Someone took some bullshit DEGOP signs that said “Vote Republican”
Here is the press release. Two things. 1) The sign taker in the video says something about the fact that the signs don’t include a candidate’s name. I don’t know enough about sign law to know if that is exculpatory. 2) I feel like the use of “Democrat Party” was an homage to my recent uptake of that shitty usage.
Democrat Party Activist Caught Illegally Taking GOP Campaign Signs
(VIDEO ATTACHED)Newark, DE – The Executive Director of the Delaware Republican Party this morning released the following statement and video of a Democrat Party activist engaged in the illegal theft of GOP campaign signs in Middltown, DE:
“This morning at approximately 4:00AM a video surfaced of a Democratic Party activist engaged in the illegal theft of campaign signs in Middletown, and we are outraged.
“When you only have a track record of high taxes, unemployment and lower wages for private sector employees to stand on the Democrats must resort to breaking the law to win elections because they are scared of being held accountable for their dismal performance.
“There are two hotly contested races in the Middletown area and one has to ask if the Democrat candidates may have had any hand in this activity?.
Not only should every voter be troubled by this situation, but the Democratic Party rank-and-file should be equally outraged at the arrogance of their party leaders who feel they can operate above the law without consequence.
“This incident, as well as the theft of hundreds of other Republican signs throughout New Castle County is much like the repeated irresponsible tax increase passed by the Democrats in Dover over the last few years. They sneak up behind Delaware families when they think they aren’t looking, and steal more money out of their pockets to feed their monster spending programs.
“It appears that mischief night has come early this year in MIddletown”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45A2mhgAQ2w&feature=youtu.be
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http://wdel.com/story.php?id=63641
“the license plate displayed on the car in the video is registered to Bethany Hall-Long, state senator from Middletown, who is challenged in a hotly contested district race by Republican John Marino.”
It’s only bullshit when it’s not your “team”, eh?
The bullshit was the the actual text of the sign. “Fix the Economy – Vote Republican!”
We’ve had our fill of Republican economic “fixes.”
Beyond that this is some Bush League stupidity from team BHL.
Quality blog posting here! You keep deflecting the criticism to the content of the signs and the GOP themselves, which aren’t the point here. The point is that it’s illegal to take signs and BHL’s husband has done this, regardless of whose they were or what they said. Got it?
@J: Are you only upset about it when someone is caught? Because if not, then you must acknowledge that sign-stealing is widespread on both sides, and is even more stupid than the investment in signs in the first place.
Personally, I would like to see everyone’s signs stolen in the hope that candidates will stop blighting the landscape with them. A wrong-headed court decision led to the current situation. Perhaps if enough signs are stolen and destroyed the candidates will learn to spend more time and money on more productive ways of interacting with the public.
Also, calling BHL’s husband an “activist” is inaccurate. He should be identified as what he is: The husband of a sitting legislator.
Also, kudos to the people who caught this on their cellphones. Apparently a lot of signs had been disappearing from that site, so BHL’s husband walked right into the trap. I doubt he’ll get much in the way of punishment, but I’ll settle for the embarrassment.
I call them as I see them, and “Fix the Economy – Vote Republican!” is a criminally stupid thing for a sign to say.
BTW – IS the fact that the signs don’t include a candidate’s name exculpatory? I have to doubt it. But does anybody know for sure?
Jason – no, signs paid for by a party aren’t treated differently than signs paid for by a candidate.
Really? Getting up at 4 in the morning to take the other side’s signs?
Why didn’t they just call DELDOT to “cut the grass” as usual?
Have those guys do the collection and issue their penalties on top.
After Barney, Mayrack and now this, is it me or are our guys have just gotten lazy and now foolish in their campaigning.
Why did he only take the signs with the generic Republican message instead of those of his wife’s opponent? Not just criminal, but dumb as well.
This is hilarious. Great video. #Signgate
Locally, State Representative Doyle Heffley and his Democratic challenger, Patti Borger, seem to have a sign war: wherever there is a Heffley sign, there’s also a Borger sign, and vice versa. I suppose that one can’t let the other get more name recognition, though, as the incumbent, Mr Heffley is almost certainly ahead in that regard.
