Over on Crosscut, Ted Van Dyk expresses his disappointment with Joe Mallahan’s campaign:
At local level, I am concerned that Joe Mallahan, though having a financial advantage (his own wallet) over other mayoral challengers to Nickels in next month’s primary, has not waged the well-managed campaign I would have expected. Voters clearly want a positive change from Nickels, and Drago is Nickels in drag. Mallahan, however, has not stepped smartly into the breech and established himself in voters’ minds as the hard nosed, businesslike, managerial type — with actual knowledge of economics and budgets — badly needed after eight careless tax-and-spend years of city governance. I have been surprised by Mallahan’s seeming lack of knowledge of city issues that have been on the front burner for several years. With his funding advantages, I had anticipated that by now he would be running in the front of the Nickels-challenging pack. He has a month left to get there.
Considering Van Dyk’s impressive political resume (did you know he worked in the Johnson administration?) I’m not sure why he’s so surprised at Mallahan’s relatively lackluster performance thus far, for self-financed candidates often run disappointingly mediocre campaigns. No doubt having a pile of money to spend on yourself can be liberating, especially from the daily chore of “call time,” but as tedious, time consuming and unpalatable as some candidates find it, fundraising also presents a crucial opportunity to listen to voters, hone one’s message, and develop crucial campaigning skills. Indeed, some of the best politicians I know tell me that they actually enjoy fundraising.
Running for office isn’t easy, nor should it be, for as imperfect a metric as it is, the strength, efficiency and passion of one’s campaign is often a predictor of future performance in office. There are many ways in which we weed out weaker candidates, and one of these is through their ability to raise money. Thus by skipping over this crucial step and jumping to the head of the line, Mallahan has missed out on all the political training and preparation that would have come with it.
On the flip side, had Mallahan not kicked off his campaign by sinking $200,000 of his own cash into it, it’s unlikely his candidacy would have been taken as seriously, and thus his subsequent fundraising efforts would have been all the more difficult. But why Van Dyk would conflate a fat wallet and a successful business career into an automatic expectation of a “well-managed campaign” is beyond me.
Money is damn important in politics. But how you get it can be pretty significant as well.
Gelding,
What administration was it that you worked in again? On any level through and including sewer/water commissioner?
The Piper
Piper @1,
And my lack of government experience undermines my thesis how?
@2…Gelding…
You mock and deride Ted Van Dyke for having some, which is just as legit as mocking you for not having some.
Until you’ve been to the mountain top yourself maybe you shouldn’t be so dismissive of someone who has.
That’s all…
The Piper
“Until you’ve been to the mountain top yourself maybe you shouldn’t be so dismissive of someone who has.”
Mountain top? Christ, Piper, he’s a fucking politician, for Christ’s sake. One can’t be dismissive of politicians unless one’s been one? Then follow your own advice and shut up.
@4…Steve…
Who says I haven’t been one myself?
The Piper
Have you been elected to political office?
When isn’t Ted Van Dyk expressing his disappointment?
Piper @3,
And that undermines my thesis how?
For the record, Mallahan has been raising a significant amount of money in addition to his own funds.
@8…Gelding…
You undermine your own thesis by snarking Ted Van Dyke. How does your comment about him being in the Johnson Administration bolster your thesis?
You have so much to learn. Do I have the time???
The Piper
Hmm, does my having been elected a Democratic Party precinct committeeman qualify me to dismiss Piper? I know that’s thin stuff, but I’m really hoping to dismiss that pompous fucktard.
It’s good that you have dreams.
@12 “It’s good that you have dreams.”
And it’s good that you have a goat, Marvin. Not so good for the goat, heh, I’m sure, but good for you. And all the better if it helps to keep you away from school playgrounds.
@3:
Great! So you’re planning on keeping quiet about Obama, since you haven’t run for President or held the office?
Sorry steve. AGAIN you are wrong.
Keep trying.
Someday you are bound to say something that isn’t a lie.
