FeedsClandestine Wikipedia Edits from Novick Campaign? Ethics Problems Anyone?
I had hoped that, with the PDA scandal, we'd seen the last of ethics problems from the Novick campaign. I was wrong. It seems that a Novick staffer, his "Deputy Outreach Coordinator" Henry Kraemer, has been clandestinely editing Jeff Merkley's Wikipedia entry. What did he do? He was editing the "Iraq War" portion of Merkley's page to make Jeff appear far less sympathetic on the Oregon HR 2 brouhaha. At the same time, he omitted a section of the resolution wherein praise is heaped on the soldiers.
Take a minute to look at Merkley's Wikipedia edit history page; user HenryK2687 (his birthday is May 26, 1987) has been quite busy there. Indeed, his edits took the base, added in more text about Saddam and President Bush, and omitted reference to the praise of our troops in one broad stroke. These actions have been undone, called a "conflict of interest" and had to be cleaned up to reflect an "even keel." If this is the same "Henry" who tried to out the author of Beaver Boundary in a BlueOregon thread, and if he's working for Steve Novick's campaign, then we have a big problem.
The edits that Henry made to Jeff Merkley's Wikipedia page are outrageous and unethical. The fact that he changed the section in question and omitted major details leaves little question as to his agenda: he's a Novick partisan, through and through. In that capacity, it's straight-up shenanigans to do what he did. And, sadly, this has been done before.
But he's not just a partisan: he's a Novick staffer, committed to "[doing] anything, [going] anywhere, [and speaking] to anyone to elect Steve Novick to the U.S. Senate." Anything indeed.
Just like Liz Kimmerly failed to disclose her relationship with the Novick campaign before trying to gin up a PDA endorsement, here we have another staffer clandestinely operating, attempting to better things for their candidate, their boss. In this case, we have a staffer operating behind-the-scenes to paint a clearly-partisan picture on one of the internet's most ubiquitous resources: Wikipedia.
That this latest staffer got caught isn't enough. This is the second time in recent weeks that we've had an ethical dilemma come from within Novick's staff. I'm sensing a disturbing pattern here: an underdog campaign, needing an edge, turns to questionable tactics to close a gap. I hope I'm wrong, but this isn't the first time this has happened.
Ethics and honesty are so important in politics. After seven years of lies, deceit, and a shredded Constitution, we cannot afford to have deception come from our own progressive house. In that light, I'm calling on the Novick campaign to address these latest concerns and the alarming trend they're a part of. Being open and honest is key; if we lose that, then we lose everything.
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Comments from site editors have a darker background than comments from everybody else.Wow more Rovian tactics from the Novick campaign despite their claims that he's a different kind of politician. This is exactly why people are cynical about politics. There seems to be pattern of significant ethical failings by the Novick campaign. Are they so desperate and think that they are so far in the hole that they must resort to dirty tricks?
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Get a life, Bradley.
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This is Henry Kraemer. I want to take full responsibility for the edits done to the Wikipedia page in question. I was acting on my own and have been strongly reprimanded by the campaign for my actions. While I intended in no way to misrepresent Speaker Merkley's record (the rest of the resolution had already been posted on the site), it was inappropriate for me add that to the entry. Assuredly, it will not happen in the future.
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Merkeley makes unethical Robocalls.
Novick's staffer makes unethical secret edits.
Sen. Smith is smiling. . .
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How did this story break?
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Merkeley and his fundraising during the Special Session, and his robocalls. He is desparate.
Novick and his StafferGate (StafferEruptions?; VastStafferConspiracy?) shows not only is he's desparado, but can't even manage his own staff. And also shows that he can't fire anybody. Desparate, Incompetent and Weak.
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Dan, Dan, lookie lookie! We're getting real honest-to-God political trolls! We made it!
You guys are real cute. Please keep coming back. :)
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Remember the time we had Citizendium trolls? That was awesome.
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"...who tried to out the author of Beaver Boundary in a BlueOregon thread..."
Speaking of Beaver Boundary and Taoiseach, I recently got this unsolicited e-mail at my website under the subject "Boo Hoo."
