Hit Piece Attacking Hudson Valley Republicans Done For Nan Hayworth: New York's 19th Congressional Gets Dirty

No one will take responsibility for the following missive attacking most of the Republican field in New York's 19th Congressional District.

It conveniently discredits every Republican but Nan Hayworth.

The hit piece was released on AppalledAtHall.com, an anonymous website that goes after incumbent Democrat John Hall.

Now this messenger is going after every other Republican vying to challenge Hall, except Nan Hayworth.

Mr. Appalled claims to have no horse in the race.  The anonymous one claims no association with a candidate.  News Copy has already caught the ire of this creep, so we saw this coming ... to some extent.

As a political analyst and consultant who has been writing columns on campaigns for nearly 25 years, including working on Republican campaigns for over 40 years, I make it a habit to openly disclose my line of work.  I use my real name on blogs.  If I like a candidate, I say so.  I have no horse in this race (not yet) but I'm entitled to my informed opinion -- as is Mr. Anonymous.

Now the argument will be put forth that this hit piece for Nan Hayworth was not authorized by Nan Hayworth.  That's bunk.  Ms. Hayworth can distance herself from the attack by http://www.appalledathall.com.  She can condemn its bias.  We're waiting.  Her handlers and everyone close to her know what has transpired here.

Turning a blog designed to go after a liberal Democrat into a tool to undermine Republicans in a primary is counter-productive for the GOP.

Is it any wonder why people shy away from running for public office --
when the attacks start before a person enters a race?

Hiding any connection to a campaign or political party operation doesn't help Hayworth.  It doesn't help the Republican Party either.

 

Is it any wonder why people shy away from running for public office -- when the attacks start before a person enters a race?

 

What bothers me more about this cruel blogging is that it reminds of the primaries for this congressional seat in 1994 and 1996.  Back then, it was Sue Kelly's political damage masters digging up dirt on each of her opponents.  Almost every candidate in those two election cycles walked away with wounds.  The extent of the treachery stretched down within the Beltway, with Speaker Newt Gingrich literally hiring private investigators to damage House members.

 

I have dug my own dirt on opponents.  I know this sword well.  However, four candidates so obsessively torn apart with such dishonest "spin" was not the work of an amateur.  This was done by a professional campaign consultant.   This was crafted by a hired political gun.  This sort of expensive backstabbing is getting tiresome.

 

Also, and more important, there is well-researched and documented opposition research and rhetorical barbs that border on Clintonesque double-speak.  This website went for the jugulars of four new candidates without any consideration for balance or detail.  It was -- plain and simple -- a hit piece.

 

The Republican Party in the Hudson Valley, New York and nationally deserves better.

Comments

[Reagan Republican]

This is the kind of mudslinging that cost Republicans the 20th and 23rd congressional districts last year.

Hayworth should be ashamed of herself for allowing a supporter to do her dirty work.

[Dirty Campaigning]

There's no proof Hayworth paid anyone to discredit the other Republicans in the race. There's no proof Hayworth condones anyone attacking Republicans. There's no proof Nan Hayworth has a clue this even happened!

I just hope she condemns it AND QUICKLY. It doesn't make anyone in the GOP look good.

This is a pretty cheap trick. Could McFadden have done it?

[Robert Hornak]

Bob, I too blog under my own name. And I have no horse in this race, except the desire to see the Republican party do two things: 1. win congressional seats back in NY; and 2. expand our base to include pro-liberty believers of every social stripe.

The way Nan has been viciously attacked in the race should give anyone pause before taking a shot at her for fighting back. Of course, nobody knows who appalled at hall is, but it is not someone from the campaign. Appalled at hall has been around longer than Nan has been in the race.

Let's be even handed here. You jump on the bandwagon (when not driving it) when Nan is attacked, but lament when it happens to the others in the race? I know you have an agenda that doesn't include winning the 19th at any cost for the Republican party. But let's just be fair, ok?

[The Editor]

There's nothing fair about Appalled's attack piece.

One of the candidates just lost his father and has not entered the race yet. Another has not formally declared an exploratory, let alone announced, and Mr. Anonymous is already discrediting them.

I'm a Conservative leader, Robert, and a Republican political consultant who people rely on for forthright commentary. I'm a political analyst and columnist who doesn't shy away from critical observations on strategy. I neither make believe to be a reporter nor I cozy up to the mainstream news outlets.

Anonymous blogging is unprofessional and will likely have no place in campaigns within a few years. It will be ILLEGAL, I would bet, and it is already frowned upon.

Nan has not been viciously attacked, my friend. She's been given more than amount time to adjust to constructive criticism and explain some serious questions. But if AppalledAtHall is a cheap trick by her handlers, as I suspect, then she has a LOT of explaining to do.

You know better than to defend this nonsense. Nan Hayworth has to condemn what was done to her fellow Republicans. She has to separate herself from the dirty campaigning and the person responsible for the hit piece should apologize.

