Campaigns are long arduous events. The day in and day out battle mentality of a tough fought campaign can take its toll on the various workers on both sides of the isle. Usually it creates a strong sense of dislike for the other side. Inevitably it leads to petty arguments between the campaigns. Usually it takes the form of one side blaming the other for stealing yard signs or some other petty argument that means little to the electorate and looks almost childish.
Well, it looks like we have reached that point with the Senate race between McConnell and Lunsford. This time
it is over a tape recorder that was used in a debate between Lunsford and McConnell. McConnell's people put a tape recorder on Lunsford's platform during the debate. Apparently, Lunsford "accidentally" took the tape recorder. His staff apparently erased what was on it.
After the debate, Lunsford picked up the recorder, which had been left on his podium by a Republican committee staffer, and handed it to an aide.
When the recorder was returned to Richard St. Onge III, the Republican staffer, he said the debate and about 65 other voice recordings had been deleted.
St. Onge then filed a complaint with the Marshall County attorney's office. He claimed Lunsford refused to return the recorder to him and then conspired with campaign staff members to erase the information on it.
The Lunsford campaign denied the allegation, saying that at first Lunsford didn't know who the recorder belonged to. It did acknowledge, however, that it erased the recording of the debate after learning that the device belonged to St. Onge. It said it thought that St. Onge had tried to "bug" Lunsford's podium.
Lunsford's campaign returned the recorder after St. Onge asked Byars to intervene. Jason Darnall, an assistant Marshall County attorney, said Byars has interviewed Lunsford.
According to Republican committee spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher, the group recovered the recording with the help of a forensic audio specialist and said it reveals Lunsford telling a staff member to take the recorder and not give it back to St. Onge.
Cary Stemle, a spokesman for Lunsford, said he hadn't heard the recording and couldn't say whether it was Lunsford or not.
Last night the committee posted a copy of the recording on the Internet. In it a person who sounds like Lunsford can be heard saying, "Don't give it back to him. Don't give it back."
First of all, this silly game playing happens between all campaigns. It happens at every level. Usually, it doesn't make such a splash in the media, but these incidents occur. Personally, I think the whole story reflects poorly on both sides. But what I do find a bit bizarre is that the candidate is so closely involved in the shenanigans. Usually, it is just flare ups between campaign staffs. Rarely is the candidate involved. Lunsford's involvement makes him look personally petty. Not exactly a trait one would want in their Representative.
