Governor King – That’s what you get for being a hypocrite about money in politics (explained)

Originally posted on Dirigo Blue on July 28, 2012 

http://hammer2010.blogspot.com/2012/08/gerald-weinand-where-is-my-angus-king.html

Note: When this post was deleted on Dirigo Blue all of the original links were 

lost (I've been able to find some of them but the links, for example, to other 

Dirigo Blue articles I wrote cannot be found as all of those posts have now 

been deleted).

Governor King – That’s what you get for being a hypocrite about money in 

politics(explained)

Governor King responded to the current US Chamber ad against him by saying:
“We have been expecting these types of negative, ill informed attack 
ads. The U.S. Chamber’s attack on Angus shows just how out of touch 
this organization is with business challenges in Maine. This is a case 
of Washington politicos trying to tell people in Maine how to vote. 
Mainers and Maine businesses know Angus King has a strong record of 
support in the business community. His primary focus for eight years 
was working with business and creating jobs — everything from saving 
jobs at Bath Iron Works with the shipbuilding tax credit to bringing 
National Semiconductor to Maine, repealing the business equipment tax 
(BETR) as well as working tirelessly to streamline business 
regulations. These negative ads are business as usual in Washington and 
it is exactly what needs to change. The U.S. Chamber is the largest 
lobbying organization in America and they refuse to disclose their 
donors. It is nameless, faceless outside money trying to influence 
Maine voters.”

There’s a problem. King’s response didn’t address the attacks in the 
ad. The attack ad had two major attacks: 1) That King spent too much 
money, specifically $2.6 billion, and 2) That King left a deficit of $1 
billion.

Why do politicians answer a different question than the one they were 
asked?

As if we, the voters, are not going to notice.

So we still don’t know what King’s actual response addressing the 
attack ad claims is going to be.

Leading journalist Michael Shepherd in an examination of the US Chamber 
ad entitled “Truth Test: US Chamber of Commerce TV ads against Angus King 

ring true” concluded:

“Claim: “While King was governor, state spending skyrocketed to ($)2.6 
billion.”
Claim: “When King left office, he left Maine with a billion-dollar 
budget shortfall.”
We rate these statements true.”

Money in Politics

In my opinion, King has been parading around as a reformer on money on 
politics but his actions tell a different tale. Earlier I wrote in part:
“The news today is a Washington DC fundraiser for former Maine 
Governor, and current Maine Senate candidate Angus King, “to raise 
money from big-name donors and lobbyists”.

That after King has been stressing that as an Independent “Nobody will 

tell me how to vote – except the people of Maine.””

I continued:
“If you stick around long enough in politics, and in life, occasionally 
things come full circle. Lawrence Lessig, Professor at Harvard Law 
School, is perhaps the Nation’s leading authority on money in politics 
and potential reforms. Lessig gave a very powerful keynote at the ten year 

anniversary of the Maine Clean Election Act event. King served as 
the moderator of that same event (Lessig actually begins the keynote, 
see the link above, by thanking Governor King).

Of course, in the irony of ironies, King had just gone out and ignored 
Maine Clean Elections, endorsing privately financed candidate Eliot 
Cutler for Governor in an election just a couple of weeks before the 
Maine Clean Elections anniversary event including Lessig moderated by 
King!

We’re not done.

Lawrence Lessig has a new video out that nails to a T the factors 
involved in money’s influence in politics. One of the powerful things 
that he says is that politicians can signal their loyalty to big donors 
of a party to attract SuperPac money to come to their defense if they 
are attacked by the other side.

Governor King has been speculating in the press that he expects large 
SuperPac expenditures against him. I hope that this sort of signaling 
was not what he was doing through this fundraiser in Washington DC.

The More Things Change…

On the issue of money in politics, I explained how I believe King is 
also failing to lead by example.

“If King unilaterally disarms, he could get overrun with SuperPac money 
on the Republican side. But if he gives up the larger principles to be 
able to “fight fair” then what is he standing for that we would elect 
him for?

I don’t believe that the ends justify the means. It’s not acceptable to 
me for a candidate to say I’m playing by one set of rules while they 
benefit me but I’ll work to change them later on to make them fairer to 
others.”

“King does have another way. Why not self-fund his campaign? King 
cleared a reported $8 million when he sold his company Northeastern 
Energy Management in 1994 and according to his recent financial filing 
remains a wealthy man (with reported investments between $4.8 million 
and $22.5 million some might say very wealthy).

Funding your own campaign – now that would be truly Independent.
Seriously, if you have that much money why sacrifice the high ground 
and ask lobbyists and big donors for financial assistance for what you 
could pay for yourself?”

Leadership Lessons Learned?

Now King is whining about the money spent against him. His campaign 
today put out the following email which read in part:
“Attacks like these–and this may just be the beginning–are distractions 
 from the critical issues we face, but I do need the resources to 
respond. Negative ads only work if they are ignored–but that means we 
have to fight back.”

Which would be fine except that Governor King had previously just 
recently promised to run a positive campaign, saying:
“‘There’s going to be a lot of negative stuff — not coming from me,” 

he said. “No negative ads coming from this campaign whatsoever.’”

In addition, I believe that Mainers are pretty smart about attack ads 
overall. I wrote:
“They say that negative campaigning is used because it works (it can 
also backfire) but I’ll tell you this. I believe that it is only 
effective when there is a kernal of truth in the ads to begin with. 
People won’t generally believe something that they know in their hearts 
to be false. But  if they already have their doubts…”

Note: I’ve indicated that I feel that Governor King is the best 
candidate in the race. I’m still holding onto that overall belief, but 
more tenuously now. Speak more from the heart Governor King and just 
level with us. The people of Maine are smart enough to understand.