AppalledAtHall.com viciously attacked a Westchester Republican from Yorktown who works as a professor at Catholic University, a Southeast businessman in Putnam who is very close to the religious pro-life community, two Orange County Republicans (one who isn't even declared yet) and took cheap shots at them with no regard to the consequences.

So Hayworth's advocate has managed to insult three counties, the Conservative and pro-life community, along with Catholics in the 19th Congressional District and at least two candidates with respected ties to defense policy experts in our nation's capitol.

That's not real smart.

Sounds to me like someone supporting Nan Hayworth wants to take everyone else down -- at the Republican Party's expense -- and kill a few messengers while they're at it.

[GOP Voter]

It looks like a cigar. It smells like a cigar. It tastes like a cigar. It's a cigar.

What's ironic is that Hayworth's resume sounds like a politician. The rest sound like real people.

I'm either voting for none of the above this year or the most boring candidate. I ain't smoking THAT cigar!

[Revolution]

What Fois and others of his ilk seem to conveniently disregard is that at the heart of the Republican resurgence we've seen recently has been the moderate wing of the Party. Socially moderate, fiscally conservative Republicans.

Scott Brown. pro-choice.
Bob Castelli. pro-choice.
Ed Mangano. pro-choice.
Chris Christie. pro-choice.

[Undecided Voter in NY-19]

This has David McFadden, his high priced Washington D.C. Campaign Consultants (New Media Strategies), and NewsCopyNewYork written all over it.

It was GREAT to SEE YOU (BOB FOIS) @ MCFADDEN's CAMPAIGN LAUNCH. Wait are you a supporter of the campaign, or were you there reporting on the event? I would be interested to hear your answer.

While anonymous blogging is unprofessional, so is creating a false reality for readers or flat out lying to them. I frown upon how you turn a blind eye when its a politician you support for office.

"Your all or nothing approach is destructive and not welcome in GOP circles.
When this sneaky crap was pulled in 1994 and 1996 throughout the nation by political hired guns, it wasn't welcome either.
Whoever you are, this is an old story."

Being the child that you are, you will continue to write false statements about the Hayworth Campaign and her stance on abortion.

Are we going to criticize McFadden for his father being an OB/GYN at St. Luke's Hospital in Newburgh. He must of performed plenty of abortions over the years. With your fuzzy math, you should come to the conclusion that McFadden must be a baby killer, which while he hasn't addressed it, I'm sure with common sense reasoning we can all come to the conclusion that he has never killed a baby. Get a hold of yourself. You are the one being destructive here.

Bob remember this, and I'm telling you as a concerned voter in NY-19, who was at the McFadden Event on Saturday. You and your partners are creating this hostile campaign environment The sheet created , fact or not, contains nothing slanderous to any candidate.

So moving forward, lets just tear each other apart, and let Mr. "I haven't passed one decent piece of legislation" Hall in for another term.

I call it like I see it. I don't like either tactic, but I consider your tactics to be far more malicious than Mr. Appalled.

One more time...Grow up!

[The Editor]

Whoa!!!

Now I am working for David McFadden?

I suppose someone is going to rationalize that I am working for Andrew Cuomo or Harold Ford too ... Merci'

Maybe I am working for Jerry Brown? Ron Paul? How about rationalizing that I am working for Andrew Russo, Chris Cox, Doug Hoffman or John Faso?

Why is it that a kind word I may pen about a candidate be defined as a conflict of interest? Why must informed and researched commentary be written off as fiction?

I get it now. It's all my fault that Nan Hayworth just happens to have a husband who works as a CEO for a facility that just happens to perform abortions? EXCUSE ME!!!

I was at McFadden's event as a concerned Conservative Party member who has been reaching out to every candidate running in the 19th (including Nan Hayworth). I was also there on the other side of the river as a Republican consultant. And, yes, I may want to write more columns about this race as a political analyst.

Want to make something of that? Have I broken some sacred rule that should never be encroached about freedom of speech -- or is the real issue that you just want me to SHUT UP?

Why would I comment about McFadden's father? Also, McFadden and his campaign are openly pro-life (as are the other campaigns against Ms. Hayworth). This district is pro-life. It was lost by Sue Kelly, not won by John Hall, and part of her loss stemmed from some Republicans being stubbornly out of touch with the sentiments of many new conservative voters in Putnam and upper Westchester County.

Yes ... many moved up from the Bronx and lower Westchester and many, even the Democrats, vote for true conservative Republicans. I have done my research, painstakingly, and the victories by Greg Ball and other conservative Republicans reflect that trend.

Rob Astorino, an openly pro-life candidate, won Westchester with record numbers last year. He's not the only openly pro-life candidate who did well last year in the Hudson Valley.

But to rationalize that I am supporting David McFadden, when I have been one of the few people commenting on his own legal/fiscal problems, is sort of misreading what has gone on here.

