The Virginian-Pilot today reports that Del. John Welch is using a picture taken of himself with Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul Lanteigne in his mail. Problem is, Lanteigne didn’t authorize its use and he is not endorsing Welch in his battle against Democratic challenger Bobby Mathieson.
“If he’d asked me to use those photos, I’d have said no,” Lanteigne said.
You know, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I have no doubt that many folks who receive this ad will assume that Lanteigne supports Welch and will never see the story in the Pilot saying differently. I saw the effects of the use of photos in my own campaign. On my all of my campaign mail, I listed the names of those electeds who supported me. But it wasn’t until the mail piece included the pictures that a number of people said that they were aware of their support. And, of course, there was this incident. I wonder how many people saw the article? I know that an ad was run in a local paper after the article appeared with the offending photo included.
There is a really simple answer to this: require that written permission from people be obtained prior to the photo being used in an ad. Before a mail firm uses a photo which contains a clearly identifiable individual, they should be provided a copy of the permission slip. Before the newspaper runs an ad, they should be provided a copy of the permission slip. And, to avoid situations like this one with Welch and Lanteigne, the permission slip should be dated within a certain time frame, say one year or six months.
The voters deserve to have some semblance of truth in advertising.
Technorati Tags: John Welch
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian, you practically called me a liar. That’s a pretty personal attack in my book.
You’re a Democrat who lost in Norfolk. That’s a unique accomplishment, and how it’s a personal attack I don’t know. Is it an attack to call you a Democrat? You were the Democratic nominee. Is it an attack to say you lost? It’s a fact, and not any dishonor. Lots of honorable candidates don’t win. Is it an attack to say you ran in Norfolk? I don’t think so.
But you question my integrity, my character and my honesty.
And I personally attacked you? Life must be interesting.
Back on the substance, yes, I do think status quo is better than your idea in this case. And I was thinking about it more today. I think the problem is best solved at the root, by emphasizing the “individual responsibility” of those who chose to have pictures taken with others. You think a law should be passed to fix the problem from the top-down. Neither solves all of the problem, but our differences about the approaches sound like a general difference in the way we view government.
Folks, I think you are giving this guy Brian a little too much “air time”. He isn’t going to change his mind and is only being successful in irritating those wishing to have a logical discussion.
Maybe he will be attacking me next and the only thing “bad” that I have done is read this distasteful mess.
Brian constantly whines and whines about being called names and then comes in and refers to the Sheriff of VB as Lottery Lantaigne, calls Vivian names and refers to Mathieson — a decorated police officer whose socks Brian is not fit to sniff — as a “Frank Drew wannabe.”
He constantly gets his facts wrong, loses every campaign he touches, calls the clerk’s office and denies it, gets in trouble with the VB Commonwealth Attorney’s office for lying and misleading, can’t find steady work without humping Dave Roark’s leg, and then embarasses himself and becomes a laughingstock on the blogs by running his mouth about things he doesn’t have a clue to and has no one saying anything good about him.
No wonder Marty Williams told a reporter –off the record — that listening to Brian Kerwin was biggest mistake he ever made.
What amazes me above all else is that Brian just DOESN’T GET IT. He embarasses himself and doesn’t know when to stop. He just keeps kicking and screaming and making snarky comments while slandering others and shows no regard for the truth or respect for others — then wonders why people laugh at him behind his back.
Talk about arrested development. The fact that people immediately dismiss anything Brian has to say as soon as he opens his mouth should tell you where he exists on the food chain of politics.
NOT ONCE have I ever seen him write something on the blogs that ADDS to the conversation, shows any insight into politics, or gives any evidence that he understands politics and people. Everything — and I mean EVERYTHING — he writes is smarmy, inmature, and lacking in intelligence and insight. He is just like a baby with a full diaper.
Don’t pay any attention to what he has to say, Vivian. No one takes him seriously, you shouldn’t either. At least you had the olives to step into the political arena and fight and put your ass on the line. Ya think Brian would ever have the giblets to do that?
Yeah . . right. You’ll see Mother Teresa kicking puppies before that ever happens.
And to think this guy is allowed to vote and reproduce. Heaven help us all . . .
