Thursday, February 08, 2007

Marcotte and McEwan should resign...

There I said it, I've read what others have written, over on As Ohio Goes over on my good friend Scott's blog, Republispin, on Gary's blog, Declarations and over on John Edward's blog.

I don't understand what the John Edwards campaign was thinking when they hired either one, to not expect controversy was so naive. It makes me wonder if John Edwards had taken the time to read each one of these women's personal blogs before he hired them. It'd be like hiring Howard Stern and being shocked when he did something offensive. You don't need a 'star' to attract the net roots, you need someone that will promote the message and not the personality behind the message. You need someone who can be respectful of those who have a differing opinion on one topic yet try to lure them into the discussion and wanting to get involved by finding out where you agree. We spend too much time finding what divides us and like it or not Marcotte and McEwan will divide people.

This isn't about letting the right wingers win by John Edwards realizing the two might not be what his campaign needs, this is about not letting John Edwards lose. Not every person is going to agree with all of John Edwards plans or ideas, but to purposely create a situation where people even some John Edwards supporters feel offended is not the way to start out a campaign. Or the way to win presidency.

As I wrote over on As Ohio Goes, the bright spot is I hope that this is one of those tunnel vision issues where the blogosphere makes a bigger deal out of it than the non-blogging public. However, this will come up again and again and is it really worth it to let his campaign be sided tracked in this manner? Is it also really worth it to keep pretending the defense of why this is okay is because the Republicans do it too? If we truly want to do a better job and we truly want to show that we can lead this country, we need to lead by example, we need to demonstrate that we do have the ability to unite people, all people...

As an update, Mark thinks I'm throwing stones.

And as a second update, Mark wrote the same post on the Edward's blog.

:-)

11 comments:

Scott G said...

I love Shakes, but I don't know if I would have hired her if I was Edwards. She is great, but she says a lot that others could find offensive. Get her going and she makes me look calm

I don't know much about Marcotte.

Unknown said...

I just can't help thinking that Edwards did not bother to read their blogs first. I'm not dissing what either one of them does, they are both good bloggers but not necessarily as paid campaign bloggers.

Anonymous said...

I think Mark sounds like a Troll!

Unknown said...

No, Mark is not a troll. We just disagree on this and how he's handling his disagreement with me.

Mark W Adams said...

Ahah, Now the discussion is where it should have been. ;-) I looked for something by you on this at Glass City this morning, started a comment at AOHG that turned into a rant, which I copied into a diary at Edwards blog.

Who on earth knew it would end up as a recommended diary and stay up there all day? The "News" I submitted to the blog for voting approval on the Catholic Alliance siding with JRE and calling out the Catholic League's Donohue as a "hypocrit." was voted down, and I reposted it as a diary -- which also got recommended today.

Weird.

I completed my apology/defense at JRE'08 at the post you linked.

We disagree Lisa, catagorically. That doesn't mean I still don't love everything else you've ever written.

Hey, let me know if you're going to the LCYD thingy at UT tomorrow and maybe I'll bring my daughter (who's applied to their early college/high school program -- she's a real young democrat) and we can growl at each other in person.

Mark W Adams said...

Besides (back on topic) how would the resignation be interpreted?

Baddly, to be sure -- and taken as a firing.

In a position like that, unless you want to do actual harm to a candidate, you serve, and leave, at the candidate's pleasure.

This HAD to be his call, not Amanda or Mellissa's. It was the only way.

If indeed they "have to go," much better that they quietly leave (for personal/family committments) after this has blown over in three or four months time.

Notable, so far except for an intro diary, and the apologies, I've see nothing new from JRE's new bloggers/internet coordinators.

Unknown said...

Mark, I was briefly hurt but I got over it. I realize the way I'm doing this is confusing. Here on Liberal Common Sense I am 100% me and my thoughts no hold barred, on Glass City Jungle I have less of me and more on the aspect of getting information out on a local basis and trying to do what I can to help make Toledo/Lucas County better from an informed voter standpoint. I don't go into many of the national topics on Glass City, as the presidential campaigns increase it could be more difficult. Yet I am trying to keep that there and still be able to be me here.

I believe you and I still agree on more than we disagree on and I'll be more than happy to work with you on our joint goals. I doubt we'd growl, I'd probably hug you, that's just the way I am.

:-)

Unknown said...

Edwards can't fire them, which is why I stated they should resign. Or we have to hope that those of us that pay more attention to this are the minority and this too shall pass. I don't want Hillary or Obama to use them as a reason to attract Catholics who don't pay attention but I think we both realize it will happen. No matter the intention in hiring them both, it is going to be an issue which is why I felt if I were them I would resign and save John the drama of having to address this now that it has become an issue.

We don't need to be the campaign that gets the negative attention...I remember very well what happened to Dean and I don't what that to be repeated.

Mark W Adams said...

See, two hats. Professional vs Personal blogs. I do it too at OH4JRE and Dispassionate Liberal.

I blame Cindy. If she weren't out of town, she would have smacked me around before I went off -- and on, and on, and on...

I never really was a Deaniac, so I'm not as gun shy as I've seen elsewhere. Oh, I was pulling for him, and surely his influence, and the general buzz about blogs got me started in January of '04. But I was never part of his movement and voted for JRE. That young democrat of mine was 11 when we stood on the same stage with him.

I haven't lived here long enough to even start talking about the local stuff intelligently -- and my interests always were more towards the national and international scene. Just sticking to Ohio is impossible for me, even though I've lived all over it. I can't name the Speaker of the Ohio House without Google.

You do great work, work I could never do, work that is too much like, well ... work.

Cyberseaer said...

Well, I'm glad that you two have made up.

I just hope that the Republicans have a candidate this time that can do stuff to help this country, because, as I see it, the Democrats are blowing this golden opportunity to regain the White House.

As for Donohue, he is a media whore a-hole that is giving the rest of us Catholics a bad name. (Please, no priests references)

Unknown said...

C, Totally agree on Donahue, I'm amazed anyone even bothers to listen to him given most of the Catholics I know feel the same way.