Republicans out Democrat in 'World of Warcraft' witch hunt

NBC News ^ | October 4, 2012 | Winda Benedetti

[presidio9]

Colleen Lachowicz is a Democratic candidate running for State Senate in Maine. She's also a level 85 orc in the massively popular online game "World of Warcraft." And for that, the Republican party says she is unfit for office.

Maine's GOP has accused Lachowicz of living a "bizarre double life" and set up a website meant to out her participation in the popular online game -- a game that currently boasts some 10 million players around the world.

Not only does the website show off a picture of the orc character she plays -- named Santiaga -- it also displays comments that have been dug up from online forums in which Lachowicz talks about her love of the (sometimes violent) game as well as her thoughts on various political topics.

Among the comments the website attributes to her:

"So I'm a level 68 orc rogue girl. I stab things . . . a lot. Who would have thought that a peace-lovin', social worker and democrat would enjoy that?!"

"I can kill stuff without going to jail. There are some days when this is more necessary than others."

"I'm so jealous! I wish I wasn't at work. I'd much rather be gaming with my guildies!"

Lachowicz also appears to refer to members of the Tea Party as, well, teabaggers.

"In Colleen’s online fantasy world, she gets away with crude, vicious and violent comments like the ones below," reads the website. "Maine needs a State Senator that lives in the real world, not in Colleen’s fantasy world."

Meanwhile, Maine's Republican Party has also sent out a press release titled: "Democratic Senate Candidate Colleen Lachowicz's Disturbing Alter-Ego Revealed" which accuses her of living a "time-consuming double life." The party has also sent out post cards that,

[presidio9]

No, but they were instrumental in creating the type of imaginative worlds that these games are based in.

You do understand that this was completely incidental to their intentions, right? Particularly so for Lewis.

[altsehastiin]

This is unspeakably dumb.

Altsehastiin - 90 Undead lok Dark Iron

[altsehastiin]

This is unspeakably dumb.

Altsehastiin - 90 Undead lok Dark Iron

[katana]

Yep, she’s a Democrat.

[Nowhere Man]

World of Warcraft? Bah!!! I’d like to see her try “World of Tanks” instead. I do like the Diablo series though, I like “World of Tanks,” “Anarchy Online” and “Continuum” too.

[GunRunner]

I think the issue is just a time concern.

I love games as much as the next guy, and used to spend many useless hours on MP shooters, console, PC games, etc. when I was in college and was single. But with a family and work, I find enough time to barely get through 3 or 4 games a year; single player campaigns mostly that take 8-10 hours tops, maybe a tiny bit of MP. Games like COD and Spec Ops: The Line (which was incredible by the way).

But games like EVE, WoW, and other MMOs and RPG type games take a massive, huge investment of time. I don't see how anyone with demanding jobs, family, children, a spouse, not to mention the demands of elected office, could possibly find time to sink 200+ hours into a video game. I remember I put about 20 hours into Red Dead Redemption two years ago, but that was recovering from a brutal tonsillectomy and adenoids removal. I truly envy someone with hours of spare time in a day to play video games, but I probably wouldn't vote for them to hold elected office.

[SampleMan]

My God, who would pick such an ugly character to play in a game?? I wonder what she looks like in real life.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

It’s just a game, and the very best one at that.

It is just a game, and yeah - probably still the best of it's type out there. But it's not nearly as good as it was back in Burning Crusade. They made an already easy game too easy to be interesting anymore.

[dalebert]

I play that game with my grandson..I have 8 85’s because they have dumbed down that game so much...lots play it so i would use that a means to attack anyone..although a friend of mine said her son played so much he lost his job..but what the heck , he voted for Obama. Most are ant obama

[Nowhere Man]

Yeah, maybe I did pick on Warcraft a little too much, but still I like online gaming from time to time, right now, I’m trying to get me a Sherman tank in World of Tanks.

[dalebert]

true

[katana]

This character seems a bit closer to her human likeness. And oh look! There's Nancy Pelosi in the background.

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[jocon307]

Yeah, agreed.

I’m sure there are some GOOD reasons this woman shouldn’t win the race. And if this is what they’ve got World of Warcraft, maybe the GOP needs to concede this one.

And I am NOT a gamer, unless spider solitaire counts.

One of our people who were murdered in Benghazi was a big shot in the gaming world, but I’m unclear about which person it was.

[Strategerist]

That would need to be backed up with specific evidence that she’d missed a lot of votes, etc.

Keep in mind a lot of State Legislatures aren’t in session that long.

There are people that spend enormous amounts of time in church activities - should they be attacked for that?

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Not so. Lewis and Tolkien both believed that as God created them in his own image, that the idea of creation was a integral part of mankind. They loved the idea of creation. Tolkien with language, Middle-earth was a spin-off of that. Lewis with the idea of stories and creative action.

What are these worlds that gamers play in other than stories that set the background for further creation? Those world-builders enable their creations to spur other people into creating. Tolkien and Lewis, while probably not sitting behind the keyboard themselves, would have been enchanted with the ideas of these games.

Creating is part of the image God that was imbued into humanity.

[Kieri]

I play solo as a Demon Hunter in Diablo 3...and will be 47 tomorrow. My gaming credentials? Zork. The original.

And it irritates me to death when the GOP fogies try to haul gamers into the swamp. There aren’t many good drops there.

[Pontiac]

I don't see how anyone with demanding jobs, family, children, a spouse, not to mention the demands of elected office, could possibly find time to sink 200+ hours into a video game.

I will echo your concerns as stated above and add that most Members of congress who plan to seek reelection will say that they spend about 4 hours a day making calls seeking campaign contributions.

So how can a member of congress full fill their duties as a member of congress, make calls for cash and still have time to play WoW?

[GunRunner]

I'm having a hard time seeing the parallel between restoring 64 Impalas and playing a video game. Restoring cars is a rare skill compared to video games, and creates an enormous amount of value both in the finished product and the skills learned to do such a thing.

If my son decides that he wants to spend his teenage years restoring old cars, I'll be thrilled. Not so much if he wants to sit in the dark drinking Diet Pepsi and playing WoW all day.

[jsanders2001]

If you visit www.colleensworld.com you will see a conglomeration of her posts that reveals her hatred of conservative and her true personality which appears to be hateful, arrogant, and of little or no integrity not to mention the fact that she is knowingly posting at work while serving in office. She is but a microcosm of the liberal politicians in office. It definitely indicates she is not the type of person you want serving in public office.