Yep, viv. These comments add to the conversation. g’nite
I haven’t read Vivian in a bit so I found this usual VA Blogosphere ‘intellectual’ argument amazing, and to be honest, I could give a sh*t about this squabble about using photos… But I do love seeing Drew Lankford coming around and having the balls to threaten Brian, but not before saying…
“Considering the embarassing week Welch has had, I would think you campaign hacks would have more immediate concerns than sticking your tongue out at everyone else.
Watch yourself.”
It is not the “watch yourself” threat I want to point out… It is Drew calling any campaign embarassing and others hacks. Really? Was Welch’s week more embarassing than having to answer to pleasing guilty to hitting a woman right after speaking to a woman’s club event? Was it more embarassing than advising your guy to hide away and cancel debates?
Drew, You made me chuckle… thank you. You truly are the Jim Kelly of campaigns, aren’t you? 🙂
BTW, 1976 called… They want their beard back [cue Bee-Gees music]
🙂
Well, Brian — why does that concern you? You do nothing to “add to the conversation,” so why are you so insistent in demanding that of others? That’s called a “double standard,” as you obviously don’t know.
You can’t keep sticking your tongue out at people, say rude and mindless things and call other people names and then act hurt when it gets thrown back at you. If you don’t like the way things are done in the grown-up world, stay over at Bearing Drift. There are no intellectual demands being made there, and you can whine to your heart’s content.
You are the perfect example of a person who likes to dish it out but can’t stand it when it gets dished back. Welcome to the real world, Junior.
Squeaky in Ohio
“Threaten Brian” . . . saying “watch yourself” is a threat? What a candy-ass attitude. I never realized you boys scared that easily.
Get your facts straight . . . no one pleaded guilty to hitting a woman ( or “pleasing guilty” as you say — something you have never been charged with, I’m sure).
And I never advised anyone to duck any debates. I’m a big believer in debating anyone, anytime. But those are facts — a foreign language to you — which explains why you are so off the mark.
And yes, Welch stood up at a news conference and endorsed a bill that has already passed, decided he wants to endorse the French after all and gets the sheriff of VB crawling up his colon for being ignorant about using pictures that were taken SEVERAL YEARS ago — THEN questions Lanteigne’s manhood.
John Welch questioning someone else’s manhood?? That’s too good to miss.
I didn’t realize my beard attracted you so much Squeaky . . . I might have to shave after all just to keep you from squirming in your seat. Go take that cold shower. Or are you just dancing to your Bee Gees eight-tracks?
LOL, DL.
Squeaky Wheel is another one of these Repug’s who wants to keep reliving old campaigns and twisting the facts around to suit themselves. He sits in Ohio and thinks he knows everything that goes on in VA. Rumor has it that he and Brian were separated at birth. They still share a brain.
No one takes him seriously anymore than they take Kirwin seriously — except at Bearing Dribble.
Pat-Mike, you’re right. This is a waste of time.
I’m sorry to anyone I may have insulted, especially you, Vivian. I may have crossed the line, as others have done so with me. That’s not what I had hoped to do here. Have fun!
So I guess Brian won’t be calling the City Clerk or the Secretary of the Commonwealth about all those Republicans using the City and State Seals on their private campaign websites. Too bad. He could have shown us his integrity, his character and his honesty.
Um, Vivian . . . .
Hardly a first time visitor; I even think i’ve posted here before. Sharpen those observational skills!
Show me ownership of the photo. It was taken in the jail where cameras are rarely allowed. I’m betting it was taken by the Sheriff’s PR honcho. It is more likely to be the sheriff’s photographer than a campaign photographer in the jail.
If the sheriff let in a campaign photographer to politicize the jail, then there are even deeper problems than whose photo it is.
And, no, I don’t work as Brian’s stand in — it’s just that he and I are both astute enough to discern the facts.
Hey folks, guess what…it wasn’t about the photo, it was about the implied/infered (they both work-look it up) endorsement behind the photo. Wake-up people the election’s just a few weeks away! I haven’t had some much reading fun on the W3 since I discovered Wikipedia…lol. Repugs…really, that I’ll have to use.
Re: “repugs” – no, please don’t. It’s ridiculously childish (along with the “rethuglicans” and whatever dozen other variations I’ve seen), and helps move our discourse into Freeperville, which is just one long string of made up code words. If you don’t like what the Republicans are doing, describe them as you feel appropriate (e.g., “an immoral and dishonest lot”), but please don’t jump on the schoolyard bandwagon. Leave that level of discourse to those sharp wits like Brian and Squeak.