I look at these signs as just ugly sight pollution, but what can be done; unless they are trespassing on someone’s private property, it’s essentially freedom of speech.
My bigger pet peeve about the signs is when some candidates fail to clean up their sign mess after the election.
Oh, J is on the war path! Love it. The entire thing is childish and it wonderfully illustrates why regular, rational, sane, thinking-people don’t generally run for office… especially local office. Partisan idiots, relative failures at other endeavours, sloganeers, puppets, muppets, white-collar criminals and liars with ulterior motives.
You know how I know Gilbert is not a Dem? You just get a knack after years of hearing bricks like this clang off the rim – “After Barney, Mayrack and now this, is it me or are our guys have just gotten lazy and now foolish in their campaigning.”
Give me a break Gil.
“Partisan idiots, relative failures at other endeavours, sloganeers, puppets, muppets, white-collar criminals and liars with ulterior motives.”
And that’s just the ones who win.
Dang, no more playing “Doorbell Ditch” anymore, either I guess. Somebody’s grounded…..
JC – I was thinking about you when I saw this. I remember you saying that it was a real problem, and I was all, “Come, come, it must be the wind.”
Sorry about that.
Why thank you jason. And my thousands in postage that the USPS investigation found was true out of the New Castle site. Yup, nobody wants to remember that. They were messing with federal laws then…….
But God Bless the wonderful Democrat who saw and reported it as wrong. Seriously.
@Geezer… I don’t even think I want to imagine the fucking donkeys who actually lose elections to some of these people. My goodness! It’s enough to drive me to blast copious amounts of cocaine again just to forget where I am.
I love the local debates the most. These chowder heads try to conjure up answers on the fly that at once shed no light on the question posed, take no discernible, concrete stand on anything and still say “on message”… whatever the fuck that means…
And ultimately we’re all to blame for it… we’re here talking about signs in Middletown. I can’t think of something less relevant at the moment.
It is kind of ironic that the most intellectual of political blog sites has to discuss the theft of $1.50 yard signs and all the deep political meanings. It is all so very choice that down in Sussex and Kent, at least for today, the discussion is more mature and meaningful. Is this a sign of COMPETITIVE elections or the LACK of them? My, my New Castle County seems so Sussex today!
Well… MOT is New Castle’s Sussex County.
Then there was that time, a few years back, where Vance Phillips was caught stealing signs of his opponent and were found in the back of his truck…..and there was no outrage and no news about it….
Stealing/running over Democratic signs in Sussex County is a past time for people down here. Not to mention spray painting nasty words on Joan Deavers’ signs.
Fix the economy, LMAO. Have you heard Wade’s commercial. Moms be afraid, you and your kids are going to get ebola because of obama and who is guarding the boarder. I can’t imagine any educated informed person voting republican except maybe as a protest vote against the lame democrats. I’m voting Green dammit
Punkin chunkin, signage whinage, must have both come out of Sussex County then. Does this mean we should be on the look-out for the Annapolis goat in Delaware this year?
Saturday morning I’m going to hold a competition on the great dune to see if anyone can toss a pumpkin into the ocean from the highest point in Sussex County
Whose political sign do you want attached to the trajectory of that toss? Just ask first OK?
THE Real question in all this: does anyone think Marino now wins? I have also heard that there are videotapes of Republicans stealing Democratic signs. Indeed, the incident I have heard about specifically involves Bethany Hall Long’s signs, and the tape has been given to Troop 3. So I wonder if this was retaliation.
Another silly point in all this: Signs don’t vote.
Nice deflection DD
WDDE is reporting that an arrest warrant has been issued for Dana Hall, Bethany Hall-Long’s husband charging him with theft under $1500. (It apparently was 56 stolen signs). So if your husband steals the other sides signs, does that reflect on the sitting senator? What if that senator was a democrat?
Why is it the deflection? Are you prepared to state that no Republican or member of a Republican campaign has ever stolen a sign here in Delaware either in the past or during this 2014 campaign?
If not, shut up. If yes, you’re lying
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/10/29/husband-sen-hall-long-charged-sign-theft/18137545/
Well at least no republican has been ARRESTED, for sign theft. AT the moment, I believe no democrat has been ARRESTED either, that appears soon to be changing. That’s a difference and a BIG distinction.
