Boyle denies any connection to anti-Vokal mailing – Omaha World-Herald
A postcard aimed at damaging Councilman Jim Vokal’s re-election chances against challenger Anne Boyle threw one more wild card into the hard-fought District 3 race.
The message on the pink card has nothing to do with anything that could come up before the City Council. One group mentioned in the card has disavowed the message, and another group listed is nonexistent. No return address was on the card, which apparently went to a limited number of houses Friday in the district.
If you read that entire news story, you will probably feel like you’ve wasted your time. I was tempted to get out my decoder ring to find out what the World-Herald was talking about in this article. It wouldn’t have bothered me if the World-Herald had decided not to run a story about this flyer. But since the World-Herald decided to cover the story, they have a duty to report the news not cover it up or withhold the facts.
“The message on the pink card has nothing to do with anything that could come up before the City Council.” What in the hell does this sentence mean? After reading that sentence, I got a weird feeling that Jim Vokal was the lone gunman on the grassy knoll. In reality, World-Herald reporter David Kotok was doing some opining in this “news” story. The World-Herald reported on the contents of an attack ad on Chuck Sigerson. I don’t remember the last time a mascot issue was brought before the City Council. It looks like we have a double standard at the World-Herald. Why am I not suprised.
Yesterday, KMTV3 ran a story about the “pink” flier and they showed the contents of the flier on air. If someone has a copy of the flier and can scan it in, please email a copy to us.
P.S. I have seen the flyer, and I apologize to our readers if this post seems cryptic. Many of our readers are aware of the contents of the flyer, and the issues have been discussed at length in the comments section of one of the posts on this blog. OK, I’m done being cryptic.
No integrity whatsoever. Attacking a record is one thing. Attacking someones false sexual orientation is another. Very sad day for politics. And for the democratic party.
I wouldn’t condone this but I’m not at all surprised it happened. Vokal is a hypocrite and has alienated a lot of people. In Vokal’s mind it probably has nothing to do with the fact that he lived a gay lifestyle up until going into politics and now has joined in the persecution and alienation of other gays. Instead he’ll misdirect the media and blame the democratic party. Bottom line: If you beat a dog you shouldn’t be surprised when it finally bites you.
Bottom line is Ive known this guy a heck of alot longer than anyone of you people and I cannot let this travestly go on. Vokal is not gay and he has been straight his whole life. Give it up quit the dirty politics and accusations bc you dont like how he voted on some gay and lesbian issues.
Joe: Can you explain then why he frequented the Joy Bar, spent time with gay men prior to being married, why he was posting in an Omaha men4men chat room after he was married (when an acquaintance confronted him about being there he explained he was “working out some issues”), and why it’s common knowledge around town by both straights and gays alike that up until getting elected he dated men? C’mon. Omaha is still a small town and he’s acting like he’s been invisible for the past 15 years. The fact that he’s gay doesn’t bother me a bit – In fact, I’d probably be more likely to vote for him but he’s lost all sense of morality, he’s pathologic in his lying, he attempts to squash first amendment rights, and he’s a HYPOCRITE in his behavior toward other gays. And by the way, I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the fact that you seem more than a bit homophobic.
I don’t think he’s gay, but I think it is disgusting that he would accuse Anne Boyle of sending out this piece.
Actually I have gay friends so be more open minded and quit making intolerant statements.
The only one who stands to benefit from this flier being mailed is Jim Vokal. Why? Because the attack was in itself disgusting…and because he was so quick to make Boyle out to be behind it. Conspiracy theory: Someone from Jim’s campaign (or one of his supporters) mailed it… Why? Because they were so quick to deliver a pre-packaged response on so many fronts. Surely they knew that this would be an issue in the campaign. I wouldn’t put it past them either, seeing as how they made up endorsements the last time Jim was running for office.
Whether or not Jim is in fact gay, Boyle is of course the better choice for the generally liberal district. Now if only an “out” politician would be elected in this district…that would be newsworthy. After all, more than 60% of the district voted against 416…so it is one of the most progressive areas in the state.
this flier made anne’s campaign spend the most crucial days of the election denying things, and trying to figure out what was going on. It let Jim go on the offensive. It was timed as such that Boyle couldn’t possibly have time to find out who sent it or really investigate. It will drive down turnout and make people less likely to show up to vote, which is obviously good for Jim in a democrtic district.
And you think anne was dumb enough to send it?
She hasn’t gotten this far being dumb. If it was a well done piece, the kind that would really ruin Jim with smear then I would maybe believe she had a part. Because she cares a lot about being able to represent the people of this district, and she’s really put her heart into the race. I could see her taking dramatic action. But dramatic stupid action? Yeah right. She’s wayyyy too good at campaigning to do that.
Obviously this was sent by one of Jim’s ex boyfriends, or by someone pissed at him, or by someone on his campaign that realized with polling numbers this bad they needed to send out a hail mary. who knows. because of the timing we won’t find out until after we’ve voted. If this costs anne the election, and it turns out jim was behind it, then he had better resign right away.
I second J O-R – if Jim’s behind this, he should resign…
John Owens-Ream must be referring to a poll of Anne Boyle’s neighbors, because nothing else would suggest that Boyle is ahead in this race.
She outspent Vokal in the primary, dropped a ton of negative mail, and still lost. Since then, Vokal has outraised her by more than $20K.