Looks like you still can't get over your dismissal from BlueOregon. Or, for that matter, my dislike of you.
But I'm reading the current to-and-fro over the Novick campaign's major faux-pas, and I can't help but cringe every damn time you repeat this like it matters (which it doesn't):
"Moreover, I was banned from BlueOregon after one of my posts led to the “outing” of an anonymous blogger who was using BlueOregon’s front page to attack Novick with right-wing tax-and-spend talking points. Turns out that anonymous blogger was hiding the fact that he was, Tom Powers, Mitch Greenlick’s chief of staff. Greenlick also used BlueO’s front page to personally attack Novick."
Looks like you've got the wrong guy. First of all, I'm a 'pseudonymous blogger'. Secondly, I'm not who you say I am.
You can keep repeating that bitter stock paragraph all you want, Malach, but it's not going to make this scandal go away. And it's not going to make Steve Novick win, either. Face it.
I hope to see a Merkley banner on your website come June. Then again, I don't really read your website, so what does it matter?
It's over.
Taoiseach
He's right, Tom Powers was Mitch Greenlick's legislative aide at the time in question.
But most importantly, I think this letter is a clear indictment of the American education system, because certainly there are children being left behind.
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Of course, we could care about Pat Malach's internet fights with other bloggers not affiliated with either campaign. Or we could do something useful, like observe the facts in this post and think about a larger trend of actions taken by the Novick campaign staff, paid employees of Steve Novick for Senate.
I think Ben does have a valid point that the campaign isn't taking the greatest care to ensure that staff are acting in an above-board and honest manner. These are individuals under the direct control of the candidate and campaign manager, not overexcited volunteers. As progressive Democrats seeking to oust corrupt GOP leadership in the federal government, we must first keep our house in order.
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waaaaaaaaa
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looks like henryk went too far, and was right;y reprimanded for it.
what you don't note is that before henryk showed up, the page was basically a jeff merkley for senate pamphlet with any contributions from merkley volunteers and supporters. the section that henryk specifically added content too was just as bad (if not worse) in the pro-merkley direction before he edited it. after he made his changes the mods stepped in and the page has stabilized.
this is how wikipedia works.
i am still looking forward to the day when the merkley bloggers start engaging the issues, rather than just fabricating scandals.
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petrichor's comment is really beside the point. It doesn't matter if Merkley's page was a complete and total campaign pamphlet prior to the changes. It's just not cool and shows a terrible lack of good judgement to edit the page of your opponent.
I don't get why Novick supporters keep making excuses for the bad behavior of his workers.
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That is an excellent point, Sandra.
I happen to be a long-time close friend with a member of the Merkley campaign staff and we've actually discussed Novick's Wikipedia entry. That's how I know for a fact that messing with it is explicitly forbidden for the Merkley staffers. Jon Isaacs, the campaign manager, runs a very tight ethical ship and brooks zero malfeasance.
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sandra,
please reread the very beginning of my comment where i said "looks like henryk went too far, and was right;y reprimanded for it"?
that is the opposite of making an excuse.
i am still looking forward to the day when the merkley bloggers start engaging the issues, rather than just fabricating scandals.
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For me, a public servant's ethical conduct is just as important as their policy. And that goes for staff, as well. But, to answer your question, both this blog and many others have extensively covered the various policy debates that surround the campaign.
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Petrichor, how can you reconcile "looks like henryk went too far, and was right[l]y reprimanded for it" with "merkley bloggers start engaging the issues, rather than just fabricating scandals"?
You want to engage the issues?
Fine. Campaign ethics. Merkley volunteers practiced full disclosure when posting articles for consideration as well as editing the wikipedia page, because it was the right thing to do. Henryk didn't do the same, and yet should have known better.
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I am quite appalled to read about the unethical practices being conducted by Novick's staffers. Such conduct never really pays off in the long haul. We must remember at the end its Gordon Smith we are all competing against. How can we fix things when our own house is out of order. Why isn't Novick or his senior staffers commenting on here. Why are these staffers still on his team?
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