Updated 2/19/2010 from original posting 2/4/2010
As we learned from the Orange Juice Blog – Chip Hanlon is a paid vassal of Meg Whitman for Governor. He never disclosed this – and still hasn’t even after being exposed as a fraud.
Chip Hanlon and Matt “Jerbal” Cunningham have exempted themselves from their own standard of disclosure. Hey, they own the place – they can be hypocrites… comes with ownership. The problem is when you are a public leader – your standard has to be higher than that of everyone else.
Many times – I spoke with Hanlon on the phone and every time, he complained about the fact that Steve Poizner’s campaign did not purchase an ad on the Red County system. We now know that this was a red herring as Hanlon’s firm greenfaucet.com was a recipient of Whitman’s lavish campaign cash.
When Chip Hanlon chose to very publicly and aggressively expel this blogger from the Red County system – he made threats including threatening to Sue either myself or Steve Poizner for lost advertising revenues…
And given the fact that Hanlon openly blustered about Poizner’s sleazy campaign tactics and how he was using me in lieu of purchasing an ad…
The issue all along was the money.
It is a not-too-closely guarded secret that the Red County system is a money loser. The Whitman ad on the home page of the site is worth a reputed $2500 a month – which seems to have been a low estimate when you look at $20K that greenfaucet.com received from Whitman, one could easily draw the conclusion that Whitman bought Chip Hanlon.
Look closer – the payment to greenfaucet was dated 12/03/2009 – I was expelled 12/09/2009. Calbuzz actually got it backward in their post from a few weeks ago.
Fake Blog Post?
Some in Southern California will remember the post I put up that was deleted within a couple hours about the Orange County Lincoln Club endorsing Steve Poizner for Governor. Chip Hanlon asked me to put it up and ultimately, Matt Cunningham deleted it after people in Orange County complained about it.
It was a ploy for traffic.
Deleted Posts
Several contributors to the Red County System have had posts deleted – including myself.
During the Doug Ose vs. Tom McClintock primary – I had posts far less incendiary than those I wrote against Meg Whitman deleted.
I remember a posting about a news story regarding a fundraiser that Linda Ackerman was employing – Matt Cunningham deleted my post and emailed me regarding “Dez” – one of the subjects of the media firestorm. (The stories referred to her as Desiree – so apparently Cunningham knew her)
People have emailed me screen shots of comments that either Hanlon or Cunningham deleted.
None of this paints a bright ethical picture for the Blog that expelled Sgt. York and grandstanded on the platform of ethics.
It’s interesting that the same circles that produced Mike Duvall also are home to Cunningham and Hanlon… things that make you go hmmm…
Smashmouth politics.
Courtesy of the Orange Juice Blog – we learn that Chip Hanlon’s firm – www.greenfaucet.com was paid $20,000 by the Whitman Campaign for “information Technology and Email.”
Chip Hanlon – whose Red County System also sports a gigantic Whitman for Governor Banner ejected this blogger from Red County to “protect the integrity of the Red County Blog system.”
That’s correct- while Chip Hanlon and Matt Cunningham were bellowing about Poizner’s sleazy campaign tactics (they characterized as paying me) – they themselves were on the take. While getting paid – Hanlon mused openly about suing Steve Poizner for lost advertising revenue.
Speaking of unprincipled – looking at Chip Hanlon’s donor records shows he takes a michavellian approach to his campaign donations as well.
$1000 to Adam Schiff (who unseated House Impeachment manager Jim Rogan in 1998)
$250 to Joe Lieberman
Stay tuned as this blogger – formerly known as Sgt. York on Red County is going to tell the rest of the story about what happened.
A Campaign Tale of Christmas Past
Not an activist was stirring, not even a wonk.
The blogs were all posted by the writers with care,
In hopes that St Margaret soon would read theirs.
While visions of dollar signs danced in their heads.
And Chip in his ‘kerchief, and Matt in his cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the internet there arose such a clatter,
Chip sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the computer he flew like a flash,
Tore open the browser to see what had past.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to his wondering eyes should appear,
But a bomb throwers blog posts from throughout the year.
With a cadence, so lively and quick,
They knew in a moment it must be Sgt. York.
More rapid than eagles his lines of prose they came,
And he piled on with sentences that put politicians to shame!
“Now Cunnigham! now, Costigan! now, Schied and Bounds!
On, Pompeii! On, Stutzmann! , on Patterson and Hanlon!
To the top of Meg County, to the top of the all posts!
Now dash away York! Dash away! Dash away all!”
And then, in a twinkling, I heard in the office
The prancing and pawing of each little minion.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Into the office came St Margaret with a bound.
She was dressed all in fur, from her head to her foot,
And her clothes were all tarnished with blog posts, ashes and soot.
A bundle of cash she had flung on her back,
To hand out to all who would help her keep her campaign on track.
She was miffed and unnerved,
And I knew when I saw her, how her mood got so sour!
A wink of her eye and a twist of her head,
Soon let me know Sgt York’s blog would be dead.
And purchased Meg County, Chip, Matt, then turned with a jerk.
And laying her money on the table with care,
made sure Sgt York was no longer there!
She sprang back to her campaign, and to her team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard her exclaim, as she drove out of sight,
“Vote for me now or disappear in the night!”