Dear Dr. Bob,
We’re not sure what, if anything, we should do with this. Without looking around very much, we’ve found that our opponent has two different addresses: the one shown in his voter registration and financial disclosures, as well as another address where he really lives.
It seems like this isn’t Kosher. Can we whack him for this or will it just make us look bad?
Got the Goods
Dear Goods,
Fascinating…and well worth exploring for a few reasons. First, if your opponent has falsified a filing document you can launch (and make public) a complaint aimed at getting him off the ballot or whatever the penalty is within your jurisdiction.
On the other hand, if you’re just plain wrong you’ll most likely wind up needing to offer an apology — and in political campaigns never having to “say you’re sorry” is a time-tested mantra. (As well as the money line from the film “The Way We Were”.)
The best way of dealing with this might be to make sure a reporter has the information and let her look into it. If there’s a there there she’ll bounce on the opponent, you’ll then get a story that you can react to by alerting the authorities. If not, no harm – no foul…as long as you don’t give the reporter bad info regularly.
One last admonition: Before you go tossing bombs around, make sure you’re house is in order. Political warfare goes both ways…