BTW, I’m still waiting for you to get the better of the Piper. So far, he’s dismissed you like a little kid. I have a feeling that I’ll be waiting a looooong time for you to get the better of Piper and it will never happen.
Hey, he’s a cell phone customer service exec. Why should he start paying attention to customers, just because he’s applying for a new job?
BTW, I hope all of “piper’s” vowels fall out.
Krawk!
@15 “AGAIN you are wrong”
What, you say you don’t hang out at playgrounds? Hah! Coming from a perv such as yourself, I just don’t buy it. Well, at least you’ve admitted to fucking goats, so we don’t have to go over that old ground.
Yup, dumbed you down, alright. Dumber than a box of rocks. Dumber than a stump. Hell, I’ve been to two hog callings and a county fair and I ain’t never run across anything as dumb as you!
Piper @10,
Do you refute my thesis, that there can be downsides to self -financing, and that self-financed candidates often do not perform up to the level of their checkbook? More importantly, can you refute my thesis?
@18…Gelding…
Your thesis is irrelevent since you detract from it and from yourself by snarking Ted Van Dyke.
He’s a guy I, and lots of others, kind of like, so when you can’t wait to make some juvenile rant about him, then why in the name of Emile Zola would I – or they – care what you say about anything?
It’s the old story of the sideshow overshadowing the circus. Van Dyke has actual experience in places you could only dream of going – so what if he sees something about a self-financed candidate differently than you do? It’s a big world – there’s room for a lot of points of view that may, or may not, be equally valid.
So instead of doing an Animal-House-lite, frat-boy imitation that only plays to your base (you don’t call it the Cesspool for nothing), stick to your commentary, and leave the snark for DL when you’re under the influence.
The Piper
PS: I kind of like James Donaldson myself – you?
Piper @19,
So I guess that means you can’t refute my thesis. Just checking.
(And by the way, if you like Van Dyk so much, you might want to show him a little respect by learning how to spell his name. I’m just sayin’.)
@20…Gelding…
My bad on the spelling – mea culpa.
And you don’t take time or effort to refute my thesis, so I suppose you accept it.
The Piper
Funniest line of the day, funnier than Steve’s comments everywhere…
Just like us knowing John Effin Kerry was in the Vietnam War too!
“Funniest line of the day, funnier than Steve’s comments everywhere”
Hey, speaking of service, were you the Puddy I saw in the archives claiming to have served and who was called out on it by GBS? Or was that another Puddy? Help me out here as I can’t recall at the moment, just what branch of the armed forces were you claiming to have served in again?
LMFAO! OMG!! Oh, Puddy, that just might be my best line of the day!
Steve, Puddy volunteered for Navy service back in the mid 70s. Puddy wanted to serve his country. Also, my sister and her husband are lifers and suggested it to Puddy. Puddy joined ROTC because my congressman suggested Puddy do it. Puddy received a Navy scholarship to supplement my other Ivy League academic scholarship. Puddy has a brain. Puddy broke Puddy’s knee playing basketball in college. Wicked crossover dribble left the guy in the dust along with my knee. GBS said that wasn’t serving my country, but Puddy has a DD214 honorable discharge separation coding 4F, Not recommended for reenlistment – medical deferrment. So GBS can call it what he wants.
BTW Steve, GBS and Puddy discussed it over lunch one day.
Good for you for trying.
Too bad about the knee. If I had been defending you, you’d have never touched the ball that day and you’d still have a good knee. Who knows? One thing could have led to another and you might still be a Democrat today, living in the light with us instead of in the darkness that you now know. Sigh! What else might have been for want of some good D that day?
OMG!
Ted Van Dyk worked in Andrew Johnson’s administration!?
Man, I knew the guy was old and out of touch. I just had no idea how old and out of touch.
Piper @21… a proud graduate of the “I’m rubber, you’re glue” school of debating.
mao @26… funny. I’ll have to steal that sometime.