See no evil? Speak no evil? (and an obligatory West Wing moment)

Posted at 11:10 AM on May 15, 2006 by Bob Collins (14 Comments)

Some of the blogs are alive with chatter today about the words spoken at the 6th District convention on Saturday toward Michele Bachmann. One state senator referred to her as evil "the devil in the blue dress."

Patty Wetterling, the candidate Bachmann faces now says she's bad on several fronts. Here's the actual speech. (RealAudio)

Did that cross a line? If so -- and this is my West Wing political science training here -- can Wetterling's opponents seize on that without also allowing her message to be repeated? (It was the episode when someone slipped a political ad tape to Sam Seeborn and he gave it to a friend who, as it turns out, wasn't really a friend and the thing ended up running for nothing on all the news channels).

By the way, as long as we're on West Wing, I've commented here a number of times on how good the researchers were for little political drop-ins that would appear in the dialog from time to time. All of that was undone last night when -- if you saw it, this will make sense. If you didn't, it won't -- a train derailed between Exeter, New Hampshire and Haverhill, Massachusetts. The person telling the president referred to the city as HAVE her hill, which is pretty much like calling Cloquet CLOE-kett. It's pronounced HAY-vrill. And the thing is, the president -- Jeb Bartless Bartlett -- is from New Hampshire.

Reminds me of the time he stopped his Saturday morning radio address taping because the phrase "leaf peeping" was in it. He pulled off his glasses and turned to the writer to inquire what "leaf peeping" was. Right, a guy from New Hampshire -- the leaf-peeping capital of the free world -- didn't know what leaf peeping was?

It's like a president not knowing what a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread sells for.

Comments (14)

Actually, Senator Tarryl Clark called Bachmann "the devil in a blue dress."

Posted by GOPWingman | May 15, 2006 11:48 AM

Some friends from the Boston area have informed me that Peabody, MA made national news with all the flooding going on there currently - no confirmation, but doubtless it was referred to as "PEE-body" instead of the real pronunciation, "peebidy".

Don't get me started on Gloucester.

Posted by MN Campaign Report | May 15, 2006 1:16 PM

..or Mattapoisset.

Posted by Bob Collins | May 15, 2006 1:55 PM

or
Scituate
Worcester
Quincy

-from another Mass. expatriate

Posted by d2991f | May 15, 2006 2:31 PM

Leominster?

Just how many of us ex-pats are there here?

Posted by MN Campaign Report | May 15, 2006 2:37 PM

I'm pretty sure the fake president's name is Bartlett, unless your mispelling was a joke that went way over my head.

Posted by Scott Silver | May 15, 2006 3:21 PM

Leominster! Phooey! I grew up in Fitchburg. They were our arch-enemies. The Fitchburg-Leominster football rivalry, I believe, is the second-oldest in the nation, I believe.

Bartlett? Yeah. Did I misspell it? I'll fix it.

Have you ex-pats ever been out to Lake Webster? It's real name is:

LAKE CHARGOGGAGOGGMAN- CHAUGGAGOGGCHAUBUNAGUNGAMAUGG

I'd like to see Bartlett nail that one!

Posted by Bob Collins | May 15, 2006 3:34 PM

What anyone said about Bachmann at the 6th CD convention was nowhere near crossing a line. That's because the vast majority of the voting public has no idea how extreme Michele Bachmann really is. And she's on record in her own words (the gay lifestyle is "Satan," for example). When you start to peel away the layers on the Bachmann onion, it gets pretty rotten.

Same goes for her "career" as a "tax litigation attorney" protecting the taxpayers. The only evidence anyone has seen of Bachmann's tax attorney career is bringing the iron fist of the IRS down on Minnesotans earning $12,000 a year (you can look that case up).

And wait till folks get a peek at what "fiscal conservative" Michele Bachmann has been billing the taxpayers for (like her home cable tv bills).

Those are just a few of the things to come in this race. Stay tuned!

Posted by Karl | May 15, 2006 4:00 PM

I think West Wing writers might have missed one other point during an exchange between the First Couple - though clearly not on the level of offense of mispronouncing an East Coast town name.

I believe that the First Lady asked her hubby whose idea it was to hold an inauguration during the month of January and Bartlett went on to blame Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin. Now correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the inauguration originally held in March and only moved after many Presidents had come and gone?

Posted by coloradojon | May 15, 2006 5:43 PM

"...from New Hampshire -- the leaf-peeping capital of the free world"

You're not from the Northeast, are you? The consistently highest rated leaf-peeping route is VT 108, and in particular the stretch through Smuggler's Notch near Stowe is spectacular. I recommend the hike up Hell Brook Trail to the top of Mt. Mansfield as being exceptional. Of course, this is not the hike to take if you're not in shape or if the weather's bad -- it's not called Hell Brook for nothing. When I worked on the trail boss crew there we nearly closed the trail due to difficulty but had to keep it open as an emergency route. But if you're careful it's spectacular!

Posted by nerdbert | May 15, 2006 11:28 PM

As Karl states, it's one thing after another with Michele Bachmann. The state senate had to pass a special rule to prohibit doing commercial videotaping in the senate chamber. There was already a rule prohibiting this - but it wasn't clear enough for Michele Bachmann - who video taped an endorsement for Unity Works Video on the Senate Floor.

You can view Michele Bachmann's use of the Senate Floor to endorse Unity Works here:

http://www.unityworksmedia.com/uwvpp.asp?cid=1695&pid=3421&vid=16021

Posted by Eva Young | May 15, 2006 11:51 PM

//You're not from the Northeast, are you?

Born and raised in Massachusetts. Married a woman fro Vermont. Spent much of my life in Southern New Hampshire and the Berkshires.

//had to keep it open as an emergency route. But if you're careful it's spectacular!

However the phrase "leaf peeping," primarily refers to people who do it in cars. I hate them, myself, but that's only because I often needed to drive to work behind a long line of New Yorkers.

Posted by Bob Collins | May 16, 2006 10:24 AM

Oh, and we have a cabin in the Norheast Kingdom. You know, the REAL Vermont. (g)

Posted by Bob Collins | May 16, 2006 10:26 AM

Yeah, but you're still not a Vermonter. "Cabin"? There's no such thing in Vermont, it's a camp.

My time was in Fletcher, most of it on or near Black Mountain, which if you've heard of either you're doing well. Not quite the Kingdom, but certainly not Chittenden county.

Anyway, VT108 *is* the premier leaf peeping road, and it runs up through Stowe to Smuggler's Notch, as well as north near what's usually the coldest town in VT, Eden (the true middle of nowhere in Vermont). You have to go a bit earlier to get the colors on those stretches, though, since they're up at altitude and they turn earlier. Most folks from out of state come too late to see them at their peak.

Hell Brook is a stunningly beautiful climb out of Smuggler's Notch that's worth it if you get a chance to do it during leaf season. But we've also had a fair number of folks buy the farm coming down it unprepared and with full packs. My hint is to go up Hell Brook and take the Long Trail down -- easier on the knees and it lets you take in the sights as you catch your breath on the way up.

I miss Vermont and the mountains, but I sure don't miss the taxes! But then again, you're getting to pay the piper on your camp without the resident break, so you know what they're like all too well.

Posted by nerdbert | May 16, 2006 11:11 PM

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