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Abernathy Strategies
RepublicanGazette
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Published daily except some days
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All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
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After Supreme Court candidate Menis Ketchum held a fundraiser at Guyan Country Club in Huntington back in December, he issued a press release boasting that the $250,000 or so raised "could be the largest amount raised at a single event for a candidate for the West Virginia Supreme Court."Well, not quite. Turns out, based on his campaign finance report posted this week, that Ketchum boosted the take from that event considerably with a $100,000 contribution of his own.When all checks credited to the December event were totaled -- some received as late as March of this year -- Ketchum claimed the fundraiser accounted for a total of $279,417. But buried deep within the individual donors for that event was a whopping $100,000 donation from the candidate himself, meaning that the amount he actually raised aside from his own money was $179,417 -- nothing to be sneezed at, but a far cryKetchum's 'record' fundraiser not quite as hefty when subtracting his $100,000
Since big Guyan event, the Huntington attorney has taken in only $60K, forcing him to personally bankroll more than half of his total donations
from the "largest amount raised" that he bragged about in his press release.
Ketchum claims he "can't be bought," but he might consider how to answer whether what he says he can be trusted.The $100,000 Ketchum gave to the event is in addition to another $190,000 he lists on his report as loans from himself to the campaign. In all, Ketchum himself has contributed $290,000, or more than half of the $544,000 total contributions he has received. Ketchum told confidantes early on that he was shooting to raise more than $1 million for the primary election -- the amount he believed he needed to gain the name identification necessary to finish in the top two among Democrats in the May 13 primary election.But since the big December fundraiser, his donations slowed so much -- totaling no more than about $60,000 -- that by March 19 he was forced to loan his campaign another $150,000.RNC puts WV delegation far away from the action
The Republican National Committee has arranged for the West Virginia delegation to the national convention to be housed at the Crowne Plaza in Bloomington -- 20 miles from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul where the convention is being held. The GOP also announced the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis will serve as the headquarters hotel for the Republican National Committee (RNC). The host Minnesota delegation will be housed at Saint Paul's Hilton Garden Inn.The Washington D.C. newspaper Roll Call reported Tuesday that "a group of about 15 senior Senate Democrats on Tuesday engaged in the first of what’s likely to be several private discussions about whether their ailing colleague, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), can continue handling his duties as the chairman of the Appropriations panel, sources said." Senator Harry Reid denied the report, but based on recent appearances by Byrd, there is likely substance to the story.Newspaper says Democrats buzzing about Byrd's health
Maynard goes on offensive against smear campaign
Appearing on Hoppy Kercheval's "Talkline" program Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Spike Maynard went on the offensive, denouncing the political smear campaign being run against him and saying his lawyers are preparing to put media outlets and others on notice that lawsuits will be pending against them.Maynard told Hoppy he is "the victim of what he calls 'the mother of all political smears' and 'disgusting mud slinging at its worst,'" according to the MetroNews website."Win or lose, when this is over, there will be litigation," Maynard said."I have a team of lawyers, right now, who are evaluating the evidence, evaluating what people are doing, what the news media's doing and people who accused me of doing anything wrong, particularly taking money, will be a defendant in the lawsuit. You can take that to the bank."He is seeking reelection and claims people who are not happy with the direction the Supreme Court has taken in recent years are targeting him."There are people that really don't like that," Justice Maynard says. "They don't like the direction the Court's headed in, of getting rid of our national label of being a 'judicial hellhole.' We're changing that and we're doing a really good job with it."The latest smear on Maynard came Monday night from ABC News, which ran a one-sided report on both its evening newscast and on "Nightline," focusing solely on Justice Larry Starcher's allegations about Maynard and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, with only a few seconds of Maynard's response and sensationalized footage of Blankenship responding to an unannounced intrusion by ABC onto Massey property.Nevertheless, observers who claim to have seen recent polls say Maynard is well positioned to finish in the top two among Democrats in the May 13 primary election, despite the orchestrated campaign against him. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller apologized Tuesday for remarks published in The Charleston Gazette which insulted the war service of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.According to the newspaper, Rockefeller said, "McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they (the missiles) get to the ground? He doesn't know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues." (Actually, it appears laser-guided missiles weren't developed when McCain was flying fighter jets.)"Talkline" host Hoppy Kercheval was among the first to suggest Tuesday morning that Rockefeller would have to back off those comments, and by early afternoon the Senator released a statement saying, "I made an inaccurate and wrong analogy, and I have extended my sincere apology to him. While we differ a great deal on policy issues, I profoundly respect and appreciate his dedication to our country, and I regret my very poor choice of words."Rockefeller's comments were reminiscent of those made by comedian Bill Maher, who was taken off the air in 2002 after a discussion of the 2001 terrorist attacks wherein Maher said, "We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly."State GOP Chairman Doug McKinney issued a statement Tuesday saying, “I call on Senator Barack Obama to denounce Senator Jay Rockefeller’s attack on Senator McCain’s character, integrity and real record as an American War hero. "Not only has Senator Rockefeller’s partisan attack smeared Senator McCain, but it has smeared the thousands of men and women who have served or are serving to protect our freedom and have seen firsthand the horrifying realties of war.“If Senator Obama truly believes in the principles of ‘new politics,’ for which he wrote about in his book, ‘The Audacity of Hope’, he needs to condemn Senator Rockefeller’s inappropriate and insensitive comments.”Dr. McKinney is a ten year Navy veteran who served on a submarine and whose middle son serves as a Captain in the U.S Marines attached to SOCOM. He said that he finds it particularly offensive that Senator Rockefeller, who sat out the Viet Nam conflict as a VISTA volunteer in West Virginia, has besmirched the heroism, valor and patriotism of the thousands of West Virginia veterans who, like Senator McCain, risked all in service to their country in Viet Nam and those who currently serve their country in Iraq and Afghanistan.Rockefeller forced into apology after attack on McCain's service in war
Weeks making media rounds as he prepares to file 30-day notice to state of per diem litigation
RUSS WEEKS
Republican gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks continues to make the rounds of the media as he readies his notice to the state of West Virginia that he will bring suit against the State Legislature and Gov. Joe Manchin for approving a retroactive per diem payment to lawmakers.On Tuesday, Weeks appeared on "58 Live" hosted by Mike Agnello and Rick Johnson, and this morning he is scheduled to discuss the lawsuit on "Panhandle Live," the Martinsburg show hosted by David Welch.Weeks still intends to file the 30-day notice this week, and was putting the finishing touches on it after consulting with an attorney about its content.