From the Harris campaign via the WMD Mailbag:Zanesville, Ohio (Mar. 14, 2006) – Rep. Bob Ney (OH-18) has refused to debate James Brodbelt Harris, his Republican primary opponent, at a forum in Athens County established by the area’s League of Women Voters : “according to a local representative of the League of Women Voters, the embattled incumbent is now refusing to participate in a public campaign forum in Athens County, despite several opportunities” says The Athens News in a Monday article “Ney's congressional race starting to get interesting, with more candidates”:Ney has nothing to gain and everything to lose in accepting a debate, so why would he? Harris' having to issue the challenge is a whiff of desperation, in my opinion.
“Ney was offered six different dates for a candidates forum at the Nelsonville Public Library but couldn't accommodate the request, said Tina Burger, a board member and co-chair of voter services for the League of Women Voters of Athens County. "We will, unfortunately, have to cancel the candidate forum for 18th District Republicans this primary season," reported Burger in an e-mail interview. "After not receiving a reply to the e-mails I sent to the campaign, first inviting Ney to participate and then informing him of Mr. Harris' acceptance, I called campaign headquarters last week to extend an invitation by phone. A representative from the campaign said he'd check the schedule and return my call. A few days later, I called back to follow up on that conversation. At that time, I was told by the same representative (whose name I did not catch) that Congressman Ney was not available on April 11." April's Vanity Fair feature calls Ney Abramoff's "fixer" on Capitol Hill, and suggests prosecutors are waiting to indict him until key aides and associates give testimony. E-mails between the congressman, his staffers and Abramoff's organizations could form the nexus of the government's case.”
As of today, Harris openly invites Ney and any willing Democrat candidates to four debates in the months of March and April, to educate the voters of the 18th District and says: “Whether at Libraries, Town Halls, Republican Lincoln Day dinners or on any radio or T.V. show of his choice, I challenge Bob Ney to 4 debates – let’s debate our differing policies to deal with Ohio’s stagnating economy – let’s debate the best ways to increase family wealth and grow more jobs.” Harris believes in free enterprise, more trade, restrained spending and greater economic growth while Ney only offers more pork and special interest spending followed by more taxation and then more of the same. Harris says, “I argue that Ney is afraid of debating me and my Reagan Republican economic policies, but it’s also possible that his handlers or lawyers don’t want him debating any candidate or talking to any reporters while he’s under Federal investigation for felonies involving Jack Abramoff or bribery. I’m willing to give him a mulligan on his recent refusal to debate me if he’ll get serious about some meeting times; and so long as he is not indicted of any crime against America, I am willing to offer him a handicap on the Abramoff issue during the length of any debate and to tee-off only on economic policy differences. Ignoring the “dishonest Abramoff” scandal probably ties one arm behind my back, but if this debate handicap will bring Bob out from behind his lawyers, skirting the issues, then I’ll do what it takes. I kind of expected that he’s afraid of me and won’t debate, but it seems unmanly that Congressman Ney has directly refused the League of Women Voters. That’s just not right.”
10:15AM Update
Matt from Lincoln Logs has more...3/19 Update
Comments eventually get destroyed here at WMD and this needs to be promoted in ot the permenant record:An important part of journalist integrity is using quotation marks accurately. I am the Tina Burger (co-Chair of Voter Services for the League of Women Voters of Athens County) who has been quoted in your story. I appreciate your commitment to keeping voters informed of political developments, however I never (in an email interview or otherwise) used the exact phrase: "Ney was offered six different dates for a candidates forum at the Nelsonville Public Library but couldn't accommodate the request." The rest of your quotation is correct and the gist of the story is basically accurate, but I don't enjoy being quoted inaccurately, as I can speak for myself and choose my words with care. Here is another part of my statement, which did not make it into the ANEWS story:The quote used in the WMD story was taken DIRECTLY from Harris' release. If I understand Ms. Burger correctly, Harris has distorted what she told him.
"We [The League and the Library] hope that Congressman Ney's schedule will open up. If it does, we are more than happy to work with him to reschedule the forum."
Also, on a more positive note, the League was able to organize several OTHER forums in Athens County Public Libraries which will take place this April. For the convenience of your readers, here is that schedule:
At the Nelsonville Public Library
Tuesday, April 18: 18th District Democrats. with Stewart, Space and Sulzer and Applegate
At the Athens Public Library
Thursday, April 6: 6th District Republicans. Ginter, Harmon and Stobbs have confirmed. Mr. Blasdel was not available on this date. His campaign worked hard with us to find another date that was agreeable to everyone. However, the date his campaign proposed was not good for some of the other candidates.
Wednesday, April 26: 92nd House. Phillips and Struble have both confirmed.
We are still in the process of finalizing a date for 6th District Democrats.
Check http://athensareavotes.org for up-to-date information regarding the forums and League/Library VOTER GUIDES as they become available.
Thank you for your diligence in furthering the democratic proccess!
Sincerely,
Tina N. Burger
3/20 Update - Harris Responds
Mr. harris responds via email:I noticed on your website an inaccuracy and hope you will correct it, just as I have been correcting one typo or inaccuracy in a Press Release. You have published on your website a claim that Ms. Burger says this campaign distorted what she told me but actually that is not accurate. She is addressing how she was referenced in an Athens News article published last week. The following press release emailed to you by my campaign includes text taken excerpted from the Athens News article, in the second paragraph and in the fifth paragraph from the bottom. The latter paragraph exactly reproduces the article. The first paragraph is perfect except for the phrase "NEY'S CAMPAIGN STAFF WAS", which was inadvertently replaced by lowercase "Ney was" without brackets or shifting of the marks bracketing the excerpted article text. The first statement in the article was not a quotation and the reporter was referring to Ms. Burger's statement, not quoting her, and elsewhere in emails and in the article Ney and the Ney campaign were used interchangeably. My press release clearly did not quote her but instead clearly excerpted text from the Athens News article which did not specifically quote her either in quotations. I will shortly update the capitalized phrasing and ask you to update your statements about my campaign: no personal quotations to me were distorted by my campaign and Ms. Burger directly dealt with the Athens News after communicating with me. My website's news page has always reproduced the article exactly, and the Press Release Word document file will be conformed to exactly reproduce punctuation and wording. In a Cleveland Plain Dealer Blog, the Ney campaign confirms that they were offered six debates. Your implication that this is false is misleading as is your implication that I misquoted the LWV, when in fact was reproducing the text of the article. Ms Burger was not quoted in the article by the Athens News, but referenced without quotations, so your commentary on that is also slightly inaccurate.I'll say it again: I copied the entire press release. If there was an inaccuracy, it was in the release or in the source material for the release.
Sounds to me as if Harris, Burger and the Anthens News ought to get together and fight this out.
