Broun vs. the AJC: It’s a Paul Broun Melt Doun! (and, “The fight against Whitehead, Whitehead, and Satan”)
cross-posted at Peach Pundit
The campaign of Paul Broun, Jr., winding down and apparently getting ready to finish with a resounding whimper, is demonstrative of both his age and his inability to adapt to technology and communications advances. An old Gray in an iPhone age, Dr. Broun's campaign may come to set the standard for how a campaign should not be run in the New Media era -- and is demonstrating the perils of attempting to selectively use some technological advances, while choosing to ignore others.
Trying to run two different races in two different areas -- say, Athens and Augusta -- is much more difficult now than it was in the past, because people from both places have access (via this series of tubes we call the internets) to what was said elsewhere. Radio, newspaper, and television appearances are accessible to people everywhere moments after they air, making it much tougher to get away with lying about, or mischaracterizing, positions and actions.
There are plenty of examples -- simply search "Paul Broun" on this site for more than you can read in a day -- but this latest and greatest has to take the cake. If his campaign hadn't shown such total ineptitude -- both in terms of being consistent and in terms of understanding New Media to such a rudimentary degree that they realize that what they say and send will get out -- then I'd go ahead and call this a full-on election-eve "Paul Broun Melt Doun."
Heck, let's call it that anyway; after all, it sure seems to be. Check out this latest development:
As we broke the story here at PP, Broun's wife sent an email to her list asking that it be forwarded on to certain people who met the certain standard which the Brouns seem to think is a requirement for participating in our representative Republic. The email was lengthy, but here's the important part:
From: Nikibroun@[redacted]Non-"REAL Christians," of course, need not apply. Further:
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 3:24 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject: P and N Broun testimony
Hi [redacted],
Please read the following synopsis of our testimonies. If you feel so led, please forward it to the REAL Christians in your email address book. I believe that Christians can make a big difference in this race and networking is one way to spread the word.Thanks!
Paul Jr. my husband, is running for the seat vacated by Charlie Norwood's death. We have been under such attack; it's too long to go into here. I just ask you and your friends to pray for us. The enemy is coming against us with such fury it's scary. Our opponent is not being all that nice either.Check the last two sentences. Apparently (and perhaps it's obvious if you're a "REAL Christian") Broun is not only fighting the two Jim Whiteheads, but Satan himself as well! (You know what a special place in Satan's cold, black heart GA's 10th CD has always held. Fight on, Paul...)
It is not my place to judge Jim Whitehead's spiritual condition but I'll just tell you that a pastor in Hartwell invited Paul and Mr. Whitehead to speak at his church. Paul accepted gladly, as he has in many churches. Mr. Whitehead said he felt uncomfortable speaking in churches and didn't think you should mix church and state.We could rephrase that first sentence: "It is not my place to judge Jim Whitehead's spiritual condition but" I'm going to anyway, and since he is against us, and (based on the paragraph above) Satan is against us, then Q.E.D. he is working with Satan!!
Paul feels that as a Congressman, he would be a missionary to government. And don't we need that!! He is profoundly pro-life and as a medical doctor he can fight abortion on a physiological level, beyond his spiritual beliefs of the sanctity of life. (He did run for office in 1990 as pro-choice before God removed the scales from both of our eyes about that important issue.)Here we get into that whole disparate-messages issue. You see, Paul Broun wants to be "a missionary to government," and says that the Bible will serve as his guide. Is his campaign so inept that nobody realizes that the Liberals in Athens whom they are trying to woo in hopes of ganging up on Whitehead will hear that message as well? Wow.
Here's the real kicker, though. The AJC's Political Insider, one of our favorite sites here at PP, picked up our coverage of the above letter, and the result was (predictably) a Brian Passante-esque Paul Broun Melt Doun of the first order. This morning, Paul Broun sent an email to Jim Galloway of the AJCPI in which he slammed Peach Pundit, implied that Galloway was dishonest and irresponsible, and demanded a correction. Peach Pundit has obtained a copy of that email, and the full text is posted below (with commentary, of course ;-) ).
07/16/07 09:44 AMSo should campaigning, Dr. Broun, as you so often remind us all (both with your statements to that effect, and your actions otherwise).
To: Jim Galloway
From: Paul Broun
Subject: From Paul Broun re Niki's email
Mr. Galloway:
You are in the news business. News should be premised upon accuracy.
Political Insider posted an allegation gathered from Peach Pundit that "the Broun campaign" sent an email appealing for support from "real Christians."Ah, yes. The wife of the candidate sending such an email as that detailed above is a massive, massive difference from the campaign doing so. Please accept our apologies, Dr. Broun, and please instruct your wife that emails are forwardable. I understand that it may be as difficult a concept to understand as is the fact that what you say in one end of a Congressional district, and to one audience, will actually reach other people -- including those to whom you have said completely different things; however, such is the reality of this New Media, lightning-fast communication era in which we live.
Just because Peach Pundit says that the Broun campaign did it, does not make it so! The claim is erroneous. Therefore, a correction is in order.
The facts are these:
1. The Paul Broun Committee absolutely did not send that email.
2. Independent of the campaign, in a loving attempt to help me, my wife emailed a few of her friends. She was basically asking them to pray for us and to do what they could to get their friends to turn out and vote. This is a wise thing in a mid-summer special run-off election projected to have low voter participation. Niki never meant for her email to be for wide spread distribution.
3. I am glad that Niki, my wife of almost 23 years, loves me and was trying to help. The portion of the email that shares our testimonies [and which you did not include] is accurate.
4. However, in her zeal to be helpful, and feeling the pressures that come with a political campaign (which may be tougher on the spouse than the candidate), she went beyond what she should have. Appearing to question Mr. Whitehead’s spirituality was inappropriate. She and I have discussed this matter. We feel an apology to Jim and Peggy is in order. And I do apologize to them.
Dr. Broun prides himself on performing house calls in his medical practice -- a practice reminiscent of a time long forgotten. His style of campaigning, and a goodly amount of his message (as well as his outrage), appear to belong in the distant past, as well.
Labels: 10th CD, Georgia, Special Election
