August 20, 2004
(Updated) Further Rumblings On Francesconi's Negative Campaign
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
First of all, one of the other big developments in the ongoing saga of Francesconi's negative campaign of distortions and deceptions is the warning shot fired by The Oregonian in their lead editorial:
If he had substantive criticisms to offer of former Police Chief Tom Potter, that might be one thing. But what Francesconi has found to sling wasn't worth the price of excavation. It may have the texture of mud, and it may mislead some voters, but only because Francesconi has left out key facts.
...
These misleading ads try to rewrite history and convince voters that an admired police chief wasn't so admirable. They're more likely to convince voters that a mayoral candidate said to have a big heart actually boasts a big shovel.
They go on to mention the failure of his well-endowed primary campaign, and caution that this new approach (which, we have to say, is cheaper in many meanings of that word) might backfire as well: "He surely doesn't want to be remembered as the candidate who failed to impress with big wads of both sorts."
Ouch.
Why is this editorial such an important part of the story? Because during the primary campaign, the paper endorsed Francesconi. Now let's see -- especially if Francesconi continues the Karl Rovian attacks against Potter -- if the editorial board can follow through to the next logical step and follow the Portland Police Association's lead in retracting an endorsement.
Meanwhile, we mentioned at some point this week that it's not as if we are big fans of the Portland Police Association, given their intransigence when it comes to needed and sensible reforms of the Portland Police Bureau. Well, today's Portland Tribune mentions some of the other factors which led to their endorsement retraction, and they are far less admirable than their proper and correct characterizations of Francesconi's ads:
King also objected to a resolution Francesconi brought before the City Council this summer requiring increased diversity and greater cultural awareness training for police. King felt Francesconi placed too many of society's ills at the feet of police.
Setting aside the questions of what motivated that sudden attempt at a resolution, and the fact that "a resolution Francesconi brought before the City Council" isn't technically accurate because he never actually got to introduce his resolution, we can't let this pass without mentioning that more diversity and better training at the Police Bureau really aren't things that the union should be fighting against.
(Parenthetically, the article also includes the repetition by Francesconi that this is all just about his opponent's record. In turn, we repeat our response: It's not about his record if you're lying about his record.)
Meanwhile, at this morning's East Portland Chamber of Commerce meeting with Potter, the editor of East County News opted to ask that the "elephant in the room" be addressed first and gotten out of the way. Meaning, he asked Potter about the controversy over the ads, and the retraction of the union's endorsement.
"I'm glad they agree with my assessment," Potter said. "I don't respect that kind of behavior in politics." He then added this gem: "Some people think that Jim's actually working for me, and he's my secret weapon."
And finally, be sure to read this reader comment to our previous item about KOIN 6 News' irresponsible and indefensible mistreatment of the facts in this controversy. In it, a reader reports on her his conversation with the station manager, who in no uncertain terms stands by their reporting of the story.
A brief remark on the media element of this story, or perhaps this is a note to those in the local media who read this site: Your job is not to report on political campaigns within a "he said, she said" framework. Your job is to tell your viewers whether or not what he said, and what she said, actually happens to be true. Even putting aside KOIN's outright falsifications in this particular story, this "he said, she said" form of reporting isn't the objectivity you probably believe it to be. Instead, it's simply an abrogation of your responsibilities as the Fourth Estate.
Update
One other item regarding the media element here. Over on KATU, allegedly independent and non-partisan Tim Hibbits commented that Francesconi's loss of the police union's endorsement might be good for him because many of Portland's liberals hate the police. Of course, anyone who actually has any understanding of those elements of the local left which might perhaps actually be properly called "police haters" would know that they actually also happen to hate Francesconi himself. So what Hibbets asserts here simply isn't going to happen.
In truth, what Hibbits was doing with this comment (other than trying to smear liberals as haters of the police, of course) is attempt to create the impression that Francesconi's negative campaigning might actually be a good move, and paint a picture of reality for KATU's viewers which might give them an excuse to decide to support Francesconi. That's neither independent nor non-partisan political observation. It's a combination of making vague smears against liberals and trying to influence, not observe, the election.
(To be fair, perhaps it's not an attempt to influence anything. Perhaps it's just Hibbits having no earthy idea what he's talking about.)
Now, we obviously have no inherent objections either to bias or attempts at influence. What we do object to, however, is pretending to be independent and non-partisan while actually just engaging in wild spin that's pulled from somewhere in the vicinity of one's nether regions.
On the off-chance that this contingent of liberal cop-haters really is out there, and aren't also Francesconi-haters, I repeat something I said in a comment earlier: If the City's liberals turn out to be stupid enough to consider Francesconi's loss of the union's endorsement a large factor in their decision, while at the same time considering his distortions and deceptions to be irrelevant, then Francesconi deserves to win.
Comments (8)
The One True b!X on 20 Aug 2004
Apparently, unknown to me until just now, KOIN's afternoon newscast was at 4:00 PM instead of the usual 5:00 PM. Anyone watch it and notice how they reported the story this time, if they did at all?
Flatland Spider on 20 Aug 2004
Technically speaking, Kari Chisholm's a guy.
Kari Chisholm on 20 Aug 2004
Um, thanks, Spider. That's twice in one day. Yup, I'm a "Mr." Maybe I should put a photo up with my bio at BlueOregon.com
Kari Chisholm on 20 Aug 2004
Trying again.. My bio
The One True b!X on 20 Aug 2004
Oh, d'er. Bad b!X. Fixed now.
JS on 23 Aug 2004
I wonder if more attention will be paid to these negative ads (by folks not reading this blog) because of events on the national political stage?
Will the completely baseless SwiftVet ads against John Kerry bring about some universal condemnation of overtly deceitful, personal attacks, especially among Democrats?
I hope so. Perhaps the O's editorial is an indication...
Christy on 23 Aug 2004
I just received a mailer from the Francesconi campaign. Cannot even find his name on it, just a "Real Tom Potter" plug. Blech. You would think that with the negative response from everyone in town, Francesconi would pull the plug on his anti-Potter campaign.
The One True b!X on 23 Aug 2004
Ok, that's the 2nd report of this I've seen today. Do you still have it? Can you quote me what it says and/or scan it in? Or anyone else who got it, for that matter.