Michael Wardell , Candidate for MO-7 Congressional Seat wrote on his blog yesterday that he is exploring possible ethics violations against Republican Billy Long over accusations Long attempted to bribe a blogger. Kudos to Mr. Wardell, Someone definitely should, but why has the media not picked up on this? It is pretty clear to me that attempting to silence the opposition to your campaign by making a job offer to the person criticizing you is a clear ethics violation. Mr. Wardell also makes a VERY valid point in paragraph four of his press release. Obama has won most of his victories in his political career by getting his opponents disqualified. In an area of the country so staunchly conservative, and a House seat that is shaping up to be this hotly contested, does it not stand to reason that someone like Billy Long who is so obviously ethically challenged would be like a roasted suckling pig just waiting to be eaten by the Democrats this fall? We do not need a compromised candidate in this race, the stakes in the House are too high. Read Wardell’s statement below:
It is with no joy that I make this announcement.
A week ago, Mr. Billy Long, a Candidate for the 7th Congressional District, attempted to bribe or coerce a citizen journalist into killing a blog, critical of his campaign in exchange for a position on his campaign. Fired-Up Missouri, a liberal blog, is already tracking this.
It has been a week and Mr. Long has not denied this charge.
Mr. Long must step down as a candidate, not because I asked him to but because he gives napalm to Tim Davis and the Democratic Majority. If we Republicans tolerate this behavior and sweep this under the rug, we will regret it.
If Mr. Long and his $500,000+ war chest were to win the Primary, Tim Davis, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama will pull out all the stops and flood this district with cash and support in a race that the Democrat Majority is losing members at lightning speed.
They will wait until September and THEY will file an Ethics charge, damaging the Republican Candidate, and potentially having him removed from the ballot. Barack Obama used a similar tactic in his own Senatorial race in Illinois and won
I will not stand idle and let Southwest Missouri be hijacked by the opposition, because I lacked the backbone to say something about someone who lacks the capacity to understand the ramification of his actions could potentially damage my Party and my District.
-KOOK