Bighead Todd: Questions Answered, Questions Asked
UPDATE: Just saw the Plunderbund'ers are starting to weigh in.
Ok - if you make it through the audio file below you'll hear three minute of me talking to Eric Cameron Forbes about how much we both love Matt, Bill Todd, and RightAngle. Yay!
Eric had obviously already read my post on Naugle this morning, and he was ready for my call. You can tell from his pauses, and how much easier he slides into his spin once I bring up Naugle. Because of that we don't know how reliable the information he gave us is. However, there are little tidbits of meat positioned throughout the conversation.
1. Matt Naugle did consulting for the Todd campaign. This consulting most likely came back in February/March/April - right around the same time Right Angle Blog started covering Bill Todd's campaign with such fervor. As Eric put it Matt did "some advising...you probably noticed Matt has put up a lot of things on his blog...he's the best." As of this time, we don't know how much the Todd campaign paid for that consulting. All we know for sure is that the consulting probably coincided with Naugle's increase of Bighead Todd coverage.
2. Eric disclosed that Eroots has created Bighead's website. As he discloses, Sam Gedert is the founder of the company. That would be the same Sam Gedert that hosted a fundraiser for Bighead Todd back in March. Interestingly enough, Todd's not listed as one of Gedert's clients online. Can't say that I'm not a little surprised at that...I would think Gedert would be more careful disclosing the clients whom he throws fundraisers for. Smells almost like pay-to-play...Gedert rounds up all his friends and business associate for Todd, Todd shakes them down, then gives Gedert his cut in the form of hiring him to run his web outfit. How enterprising gang!
3. Eric mentioned that Naugle had something come up which prevented him from taking on Todd's job. I wonder what that was exactly.
4. So I've got to ask, how much did all that favorable RAB coverage set you back while Matt was "advising"?
Ah...the life of a young pirate.
Oh Jerid, Jerid, Jerid. Contrary to the conspiracy theories that you have espoused regarding the Bill Todd for Mayor of Columbus Campaign, I was not expecting your phone call earlier today. You give yourself too much credit. Honestly, though I am aware of your blog, I prefer to focus on more legitimate sources for my news. With that said, I’ve perused your site today and congratulate you on your seemingly profound grasp of the obvious. Keep up the good work!
Further, though Buckeye State Blog’s perspective certainly differs from that of Right Angle Blog’s, I’ve noticed that you share at least one thing in common with Mr. Naugle. That is, you both offer disclaimers affording yourselves political distance from any actual candidate, organization, etc. Are you able to see the hypocrisy in your assumptions, Jerrid? You are both afforded the same rights to cover the issues as you see fit.
Perhaps your time would be better served attempting to bring to light the multitude of problems facing the City of Columbus. You might be better suited for it.
And yet, you were able to read this post, sign up for an account, and post your comment within two and half hours of this being posted?
I, too, found Jerid's claim that you knew he was calling to be rather dubvious. However, he's young, he's entitled to his opinion.
In regards to your statement "congratulate you on your seemingly profound grasp of the obvious," is that an admission that Matt Naugle was, in fact, paid by the Todd campaign to push the campaign and its talking points in the conservative blogsphere? Trying to capture some statewide interests given the lackluster Republican Presidential field, perhaps?
Then, in a rather contradictory statement, you proceed to use the "disclaimer" defense? Is that the best you can come up with? Really? That RAB has a disclaimer saying that it is politically distant from any candidate? And we're just supposed to believe that, especially after you just admitted that Jerid has been reporting the obvious: that Matt Naugle has been using RAB as an astroturf blog to push the Todd communication strategy and has been compensated for such services although his postings fail to disclose any such relationship.
Thanks for the confirmation!!! Now the story has even more legs now. I don't know where you learned campaign communication strategy, but I got a feeling you're going to have time to go back to school very soon.
And whatever the problems facing the City of Columbus, Todd is part of the problem, not the solution. Seriously, what has this man ever achieved for the betterment of Columbus or Ohio? He's been behind a secret smear campaign alleging a sitting justice of the Ohio Supreme Court's opinions were for sale and then devised a secret campaign finance machine to advocate for the election of Ken Blackwell.
I'll believe Todd is interested in transparency in government when he reveals the true donors of his Blackwell campaign communication slush fund that is Ohio Common Sense 2006.
Until then, you really should think before you post. You just gave official confirmation from the campaign that you've been getting free, unreported campaign advertisements from a blogger who was presenting pushing his stories as his personal opinion, and not for services he was compensated for. If you don't see the harm in that, well, you apparently have never heard of these blogs and internets tubes before either.