* I don’t completely buy into this logic…
A political campaign stunt meant to draw attention to the nation’s high oil prices backfired Thursday when hundreds of motorists seeking cheap gas caused a massive traffic jam in north suburban Lincolnshire before most were turned away.
I wasn’t there, of course, but if people did line up for a mile and a half as reported, then Dan Seals’ stunt wildly succeeded in getting his message across.
* Even so, the Tribune focused almost solely on the negative…
Come they did, causing a lunchtime traffic nightmare that left Lincolnshire Police Chief Randy Melvin fuming. He had almost half of his 25-officer staff directing traffic, which nearly came to a standstill.
When was the last time that a congressional candidate in Illinois got that kind of response? Yet, the Tribune claims it was a “nightmare.”
* And…
“This was a very disappointing experience, and we will remember it come election time,” businessman Rick Hirschhaut complained in an e-mail. “Mr. Seals just demonstrated that he is a typical politician. What he says and what he does are not the same thing—just a lot of over-promising.”
A quick Google search would have shown the Tribune that Hirschaut and Kirk have a relationship, leading me to believe that the reporting was way out of whack.
Plus, Hirschaut apparently wasn’t even at the event. Why no harsh interviews from motorists waiting in line? I’d find that more believable.
* Only about 50 motorists got their discounts, which is the biggest downside to the stunt. This angle, however, is probably just a distraction…
North Shore Congressional candidate Dan Seals was offering gas for $1.85 at a station in Lincolnshire and making up the difference himself, but opponent Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) says the stunt amounts to vote buying.
* So, when Kirk hands out food, drinks, balloons, buttons and other tschotkes he’s buying votes as well? Please. As Larry notes with tongue firmly planted in cheek…
I’ll be heading out of country to avoid the inevitable prosecution from Patrick Fitzgerald regarding the vast amounts of beer I have [drunk] over the years paid for by campaigns.
* And Rob points out this factoid…
Republican Luke Puckett, also a challenger just like Dan Seals, pumped free gas a month ago in South Bend while bending drivers’ ears about his plans to drill for oil in pristine natural areas of California and Alaska
* From that Indiana story…
Luke Puckett gave away 250 gallons of gas in 30 minutes at the Marathon station on East Ironwood. He said he was giving away free gas to draw more attention to the oil problem and the need for change.
Most people would do just about anything for five free gallons of gas right now, so waiting in a line that stretched around the building wasn’t a big deal.
Notice the vastly different spin from the news provider. Compare that to the Tribune…
Only about 50 motorists who waited in a 1.5-mile line of cars for more than an hour actually made it to the pumps at a Marathon station at Milwaukee Avenue and Half Day Road, where for one hour Democratic congressional candidate Dan Seals offered motorists the chance to buy as many as 10 gallons of gas for $1.85 per gallon.
Some motorists may have been upset about not getting the freebie, but I doubt that missing out will cause them to vote against the only candidate who tried to give them a break. I didn’t see a single negative quote from motorists in any of the news stories posted online.
* There was obviously a huge pushback from Kirk’s office. The Daily Herald’s story was originally entitled “Political gas giveaway works,” but was then changed to “Political gas giveaway jams traffic, raises questions.”
*** UPDATE *** Now, this is a reasonable GOP response. From the state Republican party…
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna today called on Tenth Congressional District Democrat Candidate Dan Seals to reimburse local police departments for the cost of providing traffic management to deal with a campaign stunt that backfired.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Rob got an e-mail from the Seals campaign…
Feel free to let folks know we are picking up the cost. We’ve already been in touch with the dept today to get the final amount and we talked to them in advance of the event regarding the cost as well.