Kay Hagan Fights Back
Elizabeth Dole’s despicable ad insinuating that her opponent in the North Carolina Senate race, Kay Hagan, is “godless” is, thankfully, not going unchallenged. In the Dole ad, it’s claimed that the Godless Americans PAC held a “secret” fundraiser where Hagan took “godless” money. Then you see Hagan’s picture while a voice says, “There is no God,” implying that Hagan is saying it. The voice actually belongs to a member of the group.
Hagan’s camp says she did attend a fundraiser in Boston at the home of Woody Kaplan, the founder of “Godless Americans”, but that the group had nothing to do with the fundraiser. In fact, Senator John Kerry was at the event as well.
Here is Hagan’s answer to the Dole ad:
In addition, Hagan is filing a defamation lawsuit against Elizabeth Dole and Elizabeth Dole Committee, Inc., after Dole refused to remove the original ad.
Here is a copy of the lawsuit:
I saw this run last night on Hardball. I think Dole’s ad might backfire like crazy after this retort. Maybe this will teach the repubs not to be so sleazy.
Also, any news on the lawsuit vs. Dole?
October 31st, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Ahhh, thanks for adding that Alan.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:22 pm
In Kay Hagan’s response she says she relys on God and her faith daily.I am sure Alan and Oberman will make fun of her for it like they have President Bush for doing the same,after all they are fair and unbiased.Aren’t they?—John Kerry was there?Imagine that.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
KO is quite biased, he’s almost as bad as Bill O’Reilly.
And this government was founded on a tenet to allow the freedom to practice any religion, while enforcing none. Government should be secular always.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Amen, Jim from Jersey (pun intended).
Why are Republicans so fascinated by who went to dinner with whom?
I mean, are Republicans so ill-mannered and rude that they’d dictate to their host/hostess who they can and can’t have on their guest lists?
Do people actually skip entire parties and social invitations, just because they find out upon arrival that one or two A-holes were also invited?
I never imagined Republicans would be so dirty, ill-mannered, dishonest and worst of all, self-righteous about it.
And speaking of another Liddy, why do Republicans always shut up when you put forward G Gordon Liddy, after they whine about Ayers?
October 31st, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Good for Kay. Hope the suit turns for her favor.
Alan would have to make fun of himself, Bryan. He believes like you and I do. Keith I have no idea about.
The only unbiased media in America is talk show callers and bloggers (that’s a bad joke; I think)
One can only hope that Liz Dole will take the message home to the Republican party that slander and personal attacks are the quickest way to spend half your campaign in a courthouse and the other half left out to dry by the American voters.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Bryan,
They would only make fun of her if she dropped bombs on people and said,
“President Bush was saying that, ‘Having been imbued with a message of God to free the people of Afghanistan and then Iraq, I have a calling now to give the Palestinians a state of their own and their freedom, to give Israel security and bring peace to the Middle East,’ “
October 31st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Sarah—it wasn’t the other guest that was mentioned in the ad by Dole–it was the host himself.(Did she just call Hagan and Kerry A-holes?)
Erik–I agree–Alan has his good days–but I still don’t see any slander in Dole’s ad—-she simply stated that Kay went to a fundraiser at the home of the founder of the “Godless Amreicans”
October 31st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Bryan, what about the targeted – out of context cuts of her speaking, and hiring an actress to do an impression of her voice at the end?
No amount of spin can make that ad look benign. It was sleazy as all hell.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
That was a DAMNED GOOD MESSAGE!
I LOVE the end… “My campaign… is not about bearing false witness against other Christians”.
WOW!!!
What a woman! I wish she were running in VA.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Hot dog! Can’t wait to see what happens with this lawsuit!
October 31st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Jersey—no amount of spin and out of context cuts can’t cover the fact—Kay went.She is an elder and a sunday school teacher in her church here in Greensboro and I don’t question her beliefs—but I was shocked to hear she chose to associate herself with Kaplan.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Doles premise that somehow godless Americans deserve to be hated and mistrusted is the real issue. If she criticized Hagen for association with gays, Jews or blacks wouldn’t that be blatantly bigoted? Why should Atheists be deemed somehow less than good or normal citizens?
October 31st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Again, Bryan, do you dictate to your hosts and hostesses who they can invite to dinner?
Do you only go to parties where everyone looks like you, believes as you do, and acts like you?
If you were a representative elected to represent your entire district, would you pick and choose who you represented, or would you try to get to know all factions?
October 31st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Buddah,
Some folks seem to think without the threat of hell hanging over one’s head it is impossible for a person to be good.
To me, that says more about the people who believe that than it does the atheist.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Budda: “Why should Atheists be deemed somehow less than good or normal citizens?”
Because that’s the deal the Religious Right signed with the Republicans.
Republicans would get more of their money, in exchange for something approaching a theocracy.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Jersey—no amount of spin and out of context cuts can’t cover the fact—Kay went.She is an elder and a sunday school teacher in her church here in Greensboro and I don’t question her beliefs—but I was shocked to hear she chose to associate herself with Kaplan.
Hey, you know what, that’s her responsibility if she wins that race. You can’t just represent one aspect of your state in the Senate. Everyone deserves a voice, even if she disagrees with them fundamentally. It’s still her responsibility to listen to the concerns of ALL citizens, not just the religious. Government is supposed to be secular anyway.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Sarah,
Clearly you have not read ‘Hasselbeck’s Rules of Etiquette’
In addition to ensuring that husbands and wives are always seated next to one another, and ensuring that tasty flower snacks are on the table, one also ensures that everyone invited share exactly the same views on everything.
That way, if you accidentally speak to someone other than your spouse (which, in and of itself is a major faux pas), you can be assured that your thinking will remain unchallenged on any topic.
