Falling Down or Falling Apart...John Edwards director NH Campaign Resigns...

[Tellurian]

"The deputy political director of John Edwards’ New Hampshire campaign has resigned after writing what the campaign describes as distasteful internal e-mails critical of fellow New Hampshire Democrats."

"Campaign spokesman Kate Bedingfield said last night that Matt Spence’s e-mails were “made public” when someone breached the campaign’s internal e-mail system, printed copies of the e-mails and sent them in the mail to several prominent New Hampshire Democrats."

"Certainly we do not tolerate that kind of language," Bedingfield said. She declined to elaborate."

"According to George Washington University's "Democracy in Action" Web site, which details key players in campaign organizations, Spence is a graduate of North Carolina State University and a former president of the university's College Democrats. He managed the re-election campaign of state Sen. Peter Burling, D-Cornish, last year and was an early consultant for state Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, in her re-election bid."

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=E-mails+lead+to+ouster+in+Edwards+camp&articleId=9dc9fbc8-f205-4842-8046-7abda955d2d5

[ClassWarrior]

1. Okay, who's pulling dirty tricks?

Taking bets here...

NGU.

[Tellurian]

2. Take all the bets you want...it's in the news! nt

[Hieronymus]

7. Also in the news .. Hillary taking money with a promise of

allowing access to those lobbyists.

[Tellurian]

9. Link or slink...nm

[Hieronymus]

33. Cute slogan. Obviously, you don't follow the news.

[ClassWarrior]

11. Big deal. We all have written emails about...

...some of our fellow (insert group here: Dems, co-workers, glee club members, whatever) that would be embarassing if they came to light. The REAL NEWS is the fact that these emails had to have been released by someone who supports another candidate. So which campaign has snakes in its midst?

NGU.

[TomClash]

3. Remember if we all stay home your candidate loses nt

[Tellurian]

4. If you all stay home...welcome President Romney! nm

[TomClash]

29. Here's a flash: none of us like being presented with a fait accompli

and you cannot pander to the center/right and then order us to do the work. No thank you.

You can keep your lesser of two evils framework.

[Hieronymus]

8. I'm so curious as to why people like the poster are so in favor of Hillary.

[frogcycle]

10. probably paid by those lobbiests to post here

[Tellurian]

13. Crooked lawyer Lerach bundled for Edwards,

and Edwards returned the favor by lobbying on his behalf. Quid pro quo anyone?

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/09/19/lawyer_in_plea_deal_was_edward.html

Open door #2:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3534148

[Catchawave]

17. Wow...somebody's working overtime showing Edwards so much love ....

:evilgrin:

Now about that breach ?

[Tellurian]

21. Feast or famine... Edwards has a bad day...EE takes it out on Hillary!

Just framing the debate...

[Catchawave]

22. Frame this.....

:evilgrin:

[pioneer111]

28. WOW!!! Now THAT is a president!!!

Elizabeth is a lucky woman!!! and we can be too if he is elected

[frogcycle]

5. the news article is what it is. Your post title can go where the sun don't shine

bite me

[Tellurian]

6. If you can't take the heat...Take a shower!

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[Forkboy]

23. Standard operating procedure.

[pioneer111]

12. And the point is????

Every campaign has people that get too passionate and lose perspective.
They then stop being useful and can damage the campaign with thoughtless actions.
This is a temporary glitch that will be cleaned up.
The Edwards campaign is doing the right things to put the NH operation back on track.
Hillary's campaign still has Penn on board. Doesn't make me trust them more.

Go Edwards.

[Lucinda]

15. I love your little Edwards dude!

[jsamuel]

18. me too

[pioneer111]

26. Enjoy!!! Edwards DOES rock!!!

[FrenchieCat]

14. Did he quit or was he fired? n/t

[Tellurian]

16. The reports says, he resigned...

it didn't say he wanted to spend more time with his family...So, a pressuring undercurrent is definately there..

[FrenchieCat]

19. So if this is consider run of the mill "Shit Happens"......

why Pressure the guy into quitting? Who would have done the pressuring on the "head" chair of the New Hampshire campaign? I wonder?

[Tellurian]

20. Prominent New Hampshire democrats.

were allegedly targeted by Edward's Chairman.. the reason for the resignation.

[Tellurian]

24. Edwards Update: Obama supporters..."3 LOSERS and a Lobbyist."

Edwards, Edwards, Edwards, huge screw up in NH, AP is reporting the details…

John Edwards’ presidential campaign is asking for a criminal investigation after an aide’s internal e-mail messages were copied and mailed to some people he disparaged.

Matt Spence, Edwards’ deputy New Hampshire political director, apologized and resigned after being confronted with the e-mails, campaign spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said Wednesday.

The e-mails disparaged some Edwards backers and people associated with other campaigns, notably calling some Barack Obama supporters “three losers and a lobbyist.” Bedingfield declined to release the e-mails; the contents were provided to The Associated Press by non-Edwards sources on condition they not be identified.

In one e-mail, Spence used a vulgar term to refer to a woman in state government who was being courted by the campaign but decided to back Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton instead. He also disparaged a group of state activists as lax and referred to Obama supporters as “losers.”

[emilyg]

25. Wow! Thanks.

[Tellurian]

32. Sad, Liz allow that kind of insulting pettiness..

I'm sure they knew NOTHING about it!

As the great Orator duggy said, "It'll come back to bite you in the azz!"

Welcome, duggy!

[Tom Rinaldo]

34. In support of Edwards (yeah I know - unexpected)

Most of us have been around competitive situations where adversaries, and/or those who support them, in private and in tight circles are talked about in very unflattering terms. It is part of the hard ball intense competitive atmosphere that tends to prevail when competition is fierce and the stakes are high. Sometimes those characterizations represent how people honestly feel - but probably would not reveal under different circumstances, sometimes they are heat of the moment fueled exaggerated feelings that pass or are mellowed once the competitive period ends.

I don't like holier than thou posturing because it strikes me as hypocrisy. But this type of internal crap getting out to the public is very damaging to a campaign and at the level of presidential politics your staff has to know how to guard those feelings from ever becoming public. That means a lot of different things in practice but it always requires discipline and knowing who can be trusted with your life never to leak damaging material intentionally or unintentionally.

In my opinion that is what reflects worse on Edwards about this, a high level staff person somehow didn't manage to keep his or her blowing off steam under wraps when it was essential to do so. Maybe that speaks to bad judgment, or maybe someone did infiltrate the inner circles of the Edwards campaign there, and that would not reflect well on the operation either. But what I will avoid concluding from this, based on what I have read so far, is that Edwards hires less nice and respectful staff than other political campaigns. His person got caught, and that is a problem.

[dugggy]

27. Johnny, Johnny...it is easier to fool 12 hand picked juries than

a whole bunch of voters. HRC is gonna whip your azz in
all primaries....bar none!

[JANdad]

30. What is an "Azz"

[MaineDem]

31. Good question

Wonder if we'll get an answer?