Confused and Discouraged? That’s exactly what the Lincoln Club is hoping for.
It’s dirty tricks time folks, and it should surprise nobody that San Diego’s Lincoln Club is funding it. These are the rich guys downtown who’d be really happy if America’s Finest City turned into a little Trumpian fiefdom. All that voting, tree hugging, and social justice stuff simply get in the way of their personal greed.
Today’s ratf*cking comes at the expense of District 4 Supervisor candidate Nathan Fletcher, who is (mis)characterized in a mailer as a pro-NRA kind of guy. This KPBS article explains why the accusation doesn’t hold water.
This just happens to be the same message Mickey Kasparian’s rump labor PAC is sending to voters. And it’s the same messaging Supervisorial candidate Lori Saldaña was pushing in social media.
Let’s see… Republicans, the Working Families Council (sorry to hear about the Teamsters leaving), and Democratic candidate Lori Saldana all working together…
Isn’t that just special? Who would approve of that…maybe Bonnie Dumanis, the GOP candidate with the whiff of corruption over her campaign?
This isn’t about Democracy folks. It’s about revenge, pure and simple.
People associated with the Lincoln Club paid for polling in early 2017, showing that certain messaging could drive down voter enthusiasm for Fletcher, who hadn’t declared yet, but was the odds-on favorite candidate of Democrats.
The local GOP hierarchy simply hates the fact that Fletcher left the party, and has become a Democrat with the fervor of the newly converted.
The Lincoln Club folks shared that information with the candidate with the “most progressive voting record.” She’s been angry with the Democratic party for putting their thumb on the scale in the 2012 primary contest for Scott Peters.
Then Mickey Kasparian bolted from the San Diego & Imperial Counties Central Labor Council as the national AFL-CIO put the group into receivership. The then-president took a few unions and staffers with him and founded the Working Families Council.
The lawsuits filed by various women alleging bad behavior on the part of Mickey Kasparian are settled and sealed, and he’s reportedly anxious to return to his former role as a kingmaker in local politics.
The Central Labor Council has emerged from double-secret probation with all Kasparian’s foes in the catbird’s seat and they’re backing Nathan Fletcher for Supervisor.
Got it?
The Lincoln Club loathes Nathan Fletcher.
Mickey Kasparian loathes the Labor Council, which has endorsed Nathan Fletcher.
Lori Saldana loathes Nathan Fletcher because he’s the Democrats’ golden boy.
You, the voter, are supposed to see all these confusing mailers and get discouraged from casting a ballot. That’s what the Lincoln Club did to City Councilman David Alvarez–portray him as some kind of (brown, wink, wink) gangster a few years back.
Don’t fall for it. There are three Democratic candidates in this race–including Fletcher–who have not made a pact with the devil. Vote for one of them.
(The San Diego Free Press has endorsed Omar Passon for District 4 Supervisor.)
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Doug Porter
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Thank you for the clarification. Politics is so horrendous. It’s probably been just as disgusting since the very beginning, but seems so much worse nowadays…and doesn’t look to ever get any better. Big sigh. Thank heavens for your diligence and hard work to bring the truth to light.
Doug: I am sorry you, too have been on the receiving end of bullying, abusive behaviors as a result of this campaign and those promoting it, day in and day out with their negative campaigning.
Thank you for having the fortitude and willingness to convey the truth, although it will likely put you in their crosshairs yet again.
Thanks for calling all this out for what it is. I’m glad to have the Free Press endorsement and to be focusing on the progressive policies and substance that our region needs to counteract more than a generation of discriminatory housing policies and inequitable availability of capital. These stories are important, but I hope we can continue to highlight what our respective visions are for our region. As someone with a track record in the private sector, in the community, and the only candidate with experience at the federal level where much of the County’s social safety net funding ultimately comes from, I feel strongly that we must pay attention to what the County can do, not just the childish antics that seem to dominate election seasons.
one thing that isn’t clear i the article: who has paid for those mailers? “Lincoln Club folks” gave the info to Saldaña, but did they buy the mailers? if not, who did?
The mailers are required to list who paid for them by law. It’s the small print at the bottom. If you want to see the actual monies involved, those reports are filed with County Registrar of Voters. Unfortunately, the County’s system is set up in such a way that I can’t link to the search results.
Also, I’ve been accused of burying the lede (LOL)before–this time it was right up front:
“It’s dirty tricks time folks, and it should surprise nobody that San Diego’s Lincoln Club is funding it.”
Sure would be nice to have a Person of color on the Board of Supervisors to add a different perspective. We don’t need another white person on the Board. No matter your good intentions – it is NOT enough! Diversity is critical – Board members need to reflect the diversity of the district. If Democrats don’t believe that – then they aren’t Democrats. They are just DINOs. There has NEVER been a Latino or Latina on the Board – how is that possible? There has been one African-American EVER on the Board – Leon Williams 20 years ago. RACE matters – ETHNICITY matters. Yet, local Democratic leadership did not even go through the motions ..a good faith effort…as we used to call it in Equal Opportunity – to interview the three candidates of color before bestowing the BOS 4 endorsement on the White Man. BOS 4 the MOST diverse District in the County.