UPDATED: No political fall out from signgate anticipated
I haven’t spoken to anyone who thinks that this significantly changes the dynamics of the race. Here is a round-up of statements that pretty much put this thing to bed.
The Bethany Hall-Long apology:
“My husband is the man depicted in the video. The video shows him removing a handful of signs this morning. He turned them over to the Democratic Party and asked that they be returned to the Republican Party about six hours after they were taken up,” she said. “Sadly, this race has become tough and personal. My husband is my high school sweetheart and he loves me very much. I was not aware that he had allowed his frustration over the campaign attacks to get the better of him. Of course I’m disappointed and wish that it had not happened.”
Chairman of the state Democratic Party, John Daniello’s statement:
“Each campaign season, we deal with candidates removing their opponent’s signs. This behavior is absolutely unacceptable. There are more positive ways in which to support your candidate regardless of party affiliation.”
Jason33o’s incisive commentary:
Fortunately for BHL this indecent happened far enough out from the election that voters will have forgotten about it by election day. Do I think voters have pretty short memories? I guess so.
But seriously folks, there appears to be a push on the get this arrest done, and get the TV crews back to PA. It is a
Class A misdemeanor, so we are probably talking community service and maybe some type of restitution.
——————————————————-
Update: I went back to the video and as this screen capture shows, the signs in question have been stickered to include “paid for by” info.
Despicable but hopefully not fatal to the candidate. Democrats should not need a reminder that even lowly political signs are a sacred part of our free speech rights, a hallmark of a democracy. Democrats need to be democratic. The Republicans show us over and over they are not….they are elitists and autocrats.
Well, Mr. Long has offered up an explanation many a man could use.
“And just where do you think you were at 3 in the morning?
“Out stealing campaign signs, my dear.”
lol
BTW – I was remiss to not include this statement by Steve Newton (22nd RD Candidate), which makes me want to move to the 22nd and vote for him:
The real story is that he didn’t steal the signs of the opponent of his “high school sweetheart”, but rather the generic GOP signs.
Hopefully the GOP can use this nationally.
Well said, … but the reaction to it DOES say something about the state chair of the Republican Party who as we all know, sets the resolute determinate tone for all his candidates and his party… He could certainly learn some things from Steve (and the other candidates) in the 22nd….
Scoop Cohen adds:
Indeed they do.
“Hopefully the GOP can use this nationally.”
That’s a telling statement. It means Republicans have nothing worth running on.
Jason,
That didn’t sound like an apology, it sounded like an excuse.
An apology usually contains the words “I’m sorry”.
“An apology usually contains the words “I’m sorry”.
And traditionally it’s offered by the person who did something wrong.
Interestingly, I drove by a lot of those signs on my way to work. Some of them do have the “paid for” line, some do not (or at least I couldn’t see it while driving slowly). I wonder if they have added the paid-for since they had them printed.
Obviously, the lack of a paid for label wouldn’t justify stealing signs under the cover of darkness, but it is a data point. If a candidate has a complaint like that, they need to report it and have it removed by DelDOT.
Can’t wait till the next time a republican campaign supporter does something stupid, if three consecutive nights of sign stealing at 4am doesn’t make Bethany Hall-Long feel sorry or need to offer an apology, I don’t know what could make any republican candidate need to feel sorry. Chits like this are valuable, “Not since Dana Long was arrested for petty theft has a volunteer….No the prudent response is ,” I’m sorry it was stupid.” Any other response just makes things worse. Can you imagine the story if Dana GAVE the signs to the guys recording him and said he was sorry? Would not have played in philly nor nationally…Man apologizes on tape isn’t a story. Everyone does dumb stuff, exceptional people recognize when they do and stop doing dumb stuff while apologizing.
LiberalGeek –
Signs without a “paid for” disclaimer are also illegal, and you don’t have to be a candidate to have grounds to report it. Hope you called those ones in.
I may. Didn’t have time to pull over and check the back side of the sign.
As I recall, the signs in the video appeared to be stickered to correct for not having the “paid for” info.
I doubt he’d want to fight the issue out in court though.
I suspect that is why he said that they were illegal. Maybe the last batch he saw and/or took was without the add-on sticker of ownership.
But either way, it would be VERY hard to make the case that he was picking up unidentifiable litter.
“Can’t wait till the next time a republican campaign supporter does something stupid,”
Don’t fret, you won’t have to wait long.
^jinx^
Do we really need to list the recent failures of the (D) regime?
Alex, given the recent Republican lies from Sam Chick and Pete Kramer about Democrats voting for tax increases, I don’t think we can trust any Republican to give us an honest list of mistakes or failures.
