Oops! What Happened With Tisei and the Tea Party?
Some confusion over Tisei and the Tea Party.
(Editor's Note: As of the upcoming election, Tewksbury will be included in the 6th Congressional District.)
Did 6th District congressional candidate Richard Tisei diss the Tea Party? Did his schedulers mess up?
Those are questions people are asking after a mix-up with press releases and a no-show at the Tea Party Candidates Night.
First, on Aug. 8, the Merrimack Valley Tea Party listed Tisei as a confirmed speaker at the Aug. 15 event -- which was to host conservative candidates from state and congressional races in the region to discuss conservative ideas and raise money.
Then the day of the event, Congressman John Tierney's communications director Grant Herring sent out a media alert Wednesday afternoon mocking Tisei about the event.
"Richard Tisei will be explaining why he thinks the Tea Party is a “godsend” and why he is strongly supporting Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan," Herring wrote. "Tisei will explain why he thinks Ryan’s budget is a good start, why Medicare needs to change for people under 50, and why cuts to Medicare and Social Security should be on the table."
Almost immediately afterward, Tisei's campaign manager Paul Moore sent out a media alert titled, "Grant Herring: New Tisei Scheduler," mocking Herring's media release:
"Press advisories from Congressman John Tierney's campaign should always be taken with a grain of salt (or a stiff drink), particularly when they claim to know the schedule of Congressional candidate Richard Tisei."
What happened?
Well, that's not exactly clear yet. Here's what we know:
- Tisei was listed as a confirmed speaker on the Tea Party announcement.
- Tierney spokesperson Grant Herring sent out an email alerting the media that Tisei would be there.
- Tisei's team sent out an email effectively calling Herring a liar.
- Tisei's communications director Christian Berle is quoted in the Eagle-Tribune as saying Tisei was unable to attend but was sending Moore to the event to speak in Tisei's place.
- The Eagle-Tribune reported that no one from Tisei's campaign showed up.
- Moore said he attended and was standing in the back of the room but didn't speak at the event.
So did Tisei bail on the Tea Party at the last minute?
That doesn't seem to be the case. Tisei's campaign says he had a fundraiser in Boston Wednesday night so couldn't attend the Merrimack Valley Tea Party event.
And the Tea Party is saying he was not a confirmed speaker.
"The Tisei scheduler was given the information a while ago. She did not confirm the date," said Jamison Tomasek of the Merrimack Valley Tea Party. "I followed up but as of a few weeks ago it was still unconfirmed. We had a place allotted on the schedule and kept him as unconfirmed. Yesterday [Wednesday] the Tisei campaigned contacted me about sending a surrogate and I discussed this with the leadership team. We are all about fairness, and we did not offer this to other candidates who could not attend, so we said 'no' to the Tisei campaign."
There is no word on whether Tisei plans to attend a Merrimack Valley Tea Party meeting in the future. But it would seem that theories that Tisei suddenly bailed on them due to philosophical differences or in the wake of Paul Ryan being named Romney's vice presidential pick are likely not accurate.
RunningGreen
8:29 am on Friday, August 17, 2012
We are now having a political fight over... scheduling. I can only say: wow.
billvill
8:39 am on Friday, August 17, 2012
Enquiring minds want to know...
Joe L
10:13 am on Friday, August 17, 2012
I cannot believe a political candidate or his team would stretch the truth on or make up something to make their opponent look like the worst person in the history of the world. This just does not happen. (Yes, sarcasm)
derf
12:14 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
It does't seem to matter any more on who you elect, the system is so corrupt. All we end up with is a politician who's in it for themselves, keeping their party in power and screwing the people. We used to have the media as a watchdog, now their the lapdog for the democrats.
Steevo
1:17 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
You received a master's in journalism, worked for newspapers, magazines and as a Washington correspondent. You claim your mission is..."helping people stay informed, because an uninformed public is a dangerous thing." And of course you're progressive-leaning, read a lot and... love animals.