Also, the Democrats have dropped 4 or 5 what I would consider to be negative pieces in the last three days – not something you do if poll numbers are so great for you. And those pieces are in addition to the now infamous “Jim Vokal is a liar” radio ads.
Campaign 101 – negative campaigning doesn’t earn votes for you, it takes away from your opponent. If Boyle has this huge lead, why is she depressing turnout with all the negative stuff? It’s turning voters way off.
All I know is mailing just one of those pieces which was postmarked at $0.49 each in addition to the cost of making them must have cost close to $1000 AT LEAST. Then by sending out two mailings as I have heard has now happened, I can only conclude that it isn’t just a single person who has a vendetta against Jim Vokal. It has to be somebody with $$$ or a person with connections. Bottom line. . . .it is disgusting that there are people out there that think this type of nasty and dirty behavior is okay and they are able to live with themselves. Can you imagine what his poor wife is going through and thank goodness his daughter is too little to know what is being falsely said about her father. Give me a break that it would be a friend or Jim himself – think people. Oh, and Diane don’t try and turn this around on Jim Vokal. . . . I knew you many years ago and know that you yourself have many skeletons to be ashamed of. . . frankly if it wasn’t for the cost of such an act, I would certainly think you may be capable of doing it. . .you certainly have the anger and vengence to have it out for him.
Stephen: what the poor wife is going through is nothing compared to what the poor wife will be going through 15 years from now when she discovers that her entire marriage has been a sham. If she’s lucky she won’t take our word for it but will do some serious investigation herself and get the truth on her own.
Regardless of his personal life, he is a self-serving politician who has treated his opponents and his OWN NEIGHBORS the way Tony Soprano treats his enemies. He is like a mobster in a pencil geek costume.
Your a joke Amie. No one in the city council is like Tony Soprano.
You obviously have never crossed him. (And that would be “you’re” a joke)
I didn’t know this was english class. Sorry I must be “dumb” for not having correct grammar all the time. Sorry you have to understand I am a republican surely you can understand that us republicans can’t read write or spell. Amie shut the hell up!
Joe Says:
May 9th, 2005 at 1:21 am
Actually you people called me stupid so I defended myself. And for the courts yes you do own the courts. And i’ll explain to you why you own the courts, cause you have to get appointed there cause you people can’t even get elected. And you know why you sad pathetic little girls can’t get elected? Cause you have no solutions. All you do is bitch about what the president is doing or you call him a murderer or you say he wants the draft even though it was a dem congressman from new yourk charlie rangel who introduced it on the floor of the house. or you call Condi Rice a “sell out” because she thinks for herself. Or you go after people like Jim Vokal with false accusations or you go around calling Don Rumsfeld a war criminal or you call our soldiers occupiers not liberators or push your gay and lesbian agendas on family valued christians who dont believe the same way you do or you throw pies at pat buchanon or anne coulter when there speaking at a colleges or you support people who go around saying that the victims of 9/11 are little eichmans. Or you call people like dave friend scandalous. ETC ETC ETC it goes on and on and on and on. And yes you will have some wisecrack comment back to me saying how dumb i am and how i hate gay people cause i have a different opinion than they do. but if you want to know why the democratic party is doing so bad this is why. Its not because everyone else hasnt seen the light or opened up there mind to new ideas its because you people have no ideas. Plain and simple you have NO IDEAS!!!!!!!!!!
Joe,
This comment will prove that Democrats can be just as gramatically challenged as Republicans. Regarding your astute political obsevations:
The Democrats could be much more sucessful on a national level if they would remove the pro-choice plank on the party platform. Most Pro choicers would never vote Republican anyway so all the Democratic party has done is drive much of their traditional Catholic base over to the Republican Party. Regardless, this state has as much liklihood in voting for a Democrat for President as Chicago has electing a Republican Mayor.
The Democrats can only be sucessful in campaigns for state offices and congress as long as their candidates look and sound Republican or at least independant. This is why Democrats who were former governors (Exon, Kerrey & Nelson) can easily transition to US Senators.
It is however very concerning that the Democratic Party hasn’t been more effective locally in Douglas County. Much of their ineffectiveness can be attributed to its lack of organization and their inability to recruit/appoint strong candidates. The Douglas County group is more like a “club” than an actual party. Accordingly, they have a small base of potential “club members ” to draw from when its election/appointment time. Vokal is the first Republican to be elected to the city council in District 3 since the council elections listed party affiliations on the ballot around 1981. The only reason he won 4 years ago is that the Democratic controlled council (at the direction of the local Democratic Club) appointed an even weaker candidate to serve out the term of Anzaldo who resigned in 2000. Anne was recruited late last year because she is obviously well known locally and no one else wanted the opportunity. Two of the last three mayors have been Republicans elected to two terms and Fahey has some of their same characteristics (millionare, resides in west west omaha, strong base of big business support)
Regarding Vokal vs. Boyle this shouldn’t be as close as it is except for the fact that the Boyle campaign strategy was ineffective until the last 2-3 weeks. Mr. Vokal has a record for lies and deception (half truths). Only a die hard partisan Republican would fail to admit this. It ridiculous that his supporters would feel that Boyle has gone negative when she cites his record with references to the sources in her campaign material. “I told them the truth and they thought it was hell”. I notice that when Vokal’s campaign material cites Boyle with passing “200% cell phone fee increases” there are no footnotes to the source for these statements because they aren’t true. Vokal is a loser as public office holder. If Boyle doesn’t win….the local party is in worse shape than I thought.
