Some people may be wondering where and why Danny Tarkanian has suddenly sunk to such negative and, frankly, dishonest campaign tactics against fellow Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden. And I think I now know. The answer to that question could well be summed up in two words:
Brian Seitchik (pronounced, I think, “side-kick”)
You see, after abandoning (or getting bounced from) the Rubio for Senate campaign in Florida this summer, Sidekick needed a paycheck and decided to grace Nevada’s political scene with his political dirty tricks of the trade. And for better or worse, Danny Tarkanian decided to hire this shady character.
Nothing like a hired, out-of-state gunslinger to come into town and start muddying up the place, right?
Tomorrow I’ll respond point-by-point to the declaration of war Sidekick issued against “Tark Tales” earlier today. But for now, since this NEVADA U.S. Senate race appears to be saddled with this attack-hack for the duration, let’s begin to take a look at his background and history.
According to a Toledo Blade story on May 13, 2006, Sidekick was the campaign spokesman for then-Sen. Mike DeWine. In that story, Sidekick told the Blade that “This election is going to be about what the senator has done for the people of Ohio.”
Instead, the campaign went dirty and dishonest and DeWine ended up losing his seat. Here, I’ll let Wikipedia explain:
On July 14, 2006, DeWine’s campaign began airing TV commercials depicting a smoking World Trade Center. “The senator was notified…by a reporter at U.S. News & World Report that the image of the burning Twin Towers could not have depicted the actual event because the smoke was blowing the wrong way.” DeWine’s campaign admitted that the video was actually a still photo of the World Trade Center with smoke digitally added. He also was criticized for using an emotionally charged image to attack his challenger.
Another of DeWine’s ads suggested that opponent Sherrod Brown didn’t pay his taxes for thirteen years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19 that, “Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad’s accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn’t pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years.” Brown produced a commercial citing these facts. DeWine’s ads were changed to state only that he had failed to pay his unemployment taxes until legal action was taken against him.
Now, I don’t know if DeWine’s Sidekick was behind those false and misleading ads or had anything whatsoever to do with them. But it certainly does appear that he was at least up close and personal to such under-handed dirty campaigning and some of it may very well have spilled onto him.
That’s a pretty reasonable conclusion to come to, especially after seeing how low the Tarkanian campaign has sunk since Sidekick joined the team.
In any event: Game on. Nothing I like better than a political slugfest with a disreputable character. Sidekick today threw down the gauntlet. And you know me, I picked it right up. Let’s rock, Bri-baby.
Chuck Muth
Editor, Tark Tales
P.S. According to a Hotline story in April of 2006, Sidekick’s loser candidate DeWine received an “F” rating from the National Rifle Association. Hey, isn’t that the same “F” rating that Danny Tarkanian got that same year from the NRA – followed by an endorsement by the Brady Bunch of gun-grabbers?
Birds of a feather….
