From the Desk of Bill Cubin; Chairman of the Natrona County Republican Party:
Actions speak louder than words
NCRP Chairman asked for opinion of rececnt flyer circulating the mail and internet
Contact Bill Cubin — NCRP Chairman — (307)262-4972, w.cubin@bresnan.net
 flyer - Mark Gordon
Most of you, I am sure, have received the attached flyer in the mail with regard to GOP Congressional candidate Mark Gordon. I know many of you have because I have heard from a bunch of people about this flyer. For those of you who have not received the flyer, it is attached for your review so you know what I am talking about. Another interesting thing about this email is that the return address on the envelope was candidate Bill Winney’s campaign address in Cheyenne but there was a Casper postmark. Dave Featherly – Bill Winney’s campaign manager – categorically denies having anything to do with this piece. I believe him. The piece is completely anonymous as to who produced and paid for it.
Many of you have asked my thoughts on this mailer. Who do I think is behind it, is it an unfair attack, is it illegal, what are the consequences, can other candidates expect similar treatment, etc. Here is my take on the mailer. I don’t know who is behind it but before we get to that, let’s talk about the message.
The message was that Mark Gordon is a RINO because he gave thousands of dollars to Kathy Karpan, John Kerry, Ted Ladd, Gary Trauner, the DNC, and the Sierra Club over the last decade. A quick check of the FEC web site confirms Mr. Gordon did indeed make all of the contributions to Democrats, the Democratic Party and Democrat leaning organizations. Those basic facts cannot be disputed.
That is relevant information for Republicans when they decide who they are going to vote for in August. Airing those facts by anybody – a campaign or a private citizen – is a legitimate thing to do. It goes right to the heart of Mr. Gordon’s political philosophy. Actions speak louder than words.
Now, let’s get to who is behind this. Frankly, we are never going to know. Some people have suggested to me some other campaigns as suspects. Possibly. However, the delivery of this piece was a little immature and sneaky. Any campaign worth its salt, or who has competent people advising it, wouldn’t pull a stunt like this. They would air the issue openly because airing this issue is a winner for ALL of the campaigns other than Mr. Gordon’s. It would be hard to criticize a campaign for openly exposing this, but easy to criticize one who did it in this manner. That’s why I think that the serious campaigns in this race are not responsible. It doesn’t make sense for them to do it in this manner. However, this is one facet that we will probably never know.
Honestly, I think the question of who did it is entirely unimportant. We can speculate about that forever.
Some candidates and potential candidates have expressed concerns to me that there is a piece like this one waiting for them in the near or distant future.
If you are running for Congress, or contemplating running for Congress, you had better expect this kind of thing to happen to you. The fact is that if you enter this race you are playing in the big leagues. This little tiny mailer is just the beginning. The DCCC is looking at each and every one of you and determining how they are going to destroy your reputation among the people of Wyoming – fair or unfair. The difference is that they are going to do it with at least $250,000. They have plenty of money waiting to hammer you into oblivion. If there is anything in your past that you think they could use effectively against you, you had better air it now and inoculate yourself before you see it in a $250,000 TV buy in mid October.
I will make this pledge to you, if you are on the receiving end of a mailer like this and the contents of the mailer is personal, inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise an unfair “smear”, I will stand up for you publicly and we will go after whoever did it together. I am sure many others will follow suit. However, if it is legitimate, meaning if it is about relevant issues with regard to your political philosophy or positions on issues – like this Gordon mailer – you have to be strong enough to defend yourself and let the chips fall where they may.
This isn’t a game, folks. This isn’t a campaign for the Legislature but just on a bigger scale. This is about national politics and who governs. This is about who sets the national agenda in the near and far future. This is about holding power in the most powerful country on earth. I know what we all think it should be about, but the consequences and ramifications of this race in Wyoming reach deep into the inner circles of Washington, D.C. because we are electing an ultimate insider – no matter who it ends up being. Our nominee has to be tough enough to be put through a meat grinder and survive.
If a little mailing like this undoes a campaign – GOOD. That means that the campaign in question wasn’t strong enough to withstand the DCCC and Gary Trauner in the fall. What they have in store for all you candidates is far more harsh than this tiny mailing.
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