That being said the majority of your comments are immature at best. Some of my best friends are Republicans. Many of which I didn’t have to convince but are voting for Boyle. We respectfully differ on some key issues, but we agree on more than we differ on (the NRA, Rush Limbo. and woman conservative talk radio hosts suck, fiscal responsibility is good, health care insurance and costs are totally messed up……). However you have the misperception that all Democrats are ultra liberal pro gay agenda girly boys. In reality the Democrats I grew up with and interact with have some of these traits: hard working, union members/supporters, tough, respectful, catholic, fiscally conservative, with a strong bend for prioritizing government spending to help those who are weaker than they are. Call me or them a pathetic little girl and you would be found bleeding the next day curled into the fetal position and whispering to yourself “find myself a happy place..find myself a happy place..”. Besides liitle girls aren’t pathetic, they are someone’s daughter or sister, they may grow up to be significant others, wives and mothers. You may be too young to be married to a woman and to disrespectful to have a girlfriend, but you have a mother and she wouldn’t like you referring to little girls as pathetic.
However, I know you didn’t mean all that junk and were just trying to shake things up, just don’t talk that stuff in a bar east of 72nd Street.
Wow! Getting hot and heavy!
Like Jim or not, the mailings are way over the line of decent campaigning…
I find it interesting that Diane never denied playing a role in these recent mailings…
WOW!! You’re right!! Diane never did deny the mailings. She also didn’t deny bombing the twin towers. And I’ve NEVER heard her deny torturing children and small animals. What’s up with that broad? Yup, it was her. Simple logic.
Despite rumors, I was NOT smoking during that ride on the Hindenburg. I do, however, admit to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby.
Brian: Nope. Wasn’t me. I’m only in charge of the produce section.
In the past few days our blog has really gone to crap. It once used to be a place where people laid out constructive criticsm and voiced their educated opinions, on both sides. Now it seems to be a bunch of immature brats who have nothing to do but hide behind their keyboards and maliciously attack each other. Come on guys, we are better than this and this isnt what our blog was created for….some people have spent hours of their time creating this blog, and have some respect for the readers. At one time news journalists and politicians read our blog, but with all the cat fighting lately, I highly doubt any of them do anymore. Im not directing this towards any political party, because I can see it happening on both sides, so seriously have some respect for the people who once enjoyed reading the articles and the good points put forward by the bloggers.
You tell ‘em Mike. The last few days have been pretty disgusting even if the amusement-factor has been high. This place can be fun and productive, but a few people posting tirades and a bunch of petty bickering are dragging the whole site and its level of discourse to a miserable low. I hope after today’s election, those who don’t care about building a stronger community at UNO and a stronger Democratic Party across Nebraska will go their own way, letting us get back to the important (and very difficult) work ahead of us.
So Diane? Are you happy your work actually hurt Boyle?
Thanks Diane from the UNO College Democrats!
Mr. Roberts if you think your intimidating me your wrong. And yes there are some good democrats who have good intentions in mind. The problem lies when they start name calling and everything else I said above. And you want to talk about getting beat up. Well where I come from if you go around calling some one a “Homo” you better be able to defend yourself or else you going to get your ass kicked. And if you send the stuff you send to a family like that where I come from and you dont have the balls to have a return address you better watch out cause there be a hit out on ya. So dont give me your bullshit about when I do a name calling. Think why did Boyle get beat. What is Fahey doing that she isnt? Think. What is Fahey doing that she did not do. Write back if you can figure that one out.
Joe,
Your right, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to refer to a gay person as a “Homo”. I especially wouldn’t encourage anyone to refer to a straight person as either “Gay” or a “Homo”. I don’t know who sent the “stuff” you refer to because neither myself nor anyone I know in the District received it. I would be shocked if either candidate had any involvement in the stuff being mailed because all it did was divert the small amount of interest in real campaign issues right before the election. Perhaps you know who the specific individual(s) are that are responsible for that stuff but I don’t and neither does Mr. Vokal or one of you would order a “hit” on them…right? Whoever was involved was stupid.
I will now answer your question “Why did Boyle get beat?”
Boyle got beat because of exactly the same reason that Friend did, neither one could effectively create enough interest for the majority of voters to show up on Tuesday to fire the incumbant. Both had poor campaign strategies however, Fahey was a much stronger incumbant than Vokal which means Boyle had a much better chance going into the race to beat Vokal, than Friend had to beat Fahey. So rather than compare a challenger to an incumbant let’s compare incumbants. What did Fahey do to maintain a 22% margin of victory that Vokal didn’t do to finish with a 5% margin of victory? Both appear in the background at Neighborhood Association Meetings and are low key and try not to take political risk, however, Vokal’s achilles heal is his reputation for avoiding responsibility (taking a powder instead of voting on controversial issues) and not being truthful which made him a very beatable opponent for a candidate that had a good campaign strategy and was willing to knock on doors back in February and ask for the vote. Her campaign had neither. The only way she wins is by hammering home why he needs to be fired “During the last 4 years the record indicates that he lies and deceives and you can’t count on him to show up at the next controversial vote because he doesn’t want to take any political risk.” Instead her campaign spends months sending out campaign pieces of why people should vote for her when she never established or closed the deal on why people should fire Vokal.