Anyway, what does failure even mean to a Republican? We’ve had nothing but Republican economics (anti-growth tax cuts, austerity, etc) and it has failed utterly. And yet they put up signs calling for MORE of the exact policies that have failed and failed.
It is astonishing really.
“That’s a telling statement. It means Republicans have nothing worth running on.”
The signs had the Republican message on them, and obviously at least one member of the Democratic party felt threatened enough by those messages so as to remove them.
Threatened? If it was me, my motivation would have been to not see the roadside polluted with utter nonsense.
“Fix The Economy – Vote Republican!”
That makes about as much sense as:
“Break Your Skull – Hit it With a Hammer!”
“Can’t wait till the next time a republican campaign supporter does something stupid”
Why exactly?
Politics isn’t a high school football game where at the end of the night, whether your favorite team wins or loses, all is well because there’ll just be another game next week. The politicians (and their political operatives) wield the power to truly f*ck over We the People and if all you’re willing to do about it is play political patty-cake instead of holding those responsible accountable, then that just perpetuates their activities.
Unless, of course, your comment was intended to give the impression that you couldn’t wait for a Republican to follow the lead of a Democrat and break the law.
#1 The signs had a slogan on them not a message. Slogans are for selling me shit I don’t need. (This goes for both sides.)
#2 Politics is a football game. Why do you think politicians spend the lion’s share of their time raising money and campaigning. A politicians job is to sell their brand and get elected and reelected. Don’t confuse politics and government. And let’s know pretend we hold anybody accountable for anything.
Politics is my pescatarian wife going to a restuarant with two choices, burgers and pork shank. There’s always another game in two years… and it’s the same two fucking teams.
“Fix The Economy – Vote Republican!”
Makes about as much sense as:
“Enjoy Entertainment – Watch The Love Guru! ”
” We’ve had nothing but Republican economics (anti-growth tax cuts, austerity, etc) and it has failed utterly”
–what state do you live in? Here in Delaware, over the last six years, many taxes have increased, state spending has gone up 23%, but median income has fallen by roughly $6000 (from approximately $54000 to $48000). that sounds like a democratic plan to me: higher taxes, more spending, and less income. it’s working so well.
Really???????????????????????????????????
You’ve got a screw loose. Where did you get that 23%? Your ass? Markel cut taxes for millionaires like yourself from 6.95% to 6.75% that’s on top of huge cuts to your gross recipients taxes and a huge Estate Tax gift.
Were are those jobs you millionaires promised in exchange for all to loot?
Jason,
Actually that isn’t correct. Here’s how it actually went down:
In 2009, Markel and the democratic legislature increase taxes on the top income earners ($60,000 or higher) from 5.95% to 6.75% – this was a “temporary” increase that was supposed to resort back (or sunset) to 5.95% on Jan 1, 2014 – but HB50 instead reestablished a new permanent rate of 6.6% for those above $60,000 (middle-class, not “millionaires”).
Source: http://delaware.newszap.com/centraldelaware/120954-70/house-oks-bills-to-keep-rates-from-sunsetting
Wow, great response from your State Democratic Party. John Daniello knows his job is to actually fight for Democrats right?
Looking forward to next week’s bloodbath so we can finally get that worthless piece of shit out.
Really?????? Too many links and I’m on mobile so can’t approve it.
“Looking forward to next week’s bloodbath so we can finally get that worthless piece of shit out.”
Buddy, you have NO idea how this party operates.
Is that a sticker on the sign that says “paid for my the republican party?” Like, they ordered the signs then realized it didn’t have a name on it? Perhaps the other signs that were taken down didn’t have this sticker?
Stealing signs sucks. Its wrong. But its a given, especially down here in Sussex for Democrats.
Don’t worry Jason330, not trying to mislead you. Point is simply I’m not going to make claims without backup.
You were (partially) right about the income tax rate being cut from 6.95 down to 6.6 percent, but what you failed to account for was that it was raised from 5.95 to 6.95 percent six years ago and then subsequently lowered to 6.6 percent, so that’s a net gain.
And, by the way, kudos to Mr. Newton for his earlier thoughtful, reasoned comment, although I would still vote for Mr. Miro.
“Buddy, you have NO idea how this party operates.”
If you think Democrats in Delaware or nationally are going to do well then you must have your head in the sand. I don’t know what you’re talking about
Daniello is a pathetic Chairman. There’s going to be a real come-to-Jesus moment on Wednesday.
John Daniello doesn’t need help from any of us, but when he took over 9½ years ago, there were 15 Democratic members of the state House of Representatives. His run has seem uncommon harmony among the party’s disparate components. Looking back:
http://www.delawaregrapevine.com/5-05demconvention.asp
Many of us did one better and moved to PA. The unfortunate fact that DE charges anything above 4% is a joke. All my buddies that “had” good paying jobs in DE at AZ didn’t live in the state.
