26 June 2014

Daines starts stinking-up the campaign

Steve Daines

As a Montana National Guard officer, Sen. John Walsh led American soldiers overseas, into battle in Iraq. Working for Proctor and Gamble, Rep. Steve Daines led himself to China where he set up soap factories while P&G was laying off thousands in the USA.

John Walsh brought home all the soldiers he took to Iraq. When Steve Daines returned home, P&G was still making soap in China.

Now Daines needs his mouth washed out with soap for the job he’s trying to do on the truth about John Walsh’s military service. In his campaign’s latest 30-second television ad, Daines approves a former Army officer’s false allegation that Walsh condoned sexual harassment when he commanded Montana’s national guard:

Here’s the script as transcribed by Mike Brown at The Western Word:

STEVE DAINES:
I’m Steve Daines and I approved this message.

MAJOR CINDY NEELY:
I’m Major Cindy Neely. I served our country in Iraq, then in the Montana National Guard under John Walsh. I feel I owe it to every woman in Montana to speak out. Under John Walsh women like me were mistreated. There are pending lawsuits charging harassment and I experienced discrimination personally. John Walsh looked the other way to protect his own career and women suffered. John Walsh is not fit for office.

Unlike John Kerry in 2004, Walsh returned fire immediately. Here’s his 30-second rebuttal spot:

Neely says she was not allowed to apply for an intelligence position with the MTNG. Reports the Lee state bureau’s Mike Dennison, she filed a discrimination complaint, then resigned from the guard:

Montana National Guard spokesman Maj. Tim Crowe disputed Neely’s account Wednesday, saying she was not qualified for the intelligence-operations position she sought – but that Guard officials considered her a “valued member” of the Guard and were disappointed that she left.

He also said Guard officials “are surprised by (Neely’s) recent statements and we certainly don’t agree with them. They do not ring true.”

In a political campaign, true or not, they ring loudly — and (surprise, surprise) they’re not true. According to Walsh’s debunking squad:

[The] Cases Do Not Involve Sexual Harassment. The cases pending with Julia Fenwick and Monique Lay involve wrongful termination claims and cite an inappropriate relationship with a supervisor and subordinate that they believed resulted in favoritism. There were never claims or allegations of sexual harassment. [Case No. DDV-‐2013-‐20; Case No. CDV-‐ 2012-‐268; Case No. 1518-‐2012, State of Montana Department of Labor and Industry Hearings Bureau; 4/6/12].

And there’s more:

Fenwick Served as Campaign Manager for Republican Gubernatorial Neil Livingstone. In 2011, Republican gubernatorial candidate Neil Livington announced his campaign team including Julia Fenwick as the deputy campaign chairman. In 2012, Montana watchdog referred to Fenwick as Livingstone’s campaign manager. [Watchdog.org, 5/17/12; Northern Broadcasting.com, 7/11/11].

Fenwick Contributed Thousands of Dollars to the Republican Party and Republican Candidates. Since 2005, Julia Fenwick has donated over $9,000 to the Republican party and Republican candidates:

Yes, that’s the same Neil Livingstone who published a guide for protecting oneself when purchasing the services of women practicing the world’s oldest profession.

Long before Fenwick was consorting with Livingstone, Walsh was firing officers for improper relationships with subordinates (from the debunking squad):

In 2009, Walsh relieved assistant adjutant general, Brig. [G]en. John Del Toro of Air National Guard after he had an “unprofessional relationship with a female subordinate.” “After receiving and reviewing the Secretary of the Air Force’s inspector general report, I lost confidence in Gen. Del Toro’s judgment and ability to command the Air National Guard, Walsh wrote.” [Helena Independent Record, 6/9/09]

At his fine blog The Western Word earlier this week, Mike Brown observed it’s still early and the mud is already being slung:

Daines was first to air a negative attack ad and he may not stop. Will the independent voters in Montana, whose votes Daines needs to win, grow tired of his attacks on John Walsh, a highly decorated Iraq war veteran?

On Friday night I happened to see the newest campaign ad from Congressman Steve Daines which is titled “Mistreated.”

After hearing the ad for the first time, I said, “That was pretty nasty,” I also thought, “and this is only June.”

So what should one conclude about Cindy Neely? Is she a principled soldier who was wronged and now seeks justice by appearing in a television spot promoting a far-right politician? Or is she just another disgruntled right leaning officer, angry at being denied a promotion for which the Guard says she was unqualified, out for revenge, mud in her hands, falsehoods on her tongue, and the truth about John Walsh under her boot?

With his malodorous Cindy McNeely ad, Daines is burying fact and honor under cheat grass that has passed through the bull. And he’s just getting started. Karl Rove and the godfathers of Swiftboating will cheer from afar. But if you and me and our friends and neighbors don’t cudgel Daines for his lies and damn lies, and pronto, we’ll need nose clamps and perfumed handkerchiefs to endure the the rest of this campaign.