Mr. Roberts’ so-called answer to the question of why Boyle was defeated is not only ignorant on every level but also contradicts his post of less than 48 hours prior.
Boyle and the Democrats based their campaign ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY on the supposed lies and deceptions of Councilman Vokal. Mr. Roberts himself praised these efforts to “expose” Vokal in his May 10th post. District 3 voters recieved 4-5 pieces to this effect in the Primary, and another 3-4 pieces in the last few days before the General. To say that Boyle never attempted to hammer his record and convince voters to fire Vokal is totally inaccurate, and more to the point, inconsistent with Mr. Roberts’ earlier diatribe.
Let’s also address the amateurish comparison of the Vokal-Fahey Incumbent Factor. Vokal’s race was not tougher than Fahey’s because one was weak and one was strong – Fahey only appeared strong because the Friend campaign never got off the gorund. If the GOP had run Lee Terry or another party star, Fahey might not be Mayor today. He would certainly not break 60%.
The Fahey is a Stronger Incumbent theory is further disproved by the OWH story this evening. Boyle fell short despite trying to ride the Mayor’s coattails at the top of the ticket. Vokal won two-thirds of the precincts. The color-coded map shows District 3 all blue for Fahey, mostly red for Vokal. Fahey’s endorsement meant nothing.
Boyle was a much more credible challenger than Friend. Not because Vokal was weak, but because Boyle had been involved in Omaha politics her entire life, grew up in District 3, was elected-and re-elected to the PSC, and, by the way, Democrats have a 15% registration advantage in the district.
You might have to consider that the people of District 3 re-elected Jim Vokal because he’s doing a good job. Anne Boyle’s repeated attempts to convince voters otherwise (remember the “Jim Vokal is a LIAR!” radio ads?) obviously fell on deaf ears. Her qualifications for the office seemed to consist of who her parents were, that she and the Mayor are friends, that the OWH endorsed her, and that she implemented a 211 service. Huh?
Anne Boyle would have you believe she lost because Vokal was distorting her PSC record. Look lady, you voted to increase the wireless 911 fee by 200%. It’s in the minutes, it was reported in the OWH in January. You did it. Stop saying you didn’t. At least no one called you a homosexual.
News Flash…. Jim Vokal is a really good politician, and he’s not going away. He is very conservative, made alot of people mad, can easily be unlikable, and won fairly easily in the most Democratic district. His opponent is from a very famous local family, had a reputable record, and great name recognition. She did run a poor campaign, and didn’t go door-to-door as much as she needed to, but Vokal was ripe for the picking and the Dems flat out missed.
Fahey destroyed Friend for many reasons, alot of it because Friend just wasn’t out there, in money, and in name. But most of all, Fahey didn’t give people a reason to vote against him, and Friend didn’t give people a reason to vote for him, Fahey has said he probably won’t run for mayor again, and Vokal has said he’ll consider it. If he runs in 4 years, and Fahey does not, Vokal will have four years of raising money as opposed to Friend’s one, eight years of name recognition, campared to Friend’s less than one, and unless something really changes, and most importantly, not running against someone as strong, and rich, and known as Fahey.
Vokal is the rising star of the Nebraksa Republican party and the city council will probably be only his first stop. Look at his career so far, and then look at Lee Terry’s. Both started on the city council young, and moved up quickly. Heck, they both have that dorky-family man type look too.
To add insult to injury for the College Dems, Vokal’s party was held at….. UNO, in the Alumni House.
Honestly, none of you have shown me that you know the issue that decided the election. I am willing to put all of my money (which is next to nothing…. ’sigh’) that the deciding factor to this election was whether or not the stretch of Woolworth Street that runs through Field Club would be closed. Having lived in that district for 13 years, I understand that an OVERWHELMING amount of people do NOT want that street closed. This has been an issue for District 3 for as long as I can remember. And while Vokal has already prevented Woolworth Street from closing and has vowed to fight it as long as he’s in office, Boyle did nothing to assure constituents that she would oppose the closing. Her main concern was “property values.” Well guess what Boyle, people aren’t stupid. Many understand that improving the neighborhood country club golf course would up property values, which would also eventually result in higher property taxes… I mean, honestly, c’mon… give these people some credit. The outcome of this election had nothing to do with either of them being Democrat or Republican. You are all blind if you think party relations has much to do with local, well at least Omaha, politics. The clear and simple truth is that Boyle aligned herself with the minority of people who at one time supported Jim Vokal because he had originally suppored closing Woolworth Street, and this was obvious to the majority of people who did not want Woolworth closed. Therefore, Vokal was their most reliable choice. Homosexuality, party affiliations, OWH/mayoral endorsements, etc… these meant nothing. This was a one issue election, and actually, even as a Democrat, I’m glad Vokal won for this reason.
Boyle got beat because she’s a horrible campaigner…period.
And by the way…who are the hotties in the top right photo?
How is Anne Boyle such a horrible campaigner? I think she came across very well. She was just smeared by Jim Vokal, who lied his way to a win.
How did Vokal smear Boyle?
Hey throwing gay porn in the yard of the president of the city council and sending him gay mail to his family with a 2 year old girl. where has the decency of the democratic party gone where has the moral ethics of the democratic party gone. Don’t tell me Vokal smeared Boyal good try though good try. But unfortuantely Boyal loses and she loses bc she is associated with the same puke that sent that sick shit to Vokals house.
