By: Suzanne Rosenberg In today's news from newspaper campaign blogs: gunsmith forced to resign from his own company after endorsing Obama, Electronic Retailing Association responds to Tucker Bounds after Obama informercial, and MoveOn.org uses humiliation to get the vote out.
Owner of Rifle Company forced to resignOn Politics
USA Today
By Mark Memmott
A Montana executive of a rifle company that bears his name, Dan Cooper, lost his job because he told USA Today that he supports Democrat Barack Obama for president. Mark Memmott of On Politics reports that USA Today reporter Ken Dilanian wrote on Tuesday about executives such as Cooper who are "sold on Obama." The story also revealed the $3,300 contribution that gunsmith Cooper made to the Obama campaign, and wrote that he had switched from Republican to Democrat this election ?because of the war and because the Republican party has moved so far to the right in recent years."
Within 24 hours, gun owners, bloggers and open letters went viral on the Internet, threatening to boycott the company's products -- many claiming (with much evidence) that Obama will try to restrict their right to bear arms. Cooper Firearms sent out a press release Thursday stating that the company does not share the political views of Dan Cooper and that his views may affect the employees and shareholders of Cooper Firearms, and asked for Cooper's resignation.Even Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer weighed in on the backlash against Cooper, telling USA Today that "it's silly season."
Tucker Bounds gets the Electronic Retailing Association's ire upBy Mark Memmott
The Electronic Retailing Association, which represents direct marketers, came out against Tucker Bounds, who said after Obama's Wednesday night infomercial, "As anyone who has bought anything from an infomercial knows, the sales job is always better than the product. Buyer beware." Rick Petry, president and CEO of the ERA, immediately responded to Bounds by saying, "to use a political agenda to indict an entire genre of advertising by portraying it in such a negative light is patently unfair. It would be like charging an entire industry and everyone associated with it, say politics for example, as being scurrilous ?"
The blame game gets the vote outThe Caucus
The New York Times
BY Sarah Wheaton
"Nothing like humiliation" to get the vote out, reports Sarah Wheaton of The Caucus on MoveOn.org's latest tactic to get voters, especially young ones, to the polls. For the last week MoveOn.org has been sending around a personalized video message as a part of their get out the vote efforts. You may be one of the 9.7 million who has received a fake post-election ?broadcast? revealing your name as that single person whose failure to vote led to Sen John McCain's victory by one vote. (It appears that some of us have even failed to vote numerous times.)
Bill, Hillary, and Gore to do last-minute stumping for Obama in FloridaTop of the Ticket
Los Angeles Times
By Kate Linthicum
Kate Linthicum of the Top of the Ticket noted that last week while Obama was campaigning in Florida, that he was joined by Bill Clinton in Orlando and Hillary in Tampa, Miami and Orlando. Al Gore will return to Florida to campaign at rallies in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale to encourage people to vote early. Al Gore's appearance in Florida for Obama is significant: According to Obama's Florida Campaign Director, Steve Schale, "no one knows better that every vote counts in Florida, than Vice President Gore."
More alleged racial overtones, this time in Minnesota House raceThe Washington Wire
The Wall Street Journal
By Rebecca Dana
In one of the more bizarre electoral controversies among many in this year's elections, Rebecca Dana of the Washington Wire reports that Democratic party officials are alleging that a Republican television ad intentionally darkens the skin tone of Indian-American Democratic candidate Ashwin Madia. The ad was produced by the National Republican Congressional Committee in support of Republican candidate Erik Paulsen for a closely contested open seat in the state's third district. In an election year when racial issues have reverberated nationally, critics of the ad say it crosses the line between hardball campaigning and something with a more insidious intent.
Trail Mix's Featured Blogs:Chicago Tribune:
The SwampLos Angeles Times:
Top of the TicketThe Boston Globe:
Political IntelligenceThe Denver Post:
Politics WestThe New York Times:
The CaucusThe Wall Street Journal:
The Washington WireThe Washington Post:
The Trail and
The FixUSA Today:
On Politics
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