Forget about responding to such accusations of breaking the law--even when confronted with the documentation. All you have to do is just take the documents away, and then it is like nothing happened.
What is especially interesting is that this race has generated no interest in the state between Republican Tim Murphy and his Democratic challenger Chad Kluko. In fact, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Kluko has "no paid staff, no television advertising budget and no attention-drawing political celebrities to help him do it. Ironically, his district has an even bigger Democratic registration advantage than the 4th District -- 70,000 compared to 55,000." Kluko's problem is that he has no money. He is an unknown challenger whose primary job is to raise money. However, because Kluko is so unknown, the job of raising money for his campaign becomes difficult. So this race has pretty much fallen off the radar screen, which has benefited Murphy.
But now we come to this KDKA TV story. This story is a black eye for Tim Murphy--especially since he took the documents away from Sheehan in front of the TV cameras. It is this type of story that is a godsend for Kluko, allowing him to make an attack showing both Murphy's corruption and arrogance for his district. However, I doubt that such an attack ad could be made since Kluko is short on funds.
One final note. While the Murphy story was aired on a local TV news channel, it has certainly been picked up and published through the blogosphere. Currently, the YouTube video has 519 views of the Murphy story. And with the story being published through Talking Points Memo, TPM Muckraker, and even with The Daily Kos showing the video, this Murphy story has expanded from a local story to a national story. And as the story expands, it will certainly generate buzz--perhaps leading back to the Pennsylvania 18th Congressional District. And to the voters who live there.
Five more days until the election.
Update: It appears that Tim Murphy's campaign office sent a response to KDKA TV regarding the KDKA reporter Andy Sheehan story. The response is as follows:
"In the last week questions have been raised regarding activities in my congressional office. It is clear that the timing and content of the issues raised are politically motivated. In the final days of this campaign season people will say and do whatever it takes to win.
"However, I take all concerns regarding the activities of my office seriously even when they are raised by those who have been working with my opponent's campaign. That is why, when I first heard these concerns I responded in a proactive way to take any questions of improper activities before the House Ethics Committee. Because I have referred this matter to the Committee, I cannot provide further specific information about the allegations as confidentiality is required pending review.
"In this office we do the people's work, and will not be sidetracked by ugly politics. I intend to continue doing the people's work and expect a standard of excellence for all those who work here serving the public. I will maintain my unwavering commitment to fight on behalf of families for better health care, better jobs and a more secure future."
Hat tip to Daily Kos user SnarkyDonkey.
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