There is no evidence that links the mail to either Vokal or Boyle. However, Vokal had the most to gain and Boyle the most to lose by the mailing. Vokal’s covered his behind by marriage and parenthood, thereby gaining the sympathy vote. This time. Vokal remarked that he’s considering a run for mayor. That will be the straw. No one will permit Vokal to be mayor.
4 yrs Vokal will be mayor mark my words.
Kel – I can tell you must be a “Joe” clone. First of all I deal in facts something that is foreign to you. Lee Terry didn’t and wouldn’t run against Fahey because he’d lose or worse yet win and take a pay cut and actually have work and have to accomplish something to be re-elected. Terry and Vokal are a lot alike they both campaigned together in my neighborhood. My neighbor told me he enjoyed their last movie “Dumb and Dumber”. The reason why Friend ran is because none of the GOP party “stars” wanted to go under the boot like Friend. For the record the only Republican or Democrat star in elected office right now is Chuck Hagel.
Newsflash to Chris…..I agree Vokal is a good politician. Here is the definition in the Merriam-Webster dictionary for Politician-
“a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons”. Anzaldo, his protege, was a good politician, the District went to hell while he was elected to three terms…but a good “politician”.
Now Politics 101…..again.
Fahey was elected in 2001 with a 45% voter turn out by less than 1000 votes and less than 1% margin of victory. In four years Omaha voters were so content with his leadership that less than 30% felt they needed to show up at the polls, yet his margin of victory increased from less than 1% to 21%. A lot more people have confidence in Fahey now than four years ago.
Vokal was initially elected in 2001 with a 41% voter turn out in District 3 with a 13% margin of victory. In four years after seeing Vokal’s run and hide from major votes, lies and half truths 31% of District 3 voters showed up to the polls and his margin of victory shrank from 13% to 5% down 8% because of his “star” qualities. Wow, with this trend he should run for mayor. If Boyle started connecting the dots in early March connecting his documented pattern and practice of lyeing in campaign materials beginning in 2001 and the four years that followed, and informing voters to expect this pattern of overstating his own record and lyeing about her record to continue before the campaign is over, she could have counter punched effectively when Vokal started his mis-information (see items 1-4 below). Instead she began her campaign by sending out countless generic “You can count on her’ and “You should elect me because I’m a woman and there have only been 3 woman elected to the city council” flyers. Instead of having to defend his record, Vocal was able to introduce flyers on pro-life issues, and re-introduce and recreate his position on Woolworth Ave. after studying poll results.
Tony Costello – You’re right, Boyle passed up a great opportunity to counter punch Vokal on Woolworth Ave. The first time Vokal mentioned what he would do if the proposal somehow made it again through the county board and the planning board, Boyle should have hammerred him with what he actualy did do when the issue was more than just campaign rhetoric. Vokal lied, was given a written opinion (green light ) to vote by the city legal department and he had a choice to either do the job he was elected to do and represent the people of his District and vote or be an a extremely good “politician” and bury his head in the sand. When the heat is turned up and he actually has skin in the game, you can count on him to do nothing. The only reason he claims to have suddenly found “religion” on Woolworth Ave. is because he knows that train left the station two years ago and is never coming back. I’ve lived for 20 years in the District and what upset people the most was the feeling that when the bullets started flying and their neighborhood was on the line Vokal snuck off and left us without any representation which is exactly what he did.
Tony you are wrong, Woolworth Ave. became a dominant campaign issue after the primary when the World Herald ran the MacCallister quote “Vokal’s a flat out liar” and the Woolworth Ave public pulse letters and Cartoon ran in the opinion section of the OWH. Vokal made it a central point on his flyers during the last 3 weeks but look at the numbers between the primary and final election and the percentages only moved 1/2%. This race was won/lost in February thru the primary in April. No reason to fire him established, no door to door, no fish fries, no win.
Kel – You must not understand the difference between the truth and a lie or you understand it but it’s not important to you. I understand why you have such a close affinity to Vokal. Regarding how Vokal smeared Boyle…
1.By calling a press conference and getting Anzaldo (co-campaign chair) to leave recorded messages stating that Boyle lied when she sent a flyer that reprinted quotes from Vokal himself and the World Herald article regarding the street painting incident.
2. Stated on his “Isn’t she worth protecting” flyer that Anne Boyle refused to answer the Nebraska Right to Life (NRL) Survey and concluded…”what’s Anne hiding?” A direct implication that Boyle was pro-choice when in fact the NRL website stated she did respond and that in a situation such as District 3 when both candidates are pro-life, NRL policy is to solely endorse the incumbant.
3. Stating in another series of flyers that Boyle raised cell phone fees 200% however here is the real story
Nebraska wants to triple E911 surcharge
By GLENN BISCHOFF | Apr 01 ‘05
No public-safety answering point in the state of Nebraska can provide location capabilities in compliance with the FCC’s Phase II requirements, and one state senator wants to change that. Tom Baker recently introduced legislation that would remove the current cap on surcharges collected from wireless subscribers for enhanced 911 services, which could result in the surcharge being raised from 50¢ to as much as $1.50.
But the bigger problem is that only half of Nebraska’s PSAPs are even Phase I-compliant, a situation that is fairly typical in states west of the Mississippi River (see map).
full article http://www.apcointl.org/about/911EI/NEtriplesurcharge.pdf
4. Lastly, over the weekend Vokal had his wife auto dial a recorded message indicating that Boyle has been attacking her family with the infamous pink letter. Vokal admitted that he had no direct evidence to support the claim.
Boyle had to convince a majority of voters that Vokal needed to be fired so she needed to stay on point beginning in Febuary building the case that you can’t trust Vokal to show up when the heat is on and you can’t believe what he says because during his short career is surrounded in half truths and lies and its all on the record. Instead she drifted and allowed Vokal to create enough noise on issues such as I’m pro life and she isn’t , She’s a tax and spender and I’m not, she’ll make you drive farther and I’ll keep the street open that she never closed the deal.
Hey you guys are right, he’s a good politician and plays OK with some Democrats because he’s a lot like Bill Cinton, they’re both effective liars when they need to be.
For the record, Anne Boyle was at my home early in the campaign. She was in and around my neighborhood through the Saturday before the general election. What killed Anne was the bad advice she received that told her to attack Vokal for raising property taxes! She got called a liar and things started spiraling down. As for the pink “campaign” piece, only Vokal stood to gain from that. Look at how it played out. He sat in his living room with his props, claiming to be a family man, while Boyle was in the headlines DENYING involvement. Oh yeah, this was a big help to Boyle! On the 200% increase, Vokal did lie about it. I called the PSC. The rate has never been raised since being set five years ago (by four Republican members and Boyle) I guess Liars DO prosper. Finally, how about Vokal claiming he wasn’t the career politician, then announcing he is running for mayor. Jim, this wasn’t a landslide. Everytime you go into a room of 50 people, look around…24 of them didn’t vote for you!
The only thing worse than the pink piece itself. Is a bunch of sore losers blaming it on Vokal saying “he was behind it” c’mon guys get over the loss, yes it’s sad for you guys but c’mon dont start pointing fingers when you know as well as I do that democrats were behind it.
For the record: I had nothing to do with the pink mailing suggesting Jim Vokal is a homosexual. The Public Service Commission has never increased the fees on cell phones. As Kathleen McCallister said, “It is a flat-out lie.” This so called increased fee is confused with a request the Commission made to the legislature to increase the “cap”(which is not an increase on fees). The “cap” would have allowed a range between zero and $1.50 to be placed on cell phones in order to complete the system so 911 centers can find people by location. At the current rate it will not be finished for 20 years. The legislature will not act on our request for at least a year. Therefore, Jim Vokal and Kelvjarnsen (sp) are wrong and should apologize; however, it is doubtful they will do so.
Mr. Vokal’s public record of behavior is fair game for comment and discussion in a campaign. All of the information sent from my campaign and from the Nebraska Democratic Party was documented from City Hall records and media accounts. Subby Anzaldo made 5,000 phone auto phone calls calling me a liar based on a “Tax recertification”that Jim Vokal signed increasing taxes. Jim Vokal called me a liar as he washed his hands and blamed Mayor Fahey when Vokal told city hall officials to go after neighbors for painting the word “abstain” on the sidewalk; and Mrs. Vokal made phone calls, with no evidence of my involvement(because there was none and never will be) that I was attacking her husband and her family.To those who blindly defend him, do you have a shred of conscience? Do you think that was honest? Do you think that was even a little negative?Shortly after he was elected, there was a story in a magazine saying he was thinking of running for mayor. Throughout this campaign he said he wasn’t going to build a career on politics. On this election night, he announced it was the natural progression of things to run for mayor. Mr. Vokal began his political career and continues it with a distrubing waysof saying one thing and doing another. Regardless of what those who blindly follow him say, my campaign was based on facts and if winning through deceit is the “new Omaha politics”as Jim Vokal said he represents when he announced his re-election bid, then you are welcome to it. Someday you will realize the errors of your ways. You can count on it.
Anne: sometimes the bad guy wins. You fought a very good campaign. Vokal will trip himself up. He’s a scandal waiting to happen. He may be as ruthless as Daub but he’s not as smart.
if people are going to accuse a certain person or people of doing something, have some proof or something, not just a baseless assumption
You go Anne! We love you!
Anne that is not what i’m talking about and you know it. What i’m talking about is this disgusting piece of mail and innapropriate fliers that were placed in his yard. If this is what democratic politics in Omaha is all about than that is sad. So dont play this victim game when he was cleary the victim of sick and disturbing dirty campaiging.
Joe: Let’s put it in terms you might understand. Let’s say you’re a fisherman and that fishermen are, for no good reason, disdained by the public. You don’t hide the fact that you’ve “fished” for most of your life and in fact you were likely born a fisherman and had no choice. Suddenly, on a whim, you decide that you’re not going to be a fisherman any longer and in fact have left all your fishing buddies behind. You may even begin to assist other members of the public in discriminating against fishermen. You wake up one morning to find that you have hundreds of fishing poles on your lawn. Get real here, dear…chances are that an angry ex-fishing buddy left them.
If Jim Vokal being gay was such a non-issue to you all-accepting Democrats, why are there 47 posts so far on this thread????
Great analogy, Diane. You haven’t lost your touch. Unfortunately, you’re casting your poils…
Unfortuantely Diane you still look as ignorant as always. I love you I really do, but that is not what the issue is. The people who did that dispicable act on Jim Vokal who ever they are are respected by you guys. I would denounce em you respect them which makes you just as bad as them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/opinion/15rich.html?hp
It interesting that you have nothing intelligent to say but that we are “ignorant” and you dont back that statement up with any facts or stats, or nonetheless anyting educated. Claiming that we all “respect” the people who did the mailing is “ignorant” in of itself. Dont put words in our mouths and state non-sensical blabber, because it is really making you look like an idiot.
Its the NY times your version of Fox news.
Mike you obviously havent been reading my posts. So you are the idiot. Again quit running your mouth when you dont even read my posts. Keep your mouth shut untill you read it.
Joe, you need to stop the name calling. I have been reading your posts and I must conclude that you like taking cheap shots (i.e. Anne Boyle). Moreover, when Anne Boyle gave a thoughtful response to a post, you shot here down.
Again quit running my mouth? If i recall this is probably the first time I have “ran my mouth” at you, so shut the fuck up and and don’t fuckin come on to our blog to waste our time. You are a sorry excuse for a republican and an even sorrier excuse for a person. I have more respect for the entire Bush administration than I do for you, which as you can probably deduce, is none at all. If you go on like you are, we can go ahead and just delete your posts. It wouldnt be censorship because you really arent even making any points in your posts, all your doing is spewing out shit. I know this because I HAVE read through your posts, and all they are is trash talk, and stupid blabber that doesnt make any sense whatsoever. Seriously, look at EVERY post you made on this whole thread, not one of them has an ounce of truth in it. All you do is claim that the democrats threw those fliers in his yard, and that it is somehow OUR fault that it happened. Well you know what, thats about as reasonable as me saying that I blame you for September 11th, it just doesnt make any sense. Just because someone who didn’t like Vokal threw those fliers in his yard, doesnt mean that it was us. PERIOD. Stop dragging it on and making youself look even more like a moron. And, from the trend of your posts, I suppose your reply to this will be something like….”you ignorant democrat, stop rambling..bblahh,blahhh….” well you know what, I dont give a fuck if you think you are smarter than us, and i dont care that you may or may not have a “3.8 GPA” or supposed “friends”. If you think that you are better than us you wouldnt post so many uneducated statements on the blog.
you obviously have not been reading my posts Mike. If you have you wouldnt of just made a fool of yourself writing what you just wrote above. I’m sorry that you feel so much hatred towards me and my views. What you have just done tonight is you have just crossed the line. See I don’t hate you bc of you views or your beliefs. But what I do dislike is your malicious attacks on republican politicians. And if you can’t handle the heat when I question those attacks. Then I am sorry but you need to find something else that interests you. Because you have shown that your maturity level is obviously not up to par with most of us on this blog. We don’t go around using F words when we get upset or find dissagreement in something. And you do and that is sad and misrepresentive of the College Dems. You owe me an apology and I will graciously except it bc I know that you probably wrote that irrationally bc you can’t stand to hear different points of view on your blog. I hope you understand in the mean time that in order to be effective in an arguement you have to not be so impulsive or explosive in your language and you have to be a grown up and talk like one so one will listen to you and take you seriously. I look forward to our continuing debates and I hope you will learn from the errors of your ways. Bye. JOE
Can I make a suggestion? Since Joe’s acting like a petulant child I think the best response to him might be to completely ignore his posts. At least that’s what I plan to do. I won’t even be reading them from now on. He seems to feed off responses.
Diane,
I completely agree with you. On the DNC”S Blog people like Joe are called Trolls and We have a saying for them.
DONT FEED THE TROLLS!!!!
People even goe so far as to pledge money to the DNC evertime a troll invades the blog. Maybe College Dems could do the same.
Set up a pay pal account and people could give small amounts or big whichever you can afford.
If you go to most right leaning blogs and attempt to post check back and a few minutes or hours your post won’t even make the blog. I know we are supposed to be better than that but when a poster resorts to personal attacks when, they are not capapble of fruitful and healthy debate I say tell the guy to go.
So please people let’s just ignore him. I have been gulity of being sucked into his non conversations and it is ridiculous he doesn’t completely read our post and he talks our words out of context their is no reasoning with him so let’s not.
We have better things to worry about like the threat to the fillibuster. Is anyone up for a mock fillibuster?
You are going to lose that debate to Robin. And by the way you were the one saying Condy Rice is a sell out for her beliefs. So don’t play victim with me you are just as malicious as anyone on the right. And to me that would be a personal attack. Oh but I forgot you guys have a double standard so it is ok for you to do whatever you want. C’mon what a joke.
Good idea Robin, but let me just say this one last thing first. Joe reminds me of the guy who stands around on campus with those weird signs, and reads from the bible. You know who i am talking about? the one who rides his bike, and holds up the signs like “homosexuality is a sin” and “condoms don’t prevent std’s” Anyways it probably isnt him because i doubt that man has a computer. But it is still a funny to see how similar they act.
That shows how truly ignorant you are Catherine. I am not like that at all. But it’s too bad you prejudge someone you don’t even know just like Jim Vokal.
First let me say sorry I couldn’t make it to the filibuster thing, Robin.
Second, I’d like to thank Anne Boyle for coming onto the blog and posting a very thoughtful response to posts that were not really worth responding to at all.
I’m sorry you didn’t win, Anne. You know I was rooting for ‘ya!
Anyway, you had the facts on your side.
Thats all I have to say about the election. I will (and I hope everyone else will too) move on to more important things.
PS-Condoleeza Rice IS a liar.
No she isnt. You are.
Abbey,
You still have time to make the fillibuster event is does not end until 12:00 p.m. and it is at the federal courthouse.
I would also like to thank Anne for running and for your recent post to this blog and for your letter to the editor in OMW yesterday.
You ran a campaign based on facts and integrity in the end apathy won the election for Vokal that a very good smear campaign.
Please know that should you ever decided to run again we will support you all the way.
Hey, I wanna post this somewhere and this thread seems to get the most traffic. Pay attention Joe, I have some important information.
Newflash: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON’T LIKE REPUBLICANS
According to a NEW Pew Poll:
Bush Approval Rating is 43%.
Republicans in Congress have a 35% approval rating.
while
Democrats in congress have a 39% approval rating.
Source: http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=243
also, Since 2000, the American people have voted 51%-49% in favor of the democrats.
100,494,879 total votes for senate democrats
97,276,977 total votes for senate republicans
Here is the source http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/4/27/151925/081#comment_top
So my question is to all the republicans that like to do name calling…….
WHY DO THE AMERICANS PEOPLE HATE REPUBLICANS?
you cant refute cold, hard facts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
four words: HOUSE, SENATE, WHITEHOUSE, GOVERNORSHIPS. Its not bc the american people hate republicans, it’s because the American people hate liberals and there out of the mainstream radical ways.
If you want to know why people are voting republican even against their economic moral and political interest read ‘What’s the matter with Kansas”by Thomas Frank.
The GOp has done an excellent job with Framing the message (I hate to admitt) It’s their follow through that sucks unless you happen to be among the country’s wealthiest but people are starting to see everyday that they have been Bushwacked and they are mad as hell.
Im sick of being so right. It’s hard being right all the time. So I think im done here and im going to move on to another liberal blog and destroy them now that my job is done here. You guys have been great to debate. Goodluck in life. Joe
Also, the Bush recieved 500,000 less votes than Al Gore in the 2000 presidental election. Most people do not realize that we have a court appointed president. Moreover, in 2004, if it were not for Tom Delay’s illegal texas redistricting scheme, the democrats would have gained 3 seats in the House of Representive.
An aside Joe, president Bush did not win the 2004 election. The 2000 election, 2002 midterm elections, and the 2004 elections were stolen.
btw, we shall now refer to George W. Bush as “the Bush”.
Last time I checked there’s only one public poll that counts and it took place last November 2nd. “The Bush” was so wildly unpopular, he gained 12 million votes since the previous election. “The Bush” also earned a higher percentage of the total vote the Clinton ever had, as well as almost 15 million more votes than Clinton ever got. To boot, the Republicans gained 4 seats in both the House and Senate, and retained there lead in governors.
But fortunately they will hold an election in 2006, and probably another one in 2008. If you really want it…. It’s yours to take
Fact check Chris……. the Republicans netted 3 house seats in the 2004 cycle. Also, while it is true that Bush had a higher percentage of the popular vote than Clinton in either 1996 or 1992, one must also recongnize that Ross Perot ran as a successful 3rd party canidate in those elections. Moreover, in 1992, Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush by a margin of 43.3% to 37.7%. Thus a 6 point victory. In 1996, Clinton defeated Bob Dole by a margin of 49% to 41%. Another landslide. However, in 2000, George W. Bush lost the popular vote and had to be appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court with a 5-4 decision. In 2004, George Bush won by 2.5% (50.8-48.3). Also, George W. Bush currently has 45% approval rating. In May 1997, Bill Clinton had over a 60% approval rating.
Concerning the Senate, Republican canidates actually recieved fewer total votes than Democratic canidates in 2004(by more than 2 million votes).
In conclusion, the facts as displayed by Chris are really disingenuous. The fact is that Clinton was a far more popular president than Bush II and his electoral victories were more decisive.
Don’t forget that there were less people voting at the time Clinton won. It is true Bush got more votes than anyone ever, but its also true that Kerry has gotten the second most votes ever. You have to use percentages because actual numbers are deceiving.
I have to agree with the centiment that people who vote republican (particulary in the South) vote against their best interests. The republicans play the “Bible Card.” Most republicans would rather live in a nation with a bad economy which is something that will effect them directly, then to live in a country that allows two people of the same sex who love eachother get married, which does not directly or in any way affect them. It’s time democrats start talking about our values such as healthcare, education, minimum wage, strong foreign policy (including alliances), and most importantly, the fact that we believe that you can hold yourslef up to whatever moral standard you want as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others.
Man…Annie Boyle should run spell check before she submits her post.
I like how she said:
“For the record: I had nothing to do with the pink mailing suggesting Jim Vokal is a homosexual.”
BOOM! That’s it…on to the next topic…enough said, stop looking at me, I’m innocent, leave me alone, Jim did it…
I mean come on Anne—if YOU didn’t, someone really close to you did…we all know how politics works…Franklin Credit Union scandal…
Drop it.
Brian,
Even if Anne did it, which no one knows for sure, it’s not like she’s the first to make this assumption, what I want to know is why does his orientation matter as long as he gets the job done, which I don’t think he will the way Anne would have.
So you’re saying she MIGHT have done it…we’re getting closer…great!
Luogo interessante, buon disegno, lo gradisco, signore! =)
E grande io ha trovato il vostro luogo! Le info importanti ottenute! ))