This thing is so open and shut I think Beau Biden could get a conviction.
So now the question is… Does this mean BHL is going to lose? The answer is – probably not.
The bullshit was the the actual text of the sign. “Fix the Economy – Vote Republican!”
Jason – LOL – We’ve voted for Demo-“rats” for decades and look at Delaware….
Most recently Astra Zenca laughed all the way to their new NC headquarters.
UI… true enough, but do not pretend you Republicans have clean hands. And I would put the word out to cease and desist your sign stealing operations, for they will surely be caught and arrested now. And even after all that, Hall Long goes from being 100% guaranteed to win to 99.9%. No other race is affected.
Steve Newton, Libertarian candidate in the 22nd RD, posted this on Facebook, and I think it is a good message:
Kudos to the campaigns in the 22nd, and elsewhere. Like Steve says, Dana Long will answer for his crime, and that’s good. But the GOP needs to stop pretending that 1) all Democrats do this, and 2) that no Republican does.
Its one thing when the other side accuses you of being crooked, it’s another when you are crooked and just don’t care.
I guess the “good news” is the Ban the Box legislation will now help Dana get a State job, you know, he won’t have to answer the application question, “have you ever been arrested”?
Oh, and that Beau getting a conviction, don’t count on it. This has “community service and “probation” written all over it. Nolo Contendere.
“it’s another when you are crooked and just don’t care.”
It’s been a long, long time since the Republicans were trusted with the car keys. Two words sum up that clean, clean GOP reign: Kermit Justice. It was also the heyday of Mike Harkins.
The only difference between Republicans and Democrats is the size of the swindle.
Also, from what I hear it might be time to lay off the Beau jokes.
We need elected officials that can think on their own. Look, they dumped money into the casinos, they only had to look at whats happening in AC. They dumped money at Fisker, the bldg is empty. Now their dumping money into Bloom Energy, they knew the only way to do that was to HIDE IT in our Delmarva bills.
Education: Let’s institute “Common Core”, that’s going down the tubes. Check out nbcnews dot com /nightly-news/confusion-over-common-core-math-causing-stir-n237076
Can these elected officials, think on their own??
I’d like to know who stole all the Wagner signs in NCCo? They must have done a good job because I haven’t seen a single one.
Deep inside most liberals there beats a fascist heart.
Whatever gets you through the night bro.
BLH will soon be married to a convicted criminal. Especially considering the offense, she has 2 options. Either get a divorce or quit. There will always be questions about what else he may have done and if she knew about it. This will gradually destroy her respectability in the legislature. If she leaves him she proves that her reputation as a lawmaker is paramount. If she doesn’t, no one has any reason to believe a single word that comes out of her mouth.
Dream on Dude.
The GOP is foaming at the mouth over this. While it was incredibly stupid and he should be punished, these shenanigans have gone on in both parties since its been permitted to blanket open space with signs. (anyone seen the Simpler sign in Hockessin that is as long as a tractor trailer on Rt. 48 in Hockessin?) The electorate won’t be rising up en masse with new enlightenment that Republicans truly can fix the economy, because this bozo went on a sign stealing binge.
The R’s have created veritable tent cities of signs on open space. Signs so long that they envelop signs that were already there. Which is basically sign-stealing when you think about it. Check out the ‘mountain’ at Foulk & Naamans Roads for reference.
Now we know why Charlie Copeland stepped back from day-to-day party activities. He had to up production at his printing plant.
From a political perspective, the signs are overkill and are not adding to R vote totals, which is what your last-week GOTV should be about. Actually makes me a bit more optimistic about D chances.
BTW, if you’re looking for prudent fiscal responsibility in Dover, the sign overkill might give you pause.
Anyway, in the grand scheme of things this is piddling, minor behavior when one compares it to….
Vance Phillips alleged behaviour
Eric Bodenweiser s alleged behaviour
And John Atkins alleged behaviour (when he was an R)
So compare away. The DE GOP lives in a glass house and therefore should never cast stones
Or Brad Bennett’s behavior… Oh, wait.
This happens on both sides Aoines; nobody will deny that (well, intelligent people anyway). But to continue to justify the actions of one party because the other party “did it first” is doing nothing to improve the accountability of either party.