Delaware’s Tax base will continue to shrink…
“The signs had the Republican message on them, and obviously at least one member of the Democratic party felt threatened enough by those messages so as to remove them.”
As I understood it, the problem was that the signs were placed in front of his wife’s signs, apparently repeatedly, blocking the visibility of her signs. That doesn’t forgive taking them, but such are the games played every two years. Democrats aren’t scared of Republicans touting their side’s economic programs — we welcome it.
The only way the Republicans will “fix” the economy is in the sense conveyed by the expression, “I’ll fix his wagon!”
Only one smelling sweet is Bethany’s kid, who cut through the crap and said “People make mistakes.”
Well done on that young man, Bethany and Dana.
Unfortunately, your political career will be marred by this mistake, and we, the people, deserve to have someone else representing us. You’ve had 11 years to make a positive case for your continued legislative employment, but you and your husband chose to punctuate it with a negative incident. All you had to do was ride out until Tuesday staying clean and positive. The fact that you couldn’t do that speaks poorly of your decision making and of your attitude toward bipartisan governance. Yes, I do not believe for one second that you did not know what your husband was doing. “High school sweethearts” don’t sneak around without the other knowing.
It is time to step aside. It would have been better to resign this week and go out with earnest apologies. The election count might still have gone your way, but that would have been classy and a testament to voters appreciation for the greater good they recognized from your career.
Bottom line is that you cannot serve this district anymore in your current capacity. You must take your time in the political penalty box and plan your resurrection, if that is what you want.
It is what we, your constituents, deserve.
Focacia… It’s a tad amusing how the theft of these signs by BHL’s husband is seen as such an egregious crime that she should step down, even though she wasn’t directly responsible…
All the while, your White Knight, John Marino, has an actual criminal conviction on his record (reckless endangerment/driving). Her was a terribly angry, fearmongering, jerk when he ran against Walker and he’s an even bigger one now.
The 10th Senate will hopefully get another term of someone fit to hold office: no criminal past; lauded medical professional; actually talks to people instead of down to them.
That person isn’t the person you want it to be…
Yo, Focacia, I once ran for office, I had my signs stolen. Pretty much anyone who has run for office has had their signs stolen. I complained to my opponent who, of course, claimed no knowledge. Even though my signs were on the lawns of people who took my signs, and weren’t littered along the main roads in the district. Someone had to take the time to seek out my signs and steal my signs. So, I don’t want to hear the faux outrage of these thugs.
Most of us don’t have eight zillion signs waiting to replace the ones that were stolen. Then again, most of us don’t have Charlie Copeland’s printing presses running 24-7, nor do we have the money to pay for eight zillion signs. Nor do we have the ability to videotape the people who are stealing signs.
In this case, the Rethugs put signs up in front of someone’s signs, effectively blocking the view of the original signs. That is a Rethuglican tactic. It’s happening right now in Brandywine Hundred. Huge long multiple banner signs obstructing the signs that were there first. To me, it’s the same as sign-stealing in that they are preventing the signs of their opponents from being seen.
While I agree that Long shouldn’t have stolen the signs, signs are stolen every election season, despite R claims of ‘union goons’ doing the stealing, my experience is that the R’s steal more signs than D’s. None of my opponent’s signs went missing. Even though he had eight zillion signs and we didn’t.
Yet the R’s, who, I know, from first-hand experience, stole my signs, call this a ‘new low in Delaware politics’.
BTW, what does it say about fiscal responsibility when, all these R’s running on an austerity theme piss away dollars down the rat hole on excessive signs? Or, maybe that’s just the price they have to pay to stay in the good graces of the party chair. Which we used to have to do when Joe Farley was the D chair.
I think the R hyperbole is beginning to backfire. Just another attempt to gin up phony outrage.
Made the national “news” – Next stop, Drudge Report. haha
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/10/29/police-issue-arrest-warrant-for-husband-of-dem-state-senator-after-campaign-volunteers-catch-him-red-handed-on-video/
ZZZZzzzz…. Yesterday’s news.
@terry aww, you wish. i think you and the rest of the high school educated inbreds in the PATRIOTS LEAGUE OF LIBERTY have had your five minutes. thanks for playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G05u7ihoYQA
“high school educated inbreds”
Damn, the DoD and VA are gonna be pissed when they find out that time and money spend on Graduate and Military education only equates to a “high school” equivalency. Good thing we have people like you around to point that out – what is it, divine intervention that gives you your power of perception based on words typed into the interweb?
Jason330 says:
ZZZZzzzz…. Yesterday’s news.
Yesterday’s local news is today’s world news; should have kept his ass in bed.