb is, and Webb can’t do anything. We are an independent organization. We didn’t sign anything saying we couldn’t show the footage. Allen did. Allen can’t officially produce anything in an ad with that debate footage. Raising Kaine may have many members that have connections to Webb, but the official site is not linked to the Webb Campaign. You A-Team people can post whatever you want on your site, just like we can. Webb can’t run an ad with that footage, and neither can Allen. Tough break.
Hahaha……..as if Raising Kane doesn’t ban everyone who says anything negative about Webb. As if Lowell isn’t paid by Webb. Neither of the above is true about the A-Team. They don’t ban posters who disagree with them, and they aren’t on Allen’s payroll. BIG Differences.
Sorry, but no one believes that an employee of Webb’s is running a website that has nothing to do with the Webb campaign. Sheeze. No one is that dumb. You all have to give that up, no one has ever believed it and they don’t now.
Tough break that Webb was dumb enough to admit that he would raise taxes. ER, I mean ‘increase revenues’.
I screwed up post 12. It should read that Lowell works for Webb, not Allen. Sorry all.