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Desperate Dems try to Palinize Massachusetts Senate race
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
01/11/10 11:00 PM EST
Frantic over the possibility that a Democrat might lose the race to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts, the Democratic National Committee has sent its top spinner, Hari Sevugan, to the aid of Democratic candidate Martha Coakley, who appears to be rapidly losing ground to Republican Scott Brown. But what can Sevugan do to shore up Coakley's struggling campaign? Well, he spent his first day on the job trying to tie Brown to Sarah Palin.
Early Monday afternoon, Sevugan sent out an email to reporters featuring a link to a story on the lefty website TPM. The headline: "Is Sarah Palin Avoiding Mass Senate Race?" The story quoted a Democratic strategist saying that "it's interesting" that Palin is "nowhere to be found in this race." TPM conceded that GOP sources say there has been "no talk" about Palin visiting Massachusetts. But that didn't stop Sevugan, who is quoted declaring that Palin's supporters "are anxious for her to weigh in." At the top of his email to journalists, Sevugan wrote, "Come on, Sarah, why are you being so shy?"
A couple of hours later, Sevugan was emailing again, with a message entitled, "Has the Pit Bull lost her bark?" What followed was a statement from Sevugan on "the surprising silence from Sarah Palin on Republican Scott Brown's bid for the U.S. Senate." Sevugan demanded to know: "Where on earth is Sarah Palin herself? Clearly her supporters are anxious for her to weigh in."
Not long after that, Sevugan sent out another email to reporters, this one with a link to a post by TPM alumnus Greg Sargent, who now writes a lefty blog for the Washington Post. Sargent's post featured Sevugan's question with the headline, "Dems on Palin: 'Has the Pit Bull Lost Her Bark?'"
Finally, when a Brown spokesman, while not specifically mentioning Palin, said that "Scott is not looking for a lot of outside help" and that the race would not be determined by outsiders, Sevugan sent out yet another email to reporters, this one headlined "Weaselly." Sevugan directed journalists to his response to the "blatant dodge by the Scott Brown campaign on the issue of whether he is seeking and/or if he would accept an endorsement from Sarah Palin." Sevugan quoted himself challenging Brown: "That's a weaselly answer. And the people of Massachusetts deserve more than weaselly answers from their next senator…It's a yes or no question, Scott Brown -- Will you accept Sarah Palin's endorsement or won't you?"
Of course, Sevugan never had any evidence at all that Palin was set to endorse Brown and come to Massachusetts to campaign for him, or that Brown was seeking Palin's endorsement or help. It was just all in a day's work, trying to breathe life into a faltering campaign. What will Sevugan think of next?
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