I think in the interest of informing the public and countering a simplistic demonization of Romney/Ryan it's worth noting Obama's Affordable Care Act and what it will do to Medicare, cutting it by $716 billion. Even lefty Obamicon Ezra Klien's blog in the WaPost describes it and well documented at that: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/14/romneys-right-obamacare-cuts-medicare-by-716-billion-heres-how/
RunningGreen
4:39 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
I think that the media's apparent bias nowadays is more due to a tendency to want to sensationalize headlines rather than be based on an ideological agenda. Instead of looking at both sides of the issue fairly, you overhype one side to draw in as many people as possible. Don't know who you're talking to exactly, though.
Your comment on the impact of the ACA to Medicare isn't exactly true. Much like some of the criticism against Paul Ryan by liberals, you are using figures that don't tell the entire story. This fact-checking article on Medicare addresses your claim.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-15/obama-ryan-medicare-facts/57079692/1
Vinnie from Tewksbury
4:32 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
Why does the Elks Lodge on South St have John Tierney signs on its property? How can the Elks be supporting this character?
Steevo
6:35 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
RunningGreen if you believe sensational headlines is the only "bias", opinion and intentional manipulation within the media, and honest to goodness objective fair-minded reporting prevails... you're on a different planet then me.
The implication McGonigle allows here is obvious; Romney/Ryan want to cut Medicare. My point is, then take a look at what Obama's plan will do. Between 2013-2022 is when the reductions in payments kick in and unlike what USA Today implies, it is estimated an ongoing reduction in hospital reimbursement rates, Medicare Advantage rates, and everything else. Even the CBO projections bear this out...
http://blogs-images.forbes.com/aroy/files/2012/08/cbo-compare3.jpg
Obamacare empowers a panel of 15 unelected officials: The Independent Payment Advisory Board. They will make changes to Medicare by reducing spending, primarily paying doctors and hospitals less as is done with the Medicaid program. Anyone who has been on Medicaid knows, services can be limited compared to Medicare and of course private insurance.
The Ryan-Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) plan does preserve those future reductions but seniors would enjoy the selection of government-approved private insurance plans that politicians in Washington do with premium support and competitive bidding. It won't be just Obama, the Senate and House exempt from Obamacare.
RunningGreen
8:37 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
Steevo, I think you may have misunderstood me. That is probably my fault, since I didn't elaborate. Each media outlet does sensationalize headlines, but does so to pander to its respective audience. Two prominent examples: FOX News creates scandals to cater to conservatives, while MSNBC caters to liberals. It is probably out of laziness, since instead of delivering hard-hitting and fair news, media outlets just want to rile up their respective audiences to get them to watch. There may be a slightly more left-slant since more media outlets pander to that audience, but you can easily find examples on both sides. I disagree that there is a clear-cut ideological agenda, but rather an attempt to win over more readers/viewers/etc.
To the casual reader, it may seem that Tisei supports cuts to Medicare. However, a more careful reading shows that the quote listed is actually a fake release by the Tierney campaign against Tierney. It requires a more careful look of the entire article.
Steevo
9:16 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
Well the person I misunderstood is Bryan McGonigle. If you read this Bryan, please accept my apologizes.
But RunningGreen it's hard for me to misunderstand "apparent bias ... more due to a tendency to want to sensationalize headlines" and "rather than be based on an ideological agenda." There are daily examples well beyond bias of blatant agenda-driven distortion and misinformation and most is from the Left. You're trying to equate FOX News against "slightly more" from the left but I see that as another liberal's attempt to delude current reality.
Insofar as the future of Medicare, it's part of our fiscal cliff on the horizon. Its services will be reduced and all the class warfare by Democrats running a campaign of hate won't stop the inevitable.
RunningGreen
5:01 am on Saturday, August 18, 2012
You misunderstood me. I wasn't trying to say that there is only some media distortion from the left. What I meant to say was that as a whole, media tends to have a more-left view since there are more left-leaning media outlets. FOX News is no worse or better than the other outlets. You may think it is better since you share their opinions and viewpoints, but they still try to distort the news to cater to their demographic. Not to say if they're better or worse than other places, but they still do it.