Earlier today, Jeff Simpson over at CogDis wrote about the on then off then on-again “Unity Rally” planned for tomorrow night in Madison.
In his piece, Simpson blamed Tom Barrett for the cancellation of the Unity Rally, writing the following in an “open letter” to Mayor Barrett:
You can not call for unity amongst the candidates, and then cancel the unity rally because you think you are going to win and want to avoid protestors.
In his rush to blame Tom Barrett for the cancellation of the Democratic Unity Rally, Simpson apparently chose to believe an assertion made by Madison radio show host John “Sly” Sylvester, instead of actually attempting to contact either Barrett’s campaign or the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) for an official explanation/comment on the cancellation of the Unity Rally.
However, our own Lisa Mux did contact both Barrett’s campaign and the DPW and was told the rally was cancelled (before being reinstated) “because the DPW decided to focus on voter contact operations instead of trying to turn out thousands of people to Madison for a weeknight rally. Tom is attending a Unity Breakfast with all of the other candidates, so there is still a unity event.”
Furthermore, who cares? One more march down State Street will not get us one more vote a month from now.
It seemed to be the Falk talking point over the last 48 hours. I told many it was unconfirmed, but they wouldn’t listen to reality.
I think lashing out at a guy who was a very loyal writer here is just not good form. It is petty. Please let it be.
Steven, am I not allowed to call Jeff out on something simply because he used to write here?
I think it was incredibly unfair of him to blame this whole situation on Tom Barrett without even bothering to get some sort of answer from the DPW or Barrett’s campaign as to what the deal really was, and I wanted to voice my opinion, just as you shared yours.
You are absolutely entitled to your opinion, Zach. But ration it. There are lots of big issues around. This one is a very tiny issue. And your lashing out makes you look tiny. Please note, I’m not defending Jeff at all. I could care less what he wrote. I’m saying that this blog should be about far bigger things. Far far bigger things. What is insane is that this primary election is over, and any petty squabbling is pretty damned useless. Don’t cheapen yourself.
Damn it, I’ve been blogging since 2003. I’ve posted several entries in that time where I was far more emotionally involved than I should have been, and I ended up deleting some of those posts. But I never squabbled with good people like you are doing here.
I remember being totally pissed off at a Dem and fellow blogger once. It was 2007 or 2008, and she was an Edwards fan, and she trashed Obama up one side and down the other. At the time she was a minor writer on that blog, and I was the lead writer. I took the battle offline. The blog doesn’t need that kind of drama.
Thanks for sharing your perspective Steven.
But tomorrow’s “unity event” does not show unity with us, the activists. We sponsored this recall, you know.
So wait… If I marched (repeatedly), and I support Tom Barrett… What does that do to your talking point other than obviate it?
I think this whole ideological purity test people want to impose on Democratic candidates is so fucking Tea Party I can’t believe that this is where we are as a movement.
Yep, Tom wasn’t behind it. And Scott Walker is creating 250,000 jobs.
You’re such a cynic.
Cynic or realist? Meh, all the same to me.
What do you expect the state party to say? Seriously, you guys are really losing it. Is this what happens when you drink the purple Barrett kool aid?
Hey, I also do not believe there’s any koolaid involved in supporting Tom Barrett. Taht is bullshit, and that is petty infighting. Can you people grow up? Really. Can you people grow up?
I was a Falk supporter, but because the election looked to be done for Barrett, who I will support wholeheartedly, I ended up voting today for Arthur Kohl-Riggs. I just got a nasty taste in my mouth from Democrats smacking each other around. Very nasty taste.
Folks…..let’s return to Earth for a second. The only Democratic candidate with a legitimate shot at defeating public (worker) enemy No. 1 just won convincingly in tonight’s primary. Get behind that & rejoice…..but dig in for one hell of a fight next month. It is gonna be a close one.
It’s always is the kids who suffer when there is a nasty divorce and the Jeff/Zach divorce has been a nasty one.
Based on….?
One instance of me calling Jeff out on something does not make for a “nasty divorce.” We may have disagreed on which candidate we felt was best suited to beat Scott Walker on June 5, but I think we can both agree that it’s imperative that Scott Walker be booted out of office.
Grow up, Zach. Grow up. Jeff helped you grow this blog. There isn’t a doubt about that. Do the decent thing and honor him. Please.
Well, somebody came to their senses and remembered the basic optics of such an event:
As ought to happen, the unity gathering of the four candidates will be held in — duh — the hometown of the winning candidate.
Milwaukee, 11:15 a.m., Wednesday.
Now, no more silly slip-ups for the next 27 days, please, DPW.