Posted on 06/03/2006 6:35:43 AM PDT by Vision
If an election can turn on a sentence, this could be the one: You don't need papers for voting.
On Thursday night, Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District, was speaking before a largely Latino crowd in Escondido when she uttered those words. She said yesterday she simply misspoke.
But someone taped it and a recording began circulating yesterday. After she made that statement at the meeting, Busby immediately said: You don't need to be a registered voter to help (the campaign). She said that subsequent statement was to clarify what she meant.
The recording, which was played yesterday on Roger Hedgecock's radio talk show, jolted the campaign.
Busby, a Cardiff school board member, is in a tight race with Republican Brian Bilbray, a congressman-turned-lobbyist, who has based his campaign on a tough anti-illegal-immigration stance. Busby has focused her campaign on ethics reform. The two are vying to replace Randy Duke Cunningham, who was jailed after pleading guilty to taking bribes.
Busby said she was invited to the forum at the Jocelyn Senior Center in Escondido by the leader of a local soccer league. Many of the 50 or so people there were Spanish speakers. Toward the end, a man in the audience asked in Spanish: I want to help, but I don't have papers.
It was translated and Busby replied: Everybody can help, yeah, absolutely, you can all help. You don't need papers for voting, you don't need to be a registered voter to help.
Bilbray said at worst, Busby was encouraging someone to vote illegally. At best, she was encouraging someone who is illegally in the country to work on her campaign.
She's soliciting illegal aliens to campaign for her and it's on tape this isn't exactly what you call the pinnacle of ethical campaign strategy, Bilbray said. I don't know how she shows her face.
The two later met in a debate in Carlsbad last night.
Earlier, San Diego Minutemen volunteer Anthony Porrello said he got the tape from an an anonymous Minuteman and passed it on to the news media and talk radio. News of the gathering had circulated among local Minutemen before the meeting, according to William Griffith, the independent candidate in the race who has been endorsed by the San Diego Minutemen.
He attended, but did not hear the statement. He said he was in the back of the room.
I heard what I expected to hear from a Democrat who supports amnesty, he said. Busby says she doesn't support amnesty, but backs the comprehensive plan pushed by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that includes opening a path to citizenship for people in the United States illegally if they pay penalties and abide by certain conditions.
Busby said that Republicans are now twisting her words. She does not in any way support or advocate that illegal immigrants vote, she said.
I was clarifying the question that was being asked in Spanish and then stated that you do not have to be a registered voter to help the campaign because there were many people who appeared to be to be under 18 in the group who wanted to volunteer, she said in a statement. I'm not surprised that the Republican Party is making this last-minute, desperate ploy and it is absolutely false.
Stick a fork in 'er, she's done!
The democrat party needs to be banned, pure and simple. Just as the Nazi party is banned in Germany.
What good would that do? Those who dream of controlling other people would simply gravitate toward a new party - they aren't going to slink away under a rock, never to be heard from again.
Best we keep the Democratic Party just as it is - it's helpful to have the enemies of America all collected in one, easy-to-find spot. ;)
She didn't misspeak. She said what she believed. Happily, there was someone in the audience that cared enough about this state to record her. Now she's lying to cover up her true beliefs. Dems-such phonies!
Yeah, the news writer (editorialist) could have just as easily written it "You don't need to be a registered voter to help (by voting for me)"
If it were a Republican speaking the editorialized quote would have read more like "You don't need to be a registered voter to help (starve, maim, and kill women, children, and minorities)"
Hedgecock also reported that another Repub. candidate, Griffith, has a phone campaign going on urging voters to vote for him, but HE denies paying for it. Busby is paying for it, to dilute Bilbray votes.
I heard it on the radio. VOTE GRIFFITH .... paid for by Francine Busby....
She's a slime-ball
How could that be?
As I understand it, isn't Griffith's name not even on the runoff ballot?
If Bilbray was looking for a last minute gift to put him over the top Busby just handed him one. It should be his election to lose now.
Yeah but do republicans have the sense to use this in an ad? These days there is no way to know.
Daily Kos Thread: CA-50: Volunteers update (LOL - The Busby Thread Goes from Happy to Horror after recording plays)
June 2, 2006
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/2/15477/97583
...
Has anyone heard this clip? (0 / 0)
Francine, recorded saying:
"You don't need papers for voting. You don't need to be a registered voter to help."
Spanish speaking audience.
What could she have meant?
Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change. - Tennyson
by bumblebums on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 05:07:21 PM PDT
Arnold hurt Bilbray big time with the schedule (0 / 0)
Arnold did the gop no favors to schedule the election the same day as a heavily contested dem primary race.
Busby is going to be greatly helped by having the dem turnout for the governor's race give her support. That helps negate the difference in registration for gop and dems.
I like Busby to win but it would have been a different matter if Arnold had scheduled last month with no dem primary on the same day.
It will be fun to watch the california gop go after arnold.
by ryanm79 on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 05:38:43 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
sorta not really (0 / 0)
all signs show a low voter turnout for this primary actually. infact this congressional race is getting much more attention.
i think busby will win but that slip up on thursday might bring the republicans out unfortunatly.
by EcklerLA on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 07:52:06 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
It's gonna be even more fun (0 / 0)
when people in this thread look at your comment history.
And I'd have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids.(-8.50\-7.13)
by kestrel9000 on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 11:17:31 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
She meant what she said (0 / 0)
They were asking if they could still volunteer if they weren't registered voters, and she said no, you don't need voting papers to volunteer, you don't need to be a registered voter to help.
How hard was that? Sheesh.
by neil on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 05:44:06 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
Yeah (1+ / 0-)
Recommended by:bree
Found it on RedState, where they're putting it through prisms.
One of those occasions when you'd like to delete a comment. I have to stop checking on wingnuttia. I lose brain cells over there.
Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change. - Tennyson
by bumblebums on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 05:59:25 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
Too many volunteers vs. 100 extra volunteers? (1+ / 0-)
Recommended by:bree
The only part of this story that bothers me is that, just because the Democrats are turning volunteers away while the Republicans are flying them in, doesn't mean the Democrats have more than the Republicans. In fact, I end up finding it unlikely that they do. Anyone know?
by neil on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 05:45:21 PM PDT
Then put the extra volunteers on door-to-door (0 / 0)
because that has re-inforcing value. Let's not waste the positive energy.
--Slan
by jfdunphy on Fri Jun 02, 2006 at 06:54:30 PM PDT
really desperate (0 / 0)
i heard the gop is using some sound clip saying busby is telling illegals they can vote.i believe she said something about illegals being able to help her campaign and of course the right wing is twisting everything, anyone know anything about this?i saw a post on redstate about this.
by JOEL1954 on Sat Jun 03, 2006 at 04:12:26 AM PDT
Permalink | 61 comments
The best thing Bilbray did was to tell McCain to stay away. I think running ads on that would be as effective since the media will probably keep hammering Busby on this.
Bilbray will win, I think he probably would have even before this incident except now it'll be by a wider margin.
She said yesterday she simply misspoke
Riiiiight.
Yes, Mark talked about that too .. and I actually heard the ad - WOW! These people really are slimeballs.
Exposing that ad and her statement about "no paperwork is needed to vote" is going to cause her to lose even bigger than I thought.
The best think Bilbray did was tell McCain to take a hike.
I vote by mail and only saw two candidates.
Are they going to vote FOR anybody? We just got back from 3 weeks vacation and had 10 phone messages telling us how bad Busby was. The only one that said anything positive about Bilbray was a recording from Sen McCain.
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