Recent campaign flier of extremist DeMaio using OB Rag quote on Fletcher.
Residents of San Diego were stunned just recently when they opened up a campaign flier from Carl DeMaio and found there in plain sight, clearly printed, a quote from an OB Rag article that was very critical of one of DeMaio’s mayoral opponents, Nathan Fletcher. DeMaio’s flier also used the Rag logo.
Of course, in no way did the OB Rag give DeMaio permission to use this quote or our logo. We here at the Rag view DeMaio as a right-wing extremist bent on creating a Wisconsin West right here in San Diego, with his anti-labor and anti-union views and policies against ordinary people, the social net, etc. A DeMaio Mayor would be an uncategorical disaster for San Diego.
One of our columnists, Jim Miller, wrote a stinging repute of the so-called “independent” candidacy of Fletcher back on April 24th, entitled, “The Fletcher Flim Flam“. In it, he states:
Nathan Fletcher is not a man of great political courage. He isn’t even a particularly independent thinker. But he is politically clever, and he knows that San Diego’s Democratic base has a long history of being bamboozled by wolves in sheep’s clothing from the days of Pete Wilson to the present.
This is the exact quote that DeMaio’s campaign used in their flier.
DeMaio and his staffers who picked up this Miller quote on Fletcher should have read on in that very same article. Later down the column, Jim Miller states:
“This all sounds fantastic and, with his handsome looks and slick packaging, Fletcher is bound to be more appealing to some voters than the snarling pit-bull of the hard right, Carl DeMaio, ….”
And further, Jim writes:
“Just because Fletcher and DeMaio dislike each other personally doesn’t mean their political philosophies are radically divergent. Other than optics and style, there isn’t much difference between Fletcher and DeMaio. “
We’re happy, of course, to get the attention. As Abby Hoffman once famously said, ‘any news is good news.’ But we’re aghast that DeMaio is trying to persuade voters who read the OB Rag that he is the one and only, even suggesting by implication that we support him. Nothing could be further than the truth.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
I got this one in the mail and almost fell over. DeMaio quoting the OBRag? Wow. The day before I got another DeMaio flyer, this time quoting the “Sun Diego Union-Tribone.” What’s with that? I’ve been hanging onto the mayoral flyers. DeMaio is flooding my zip code- 92105. What about yours?
This campaign seems to be nastier than usual. What do you think?
Can’t anything be done to stop this scum from doing this? Are all the contents of the Rag in open domain, or what ever it’s called? This really sucks to have someone like him using the Rag logo.
We’re referring this issue to our legal department.
I don’t think you should really make a big deal of it. In my non-bar-certified opinion, it’s fair use, just as it’s fair use for OBRag to quote any other publication.
Well, it turned out our legal department was so shocked, they had to go have a bowl, and then, of course, they were in no position to give an opinion.
I had a legal department once. but the wheels fell off.
That’s not very nice Frank….some of us do our best contemplative work…and by the way the use of the OB Rag quote; funny (as in very strange)? yes. Illegal? no. The quote is direct and has not been changed in anyway, and credit is given where credit is due.
It needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Given the perception that Fletcher is a moderate (even though he is staunchly conservative), isn’t a DeMaio/Filner runoff ideal for progressives? Shouldn’t we consider this mailer – which seems to be aimed at getting Dems to vote for Filner rather than Fletcher – a good thing?
Ben might be on to something here… I haven’t seen the other side of the flyer, but the side pictured above seems geared to warn Democrats away from Fletcher. Which could be good for Filner.
However, the usual approach for candidates of a given party is to mail only to that party’s voters, so DeMaio’s campaign may have only mailed the flyer to Republicans, limiting its impact on Democrats.
In any case, it seems certain that the flyer introduced The OB Rag to many people who hadn’t heard of it before…
No, from the looks of it, it was mailed to Dems and maybe Indies too.
I’ve been watching how the propaganda is addressed at my house…the two DeMaio blasts against Fletcher that have showed up here were both addressed to my wife (a Dem) only, others have been addressed to both her and me (Decline to State).
I deleted the previous link because I’d forgotten to redact my address. Here’s the new link:
https://twitter.com/#!/DaveMaass/status/201452048137453569/photo/1
It was definitely targeted toward Dems. Registered Republicans didn’t receive it.
This is so good my head is spinning. It is just tickling my funny bone for one candidate we don’t like to use us against another candidate we don’t like! The DeMaio postcard campaign has been so ridiculous I’ve begun to look forward to receiving them, sort of my laugh for the day, but this one is the funniest yet! I wonder if he can top it?
In the last five days, I have received four campaign flyers from DeMaio, one from Fletcher and one from Filner. That is is a reflection of money. “Money makes the world go around, that jingling jangling sound, makes the world go round.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRIbUT6u7Q
Seriously, though. Nothing OB Rag can do about CD using your log? So devious to make people think OB Rag endorses him. It does show his deviousness. Can at least OB Rag have a running add in every paper it prints and on line saying OB Rag does NOT endorse CD?
there is nothing we can do about CD using our logo… this is what the law calls “fair use”.
Besides, our name and ‘brand’ were just introduced into thousands of San Diego households. Once you get past the fact that a cockroach was using them, most people in marketing would say that this is–at the end of the day–a net positive for the OB Rag.
Now, if he is going to use us, let’s see if he (DeMaio) will sit down for an interview with the Rag staff….Andy are you up for this?
Recent polling shows DeMaio in the lead with Fletcher and Filner in a dead heat for the second run-off spot. In head-to-head polling DeMaio leads Filner and Fletcher leads both. Dumanis a distant 4th place.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/may/06/tp-mayoral-poll-demaio-still-leads-fletcher/
Yes, the poll was done by the UT, but it sounds about right to me. I think we are looking at Mayor Carl unless Fletcher can get by Filner in this runoff, at which point, the GOP will try to unleash hell on Fletcher. As an Independent, I think Fletcher can take him, which is what all of this is really about.
By the way, did I mention what a SORRY ASS FIELD of candidates this is? C’mon, San Diego… you can do better than this.
Hmm. This UT poll does not say that CD is in the lead. Seems like a close race between NF and BF: http://www.utsandiego.com/mayors-race-survey/
No San Diegan of sound mind would even entertain thought that a paper called “OB Rag” – as in Ocean Beach Rag – endorses a right wing, anti-labor, Republican candidate.
Any San Diegan of sound mind would recognize that a right wing, anti-labor candidate quoting a paper called “OB Rag” while not stating but implying endorsement, is a deceptive candidate.
Any San Diegan of sound mind seeing Mr. DeMaio deceptively quoting OB Rag as implied endorsement would recognize that perhaps Mr. DeMaio is not very bright and is a clown in sheep’s clothing.
Where’s Bonnie when you need her? She goes after corrupt politicians – as she buffoonishly gets thown out of the case for running a deceptive campaign that she goes after corrupt politicians.
Jeez! Its like these two are negative campaigning against themselves that they are dishonest bumblers.
Where does our legal department keep the “bowl?”
At least, if he wanted to use the “RAG” for his own purpose’s, he would have kicked in some bucks. Like a regular “American”.
If he is willing to sell out principals, values about being gay, and say it’s ok that the Republican party trash his way of life. He’s sell out everything, anything to get into office. DON’T VOTE FOR HIM! I’m not gay, but principals are what they are; if you any kind of decent human being you value those principals OBVIOUSLY he doesn’t. I don’t vote for someone I don’t respect.