Over the past few weeks I've developed a fascination with Republican Congressional candidate Terri McCormick, the former Fox Valley legislator who temporarily convinced a number of libertarians nationwide that she was their candidate to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Appleton). McCormick's campaign has imploded in a number of ways, but the most amusing evidence of that is the candidate herself. Take the most recent primary debate between McCormick and opponents Roger Roth and Reid Ribble, for instance:
While making a point regarding the war in Afghanistan, Terri McCormick turned to Roger Roth and said that she took exception with something Roth had said because she has relatives serving in Afghanistan and they weren't "lucky enough to be in a hangar," during their tours. For those who don't know, Roth served in the Wisconsin Air National Guard, including three tours in Iraq.
Great move Terri. While you were working hard as a private consultant in cold, Canada, Roger Roth was in a cushy "hangar" in sunny Iraq. How can he possibly respond to that?
And once again, McCormick's fundraising efforts bring premium comedy. Although she ended the quarter with little more than a grand on hand, McCormick's campaign put out the following statement, touting her numbers as evidence of widespread grassroots support:
This week the Terri McCormick for Congress campaign filed a report with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), in which she received widespread contributions from throughout the district and had fewer Political Action Committee (PAC) donations than any other candidate in the race.
"Everywhere I go in the district, I am meeting people genuinely concerned about the direction of the country and looking for leadership and responsive government. That is why I am honored to have the support of so many northeast Wisconsin voters," she said. "I am also pleased to report fewer Political Action Committee contributions than the other candidates. My campaign is competing without special interest dollarswhich is what Wisconsinites deserve," she concluded.
Well, even if we put aside the hypocrisy of accepting PAC contributions and then lauding oneself for not receiving very many, McCormick's claims of grassroots support from her district stand in stark contrast to the facts. An analysis in the Post-Crescent revealed that of McCormick's individual contributions, only 16 percent came from Wisconsin. Half of that came from the 8th district. In comparison, 71.5 percent of Roth's money came from the district; for Ribble, who accepted tons of PAC money from roofing interests, the number was 48 percent.
Darn. It's just too bad Terri couldn't accept donations from Canada. Then maybe she wouldn't have to resort to this type of press release gimmickry to cover up the sham that her campaign has been revealed to be.