by Chris Bowers
Now that it is out of the bag, as shown
here,
here, and as Jerome wrote earlier today, it is time for all the Googling Monkeys out there to help the Schrader campaign. Someone is trying to hack Ginny's computers, and that someone is apparently connected to Republican consulting firm, Campaign Solutions. This firm, whose clients include Bush-Cheney 2004, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the Pennsylvania House Republican Campaign Committee, and Representative Pat Toomey (PA), has been involved with
several hacking incidents in the past. Campaign Solutions has denied involvement.
The Fitzpatrick campaign denies any connection to the incident and Campaign Solutions:
Jim Cawley, Fitzpatrick's campaign manager, said his campaign knew nothing about the incident.
"This is, by no means, anything that we would (condone)," he said.
He also said that Fitzpatrick's campaign had had no contact with Campaign Solutions.
Proving otherwise would be very important, and might permanently change the dynamics of this campaign. Dig up whatever you can.
by Jerome Armstrong
The race in PA 8th, which all started here with the netroots activists, has become a top-tier, first priority, contest for control of the House. This past week, I've been in DC and out here in the Bay area, engaging in politics, so while the blogging has been light, the insight has been great.
Ginny's race is now one of the keys to taking control of the House for Democrats. I talked with one longstanding GOTV group in DC that, up to about 2 weeks ago, has been standoffish about the 8th, yet now, they are going into the CD with all of their resources. EMILY's list, they are starting to come around, and supposedly are going to "re-evaluate" the race early next week; Philly for Change helping out I heard. And in terms of the CW in DC, pundits like Stuart Rothenberg are starting to shift their predictions. On the ground, Ginny had a 3:1 advantage in turnout for the recent debate; her core supporters being women of all ages.
So, it's with that background of one of the most intriguing 2004 campaigns in development, that the recent break-in through hackers has occurred. If this is the first time you've heard about it, you can read these Daily Kos, Daily Kos, and MyDD threads for background.
In short, the FBI is currently investigating a failed hacker attempt to steal database information within a computer used by the campaign, and it looks like the parties involved have ties to the GOP. If that winds up being the case (read this post if you have any doubt), it's nothing beyond the pale of what we've come to expect from a Republican Party that's getting scared shitless right now about losing control. As that post shows, we are dealing here with the same group of Republicans that attempted to hack into Hillary Clinton's website, and whom successfully hacked the DSCC's computers earlier this year.
It's telling. Ginny's got the Republicans in the 8th on the run. The GOP nominated an ultraright candidate in a moderate district in the backroom, and out in the open, Fitzgerald pales in comparison to Ginny Schrader.