Also, you may have also missed my compliment of Sue Kelly and her husband for hustling to make phone calls for Bob Castelli -- lest you think everything I write is negative -- or my defense of Orange County Chairman Bill DeProspo, whose support of William Weld in 2006 bent me out of shape.

And to tear me down for stating the obvious about Ms. Hayworth, is political on your part.

I resent how you are chaining me now to McFadden's campaign but I also resent how you're going after him for his own beliefs. It seems the only common denominator here is that you have a problem with pro-life candidates. Well ... most of the 19th doesn't have a problem with the sanctity of life.

I have a name and you couldn't aim your fire at me personally if I didn't post with my real name.

I want to see your perspective on this whole situation when the owner of http://www.appalledathall.com is revealed -- and the person who actually created that hit piece is also exposed.

Things are not what they seem.

[Robert Hornak]

"Nan has not been viciously attacked, my friend. She's been given more than amount time to adjust to constructive criticism and explain some serious questions. But if AppalledAtHall is a cheap trick by her handlers, as I suspect, then she has a LOT of explaining to do."

Bob are you really that wrapped up in your own reality that you can't smell your own shit? Don't you get it? I'm not defending the writing of appalled at hall. But you are perpetuating these unfounded attacks on Nan Hayworth by alleging she has anything to do with what he wrote.

My point is not about your role as a leader, consultant or writer. It is as a hypocrite. You spread what I would view as vicious attacks on Nan and her husband, allegations of corruption and money laundering and conflict of interest based solely on her personal relationship with doctors that she and her husband worked with at MKMG. You literally spun a story about her out of whole cloth trying to discredit her based on her being pro-choice.

Hey, you did it under your name and appalled at hall didn't. Well, gold star for you. But how can you deplore what he (or she) did when you did the same? And how can you then turn around and accuse Nan of being behind it with no proof?

That's what, in school, we called a low blow. You are better than this Bob. You should really think about how you want to conduct yourself publicly when it comes to candidates and the Republican Party. If not, then just take a page out of the Ronald Reagan handbook. Unless his record on abortion discredits him with you.

[Raquel Okyay]

Nan is the one running for Congress, not Bob Fois!

She is the one taking campaign donations from abortion doctors. There is a possible quid pro quo developing, of course, voters are concerned.

Many of us find abortion to be appalling, and if there is a connection between the Hayworth campaign and the abortion industry, and I maintain there is, Bob or anyone else has a right to question. She's the one who has to answer important questions about her husband's connection with the abortion industry, not Bob Fois. Who cares if he was at the McFadden party, it's irrelevant.

P.S. Catholic hospitals do not perform abortions.

[Robert Hornak]

"Nan is the one running for Congress, not Bob Fois!"

True, and not Scott Hayworth either. Nan should be judged on her own merits and not tarnished by (unfounded) accusations regarding her husband.

"She is the one taking campaign donations from abortion doctors."

Really? Who are the abortion doctors that gave her money?

"There is a possible quid pro quo developing, of course, voters are concerned."

Again, really? Quid pro quo for what? What do you base this conclusion on? Do I really have to keep asking these basic questions?

Bob, or anyone, can ask any questions they like. What is irresponsible is to jump forward and draw conclusions that allege something derogatory without having the answers to those questions.

Bob actually has the balls warn people not to do to DioGuardi what he did to Hayworth. Then when someone very much like Bob does it to some of the other candidates, he blames it on Hayworth. It really takes a huge set of stones to do that with a straight face (or keyboard, in this case).

On top of that Scott Hayworth answered the question and denied any connection to the abortion industry. That is what we call an answer. If you don't like the answer, don't support her. But making things up about them is just wrong.

[Better Chance]

bob had no problem cheering after scott brown's win in mass. and scott brown is pro-choice.

ditto for bob castelli.

joe dioguardi favors gay marriage and we don't hear bob speak up about that.

it sounds to me like fois isn't really mr. principles but rather mr. hypocrite.

[Eye Opener]

All of a sudden Bob Fois doesn't sound an intolerant character after all.

Are you telling us that News Copy is written by someone with common sense and nuance? Is that being a hypocrite or open-minded?

I'm looking around to see how many Republican candidates around the United States both make money from abortion AND have employees giving money to Democrats. It seems that the Hayworths are a rare combination of RINO fundraisers AND could be the first congressional couple ever profiting from abortion.

Don't tell me that's not a story. Who are really the hypocrites here?

Great job, Bob.

[Raquel Okyay]

You can go see for yourself, Robert, check the individual donors to the Hayworth campaign who work at Mount Kisko Building 90, the ones that are OB/GYN doctors with their practice limited to GYN...BINGO...those are the abortion doctors.

And when they're not performing abortions there, they are performing them at the Hospital down the block.

[Robert Hornak]

So now anyone who is an OBGYN is an abortion doctor? Is that how it works? And how many OBGYN's contributed? Did you bother to check?