It didn’t have to be this way
For the past two weeks, Mark Brewer and Lon Johnson have been running positive campaigns in their race to be Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. They have both had nice things to say about each other but have made strong cases for themselves and their qualifications.
This week, that changed. An Eclectablog reader sent me copies of a mailer attributed to “Mark Brewer for MDP Chair”. The two-sided mailer says nothing about Mark Brewer. Rather, it is an attempt to slam Lon Johnson for his voting history in Michigan. Here is the mailer (click the images for larger versions):
What I find most unfortunate is that this election couldn’t have been a positive one where each candidate talks about what they can do make sure Democrats win in 2014 and beyond and didn’t spend time tearing down their opponent. That is how it started and there’s no reason why it couldn’t have been that way the entire time. It’s a party chair race, for Pete’s sake. Both men are Democrats and presumably have the same goals for Michigan Democrats.
Equally unfortunate is that Johnson-bashing Twitter and Facebook accounts popped up this week. These hacks are so cowardly that they don’t even bother to reveal who is behind them and, fortunately, have laughably small followings.
You can make up your own mind if Lon Johnson’s lack of voting in a handful of past elections is enough to disqualify him from being the MDP Chair.
You can also make up your own mind if Mark Brewer’s decision to run a negative campaign is enough to disqualify him.
UPDATE: I have learned that former Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard has been doing robocalls on behalf of Johnson, blasting him for going negative. Johnson defends his lack of voting in 2010 saying that he lived in Washington, D.C. at the time and was unsure of his voting status in Michigan.