(I’m still cracked up over that story you told of her dining with the Queen)
October 31st, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Wonder how Dole explains why 95% of prison inmates are Christians.
way less than 1% are Atheists.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Compare populations:
81%(84% if you include pseudo christians) of the population is/are Christian.
9% (conservative figures) are non-believers.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
It’s a pretty memorable story, isn’t it, Um? I think I need to renew my subscription to Vanity Fair. ESPECIALLY if McCain and Palin get in. Graydon Carter will go even more apoplectic.
What do you think the other Hasselback/Neocon rules are?
1. Do not interrupt me while I’m interrupting you.
2. Don’t be so sexist as to comment on my clothing.
3. But don’t fail to remark upon my unerring fashion sense.
4. OMG! You’re not my husband! I couldn’t possibly talk/dance/eat with you!
5. Think spunky. Act spunky. Be spunky. And cute.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:20 pm
This makes little itty bitty baby jesus cry..
October 31st, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Boogie, perhaps it’s because Chuck Colson’s prison ministry receives tax money for support, and his program dispenses special favors to prisoners who become Christian.
Your tax money at work, thanks to Bush.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Jersey—Again I agree with you—but how does Kay Hagan attending a party on Boston to get money help represent the people of North Carolina? Boston is not in my state.
Sarah—I do not dictate who my host invite to their parties,I do decide who I let be my host though.Would you attend a fundraiser at Ann Coulter’s house? No–you would chose not to let her be your host would you not?
Kay Hagan didn’t drop in on a party and Kaplan showed up–she went to a party at his house.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:23 pm
She gets money to run a campaign Bryan, I don’t see much about it that’s sinister. Maybe she’s for the separation of church and state. You can be religious and still want the government out of your religion. Maybe she just wants to get all points of view. In any case, I’m not a citizen of North Carolina so I’m afraid I don’t have a good basis for assumption on her motives – but the most obvious suspect is simply money. I’ll go to a party with people I don’t like to get money. I’ll even listen to their points of view and cross examine them with my own. It’s not a crime to go to a fundraiser or dinner with people who’s views you don’t share. It doesn’t even speak to motive.
There’s not necessarily an ulterior purpose to everything. A small amount of paranoia is a healthy thing to have, but when you see connections in everything you might need to get on meds.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Bryan, if she was hosting your group, you’d go.
If Ann Coulter was hosting a Habitat for Humanity fund-raiser, you bet I’d set aside personal and political differences, and go.
It’s sad you think elected leaders should only get to know, and represent, the demographic that elected them. That smacks of cronyism.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:51 pm
The Conservative Movement is over.
The Era of your precious Ronald Reagan is over.
mwhahahahahhahahahahhahahahahaha
October 31st, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Sarah—Why would you sit bedide Coulter?Because you think Habitat does good work—so do I.So in your reasoning we should think that Hagan agrees with Kaplan?
In God We Trust should be taken off the dollar bill or that One Nation Under God should be removed from the Pledge of Alegence.Even Dole hasn’t insinuated that—I am glad you peiced it togther for us all.
Jersey—No paranoia here—I simply stated the fact that Kay went—What do you think insulted Kay the most—that some may think she is Godless—or that she got caught accpeting money form a group called Godless Americans?Her finance commitee listed it as a contribution from Kaplan I think (don’t hold me on that one)and as you said before–Special Interest—Why would the group he represents and founded be interested in her becoming a North Carolina Senator?
October 31st, 2008 at 4:25 pm
So Bryan, if elected, you’d uphold the Constitutional rights for all Americans….except the ones who didn’t believe in God?
I think that’s at the heart of the matter.
October 31st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I agree Sarah. Kaplan is a chair of a national group. Given the choices, he could A) Do nothing. B) Fund someone who is more moderate than Dole and hopefully make things easier on the would be members on his particular group.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Sarah and Jersey—I agree with you both.Hagan and Kaplan can do as they please,it’s their right as an American.But Sarah,how has Dole(or me) violated anyone’s rights? She only stated that Kay went.
And Jersey—is not The Godless Amreicans a Special Interest group? A group looking to further their cause by helping a liberal get elected rather than a conservative.Like you said before Jersey–this is the kind of stuff that has gotten where we are today in Congress.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I’m not saying I agree with any special interest group trying to get a break, but I really doubt GA is going to get Hagan to pass any anti-God legislation. I simply think that Kaplan figured that Hagan was less likely to pass any anti-atheism legislation. Dole is the type that would attempt to get Intelligent Design taught in public school. If I was in North Carolina, I’d certainly want the education of my children to be based on fact and tested theory, rather than loose hypotheses that may or may not be entirely mythological.
October 31st, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Jersey—-they don’t teach kids here much of anything in our schools,sad to say.I enjoyed our talks today—good to talk to an intelligent liberal for change.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I blame ‘no child left behind’ for that. Sorry, but let’s be blunt – some kids are slow and need to repeat. Nothing good can come of making the schools cater to the lowest common denominator.
Fun bickering with you as well Bryan. It’s hard to find a conservative that can keep up with us liberals sometimes. Good to know there might be a few of you left.
To hell with this, I’m starting a Centrist party and running for president in 2012. I don’t like any of these damn ideologies we keep getting force fed.
JIM FOR PREZ 2012
Er, make that 2016, first year I’m eligible.
November 1st, 2008 at 8:18 am
Just one more baseless, sad pathetic ad in a long line of many, put out by the Republican party.
November 1st, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Bryan: “But Sarah,how has Dole(or me) violated anyone’s rights?”
Bryan, you’re being grossly dishonest here. We’re not discussing “rights,” we’re discussing morality and taste.
Clearly, you have neither, if you’d defend such gross misrepresentation of Hagan.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm