Ad Draws Big Notice To Little Newspaper (Ad Threatening Donald Rumsfeld)

TBO.Com News ^ | April 14, 2004 | WILLIAM MARCH

[PJ-Comix]

GULFPORT - It's not often that The Gabber, a free, weekly, 13,000-circulation paper big on boccie tournaments and city council dispatches, makes national news. When it published Tuesday, however, the shock waves reverberated nationwide.

The Gabber carried an advertisement from the St. Petersburg Democratic Club, a small group of local Democrats, suggesting Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld be killed.

By noon it was on the Drudge Report. ``Campaign Rage: Florida Democrats Place Newspaper Ad Calling For Rumsfeld Hit,'' the Drudge Web site screamed in what newspaper editors call ``Second Coming type.''

By 1:20 p.m., The Gabber had 120 calls from reporters, ``everybody from CNN to The New York Times,'' Publisher Ken Reichart said ruefully.

The Florida Republican Party issued an outraged response, and the Defense Department was ``very familiar with it,'' a Pentagon spokesman said.

``We don't discuss security arrangements for the secretary,'' said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, when asked whether the matter was taken seriously or might be investigated.

The ad was a strenuous denunciation of President Bush over the war in Iraq.

``Bush doesn't even know who in the hell we're fighting,'' it states. ``How many more have to be killed before the Bush Bunch is satisfied?

``And then there's Rumsfeld, who said of Iraq, `We have our good days and our bad days.' We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say, `This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger.''

The ad sought contributions to the campaign of presidential challenger John Kerry, offering phone numbers for club President Ken Steinke and Vice President Edna McCall.

There may have been more response than expected. Neither number was being answered Tuesday afternoon.

Kevin Jensen, the Pinellas County Democratic Party chairman, said he was trying to reach Steinke or McCall to find out who wrote and placed the ad.

``We don't stand by this type of mischief. It's a bad thing,'' Jensen said.

McCall, 88, is a member of the Democratic Executive Committee, the county's official party organization, Jensen said, but Steinke, 75, was removed from the committee two or three years ago.

Their club is a group of about 40 Democrats with a charter from the party as a social organization, Jensen said.

He predicted the party would retract the club charter.

``We realize the seriousness of this,'' he said. ``A person can have their own opinion but not attach it to the club.''

State Republican Party Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan said the ad was ``a direct reflection'' of criticism of Bush by Democratic leaders, including Kerry. ``Despicable,'' Jordan declared in a statement headlined: ``The Democrats Have Finally Gone Too Far.''

State Democratic Chairman Scott Maddox issued a statement calling the ad ``reprehensible and in poor taste,'' saying it was the work of a ``misguided individual.''

Reichart said he regretted publishing the ad.

``It was about halfway between accidental and bad judgment,'' he said, meaning he read the ad but didn't think carefully enough about impact before publishing it.

``Tonight I'm going to take a deep breath and figure out how to handle this,'' he said when asked whether he intended to print a retraction or other statement. ``We're going to have to do something.''

[PJ-Comix]

The editor of this newspaper sounds like he changed his tune. Didn't he act yesterday like the ad was cool with him?

[Mr. Mojo]

Time for Homeland "Security" to step up to the plate. .......and toss these crimminals into the pokey.

[Phantom Lord]

The editor has changed his tune. He didn't act like the ad was "cool". His claim was that the ad "slipped through" the editing process and no one noticed the call for assasination.

In USA Today he is claiming that they saw it and just chalked it up as a figure of speech.

In this article he has another story, ``It was about halfway between accidental and bad judgment,'' he said, meaning he read the ad but didn't think carefully enough about impact before publishing it.

I wonder what version 4.0 is going to be.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Can you find the original statement to that effect? Do you know where you heard it or read it? (probably on FR, yeah I know.... ;-)

[Sunshine Sister]

It's high damn time that these people be called on the carpet for this kind of behavior. They have gotten away with it for way to long.

[Conspiracy Guy]

The Compassion of the Democrats.

[smiley]

That's the big question....why aren't these people being held accountable on a Federal offense???

[HELLRAISER II]

I agree, it amazes me how often John F'ing Kerry & his DemonRats have to condemn their own parties ads and beliefs. Well on the other hand it doesn't suprise me a bit afterall the majority of the DemonRat party is made up of Liberal pukes, queers and Left wing zealots who burn up SUV's simply for the fact that their SUV's.

[Iron Matron]

``We realize the seriousness of this,'' he said. ``A person can have their own opinion but not attach it to the club.''

---

It is impossible to detach this sort of heinous outlook from the democrat party. Democrats are not democrats without the inante hatred seen in them all.

[GOPJ]

Democrat filth being hateful and giving comfort to the enemy. Same old, same old.

-------------------------

Democrats being hateful, giving comfort to the enemy, and it being reported as an outrage? Something new.

[GOPJ]

ping

[Budge]

I first heard of this on Rush yesterday, then followed the threads here. I also read the Republican response on the large thread. Saw Britt Hume mention it of FOX.

Now I see this thread.

Since I refuse to watch CBS, ABS, NBS, MSNBS, CNBS, and the rest of the BS media (as Rush rightly calls them), has any of the BS media pick up on the Gabber ad OR the Republican response?

[MrB]

he read the ad but didn't think carefully enough about impact before publishing it.

Translated:
"It really reflects what we think, but we couldn't handle the backlash."

[Red Barr]

Would you believe if the republican party made the statement about pulling the trigger on a democratic candidate, the republican party would be investigated by the FBI. But the democrats can almost get away with murder:

NOTE!! This is the threat on Donald Rumsfeld:

GULFPORT, FL (Talon News) -- In a fundraising ad for likely Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry published last week, a local Democratic Party group called on people to "pull the trigger" on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger”

[Red Barr]

Would you believe if the republican party made the statement about pulling the trigger on a democratic candidate, the republican party would be investigated by the FBI. But the democrats can almost get away with murder:

NOTE!! This is the threat on Donald Rumsfeld:

GULFPORT, FL (Talon News) -- In a fund raising ad for likely Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry published last week, a local Democratic Party group called on people to "pull the trigger" on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger”

[Red Barr]

Would you believe if the republican party made the statement about pulling the trigger on a democratic candidate, the republican party would be investigated by the FBI. But the democrats can almost get away with murder:

NOTE!! This is the threat on Donald Rumsfeld:

GULFPORT, FL (Talon News) -- In a fund raising ad for likely Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry published last week, a local Democratic Party group called on people to "pull the trigger" on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger”

[Red Barr]

Would you believe if the republican party made the statement about pulling the trigger on a democratic candidate, the republican party would be investigated by the FBI. But the democrats can almost get away with murder:

NOTE!! This is the threat on Donald Rumsfeld:

GULFPORT, FL (Talon News) -- In a fund raising ad for likely Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry published last week, a local Democratic Party group called on people to "pull the trigger" on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger”

[Red Barr]

Would you believe if the republican party made the statement about pulling the trigger on a democratic candidate, the republican party would be investigated by the FBI. But the democrats can almost get away with murder:

NOTE!! This is the threat on Donald Rumsfeld:

GULFPORT, FL (Talon News) -- In a fund raising ad for likely Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry published last week, a local Democratic Party group called on people to "pull the trigger" on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
"We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger”

[johniegrad]

Come again?

[Brytani]

Could you repeat that, think I missed it the 4th time it was posted... : - )

[cousair]

Free speech is a freedom hallmark, but this is carrying it a little too far. Lets hope the editor of this hit piece newspaper goes out of business for lots of reasons.

[7.62 x 51mm]

You got the hiccups, RB?