The ubiquitous liberal group Progress Now sent out a press release a few minutes ago, again attacking presumptive Senate candidate Scott McInnis over his lobbying activities for the oil industry and the questionable employment of his wife on his “campaign” after he announced he would not run again for Congress in 2004.
The points made today by Progress Now are not new, most of them came up last Thursday after Rep. Mark Udall introduced a bill that subtly targeted McInnis over this same issue.
But Progress Now took the opportunity to release another clever and unflattering doctored photo of McInnis (above right), while continuing to drive home their “McLobbyist” meme. That’s the mnemonic stuff which tends to outlive the daily tit-for-tat, and it seems they are looking to grind down McInnis in a similar manner to what they successfully did with “Both Ways” Bob Beauprez.
On the other hand, it is awfully early for this kind of thing, and it’s possible that nobody will remember any of it by next summer when it really matters.
Press release follows.
Call for McInnis to apologize for ethical failures and false statements
Launch of www.McLobbyist.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 5, 2007
CONTACT: Michael Huttner
(303) 931-4547Denver: ProgressNowAction called on former Congressman Scott McInnis to apologize for false statements about the wife of Congressman Mark Udall. The group also launched a new website www.McLobbyist.com to hold McInnis accountable for his ethical failures and selling out the people of Colorado.
“We call on McInnis to apologize for diverting attention from his own campaign improprieties by attempting to smear Congressman Udall’s wife,” stated Michael Huttner, Executive Director of ProgressNowAction.
Last Thursday, U.S. Rep Mark Udall co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to ban lawmakers from paying family members a salary out of campaign funds.
The legislation doesn’t mention former Republican Rep. Scott McInnis by name, but it doesn’t need to. McInnis attracted media attention in 2004 when he was investigated for paying his wife more than $3,000 a month from his campaign fund well after he had announced his plans to retire from Congress. (Washington Post, 11/10/04; Pueblo Chieftain, 2/2/2007)
McInnis responded to Udall’s legislation by falsely claiming that Udall’s wife is a lobbyist. (PC, 2/2/2007) But in reality it’s McInnis who is the lobbyist, and he represents EnCana, a foreign oil and gas company that holds the record in Colorado for one of the largest environmental fines ever relating to a gas leak that contaminated local water. (RMN, 10/18/2006)
“It’s ironic that McInnis falsely claimed that Congressman Udall’s wife is a lobbyist when McInnis is a lobbyist for EnCana,” stated Huttner.
McInnis is paid a huge retainer, $80,000 in the first half of 2006, to help this oil and gas company which is drilling in more than a million acres in Colorado. (Secretary of the U.S. Senate)
“McInnis is quickly earning the nickname McLobbyist for what appears to be failing to take responsibility for his own actions and instead for selling out millions and millions of Coloradans,” stated Huttner.
ProgressNowAction lanched a new website, www.McLobbyist.com to ask citizens of Colorado to help hold McInnis accountable.
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The nominee is going to be Schaffer. The fine transvestites from ProgressNow are simply making it easier for him to win.
Besides, nobody cares about this stuff. If this was a trailhead memo about Udall I wouldn’t care. This is boring. I want to hear about how McInnis wants to re-introduce torture for hermaphrodites or something. That would be interesting. But this wifey stuff is lame-o-rama.
Wake me up when the real campaigning starts. If this is as dirty as it gets I’m going to have to run myself just to throw some dirt in the race.
Like the right’s never done anything like this Doc.
They did it in 2006 by trying to paint Bill Ritter as a zealous missionary out to kill Africans and smuggle Mexicans across the border. People, justifiably, were sickened by it and they stopped listening to Beauprez.
What kind of dirt do you have on Schaffer?
I don’t see the scottish house o beef being too happy with what looks close to copyright infringement with their McLobbyist sign there. Then again, if they get in trouble they could just hire Burgundy to iron it out with Mickey D’s in a smoky backroom…for a small fee of course.
And The Clown will have a hard time arguing in court that this image degrades their use of that sign in the food industry.
Copyright infringement isn’t usually applied to commercial logos, though as an artwork it’s possible. And I think parody/satire would apply here for “fair use”, along with cutting off the top part of the logo and obvious non-competition.
Nice analysis of TM and copyright aspects. However, satire is only a fair use defense if you are satirizing the thing you are copying. This ad doesn’t satirize McDonalds, but rather McInnis.
or a political attack ad? I would think that as Progress Now is noted more for political comment than humor, calling it a parody or satire might not legally fly.
I’m guessing y’all are right – it’s not parody per se, or satire. But it does fall along the lines of things done in a political cartoon, whatever that might be. There’s no requirement that the object displayed be the object ridiculed/addressed in the new work.
Even as a political attack ad, it’s a substantial transformation of the original work (also a possible defense for Fair Use) and doesn’t degrade the value of the original work to its owners/creators.
http://en.wikipedia….
Whether it infringes on copyright or not is a different matter.
Come on, aren’t you bigger than that type of name calling? It also let slip your disdain of others who are different, despite your claim otherwise.
Pleae stop predicting Scaffer, Scaffer, Scaffer. It was worn out two months ago. Your enthusiasm has become quite boring. You might well be right. You might well be wrong. The election is almost two years away, although the primary is sooner. By all means, go work for Schaffer. But stop this redundancy. Please!
amounts to restating wishful thinking as inevitable fact.
I actually sort of support this attack on McInnis, but for the sake of accuracy, does this make any sense:
“…..represents EnCana, a foreign oil and gas company that holds the record in Colorado for one of the largest environmental fines ever…”
Do the hold the record or did they receive ONE of the largest fines ever?
And using “foreign company” for fear mongering really isn’t very helpful; the world is flat and all that, you know. Particularly when the scary foreigners are our hockey playing neighbors to the north.
“Millions and millions sold out.”
I think the lobbist part does have traction – a lot. But I don’t think the picture will resonate that well. It’s more “cute” than a strong message.
– dave
……esp. millionaire-lawyer-lobbyist! Good luck Scooter!
McLobbyist sold out the GOP when he decided he wanted to make some bank.
McLobbyist defends the right of a foreign-owned company to come drill on Coloradans’ land–their farms, yards, homesites–often against their will, McLobbyist supports EnCana’s efforts to drill the Roan Plateau–against the wishes of virtually every local government in the region, conservative Republican and liberal Democrat notwithstanding.
Millions and millions sold out. Remember Sen. Dullard beat Strickland when Dicky made the ‘lawyer-lobbyist’ term stick like drilling mud.
Mud season in the Rockies! Poor McMenace, handed his beloved 3rd CD to a Dem and now he’s gonna get his butt handed back…
Well, there is likely good money to be made helping the out-of-state and foreign-owned companies haul off the state.