This is the recap of my phone conversation with Dan Bongino: Our conversation started by him asking me what was going on to which I replied You know what is going on. I then told him how upset me and his supporters in Cecil are regarding his endorsement of Willick. He said that our council needs contrarian voices on our council to pull us further to the right because we are spending more money than we have and sent a tier map to the state when we shouldnt have. He said he has talked to Willick and that he understands there are issues with his tactics. He said he told Willick that he needed to pull back a bit an be a little nicer, and go after Democrats more. He said he sees it as a tactical difference. I told him to put aside beliefs and tactics for a second and just consider his character. Willick willingly and repeatedly spreads partial or misinformation to fit his narrative. He has a predetermined narrative and he manipulates facts to support the narrative he wants to get across to suit his own agenda. He is a liar. Bongino just told people who rely on his judgment to go out and vote for a liar. He told me that he hasnt been able to get specifics on things hes lied about when hes asked people in Cecil County (not sure who he asked). He said he just gets feedback that Willick emphasized this or that...not lies just the way it is framed. I told him I gave him some specifics in my email. He said were all liars. I said, no were not. He said well Im a Christian and he didnt know what I was was but were all sinners. I said I am a Christian too, and I know were all sinners, but thats not what Im talking about. When I was younger I told my mom I was going to a PG movie and I actually went to an R movie, but thats not what Im referring to. Im talking about someone who repeatedly and intentionally lies, tries to destroy peoples reputations, and when he is confronted with the truth, blocks you. This is someone who is running for a position to represent people and make decisions for them. I told him we at the Patriots have some pretty nasty discussions at times on FB, but we have never blocked anyone. We dont feel the need because in the end the truth will win. I told him that I have never intentionally misled anyone, and if I get something wrong, I will say so, but that rarely happens because if I dont have the facts, I keep my mouth shut until I do. He said well its all a matter of how you frame it. In politics, people always say the opposite side is lying. Then he said moderates are calling him making the same arguments about Richard Rothschild as we are making about Bob Willick. I told him about some of the things that have been put out about Andy Harris by C4L leadership; for example, the claim that he supports indefinite detention, when he voted for an amendment (by Gohmert) that would eliminate indefinite detention for American citizens; he just did not support the bill by Justin Amash that would give Constitutional rights to foreign terrorists who come to this country to do us harm. He said he has defended Harris at times and that he has gotten flack from C4L for doing so, and he knew that McGrady had supported Harris until he ran for mayor of Aberdeen when he saw a chance to score political points and then began attacking Harris on some issues. I told him he could lump Willick in there as well, because a lot of that stuff originates in Cecil with Ted Patterson and Bob Willick distributing it. We had an interesting, but disturbing discussion about the tier map. I told him that was one of the things where I saw Willick and the rest of C4L being dishonest at the expense of Cecil County. He said he agreed with Willick; we shouldnt have sent in any map; we should have done what Carroll County did and not send in any map at all. I asked if he looked at the Carroll County website (ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/plan/sb236/) and saw what happened to their development potential because of them not turning in a map. I said that their development has been completely shut down except in their growth areas, and that now the state has taken control over their local planning. He said Good, thats what they should have done. I said What? Am I hearing you correctly? Are you saying that local officials should just turn over local planning to the state rather than send a map that reflects our local zoning and doesnt take away any property rights? He said he didnt see why local Republican officials should be getting involved in that. If the state wants to pass these laws, rather than comply we should just let them take over it. He said then let the developers go fight it out with the state rather than the local Republicans fighting for them. He said he didnt think local Republicans should be getting involved in this. I was completely dumbfounded. I said when I elect people locally, I elect people who will stand up for my rights against intrusive federal and state regulations. He said, he doesnt; he votes for people who will uphold the Constitution. I said, well thats part of upholding the Constitution. What other rights are we going to turn over to the state? Are we going to turn our second amendment rights over to the state? He said were going to just have to agree to disagree on this issue. I told him that the idea to pass a map like we did was proposed by Richard Rothschild in Carroll County, but he couldnt get a majority to get on board. The Planning Dept. in Carroll told their board that doing so would be a violation of the guidelines provided in the law, and they were concerned about the repercussions from the state if they did not follow the law. As a result Carroll County decided to pass no map. We had actually talked to Richard at the time about this idea before it was carried out. He said he thought that would be a good way to address the law and protect property rights and that he was going to propose the same thing in his own county. I told Dan that Richard is someone who I consider to be a reliable source on this issue, and it led us to push for the the type of map that was sent in. We made the right decision. (Also not part of our conversation: If were to believe the Carroll County Website and what they have indicated, they intend to send in a map after a comprehensive rezoning is completed; so even what has been stated as their intention contradicts what Bongino and C4L have said. In the meantime they have surrendered their local planning and development over to the state. Carroll County has stood down and surrendered to the state as have a few other counties; also it is my understanding that we have been sending our comprehensive plans to the state for years as required by state law. Im not sure how sending a map that reflects our local zoning, that does not cow tow to the states demands is any different.) At one point early on he told me that he didnt have to listen to this and I should just send him an email so he could delete it. He also said that with all hes done, I have no right to lecture him about what he should do and there are talkers and there are doers, (implying Im just a talker not a doer) and if I thought I could do it better, I should run. I told him I couldnt because of my 3 kids, and that I had considered it. He said well we all have to...Ive made that sacrifice; Ive put it all on the line for the last few years. He said hes received other calls. He came to Cecil County because he supports us; he didnt have to. It didnt matter whether or not he came here when he ran for statewide office, but he did. He said he didnt have to call back me or other people who complained, but he did because he cared. He said it didnt matter to him; he didnt have anything to gain by the endorsement other than he is trying to get good people in all over MD so hes endorsing a lot of people. He mentioned that he endorsed David Brinkley and is getting flack for that as well as some other candidates. I told him it didnt matter to him because he doesnt live here; I do. I also told him that I understand that while he is going to lose support from Cecil which doesnt impact his current race, he will benefit from the endorsement with the C4L chapters in his area. He became upset at the suggestion that he was doing this for votes in his area. He said that I dont know him at all if I think thats why he did it and he would be shocked if C4L gives him any support. He said they wouldnt endorse him. I said that they dont endorse anyone, but they would offer him support and promote him in other ways. He said he doubted they would. He said we need to make sure Libertarians feel they have a home in the Republican party. I told him that Im fine with that. Thats not the issue. I told him that we supported someone for the board in 2010 and who is currently serving on the Central Committee that is very Libertarian (Kolodzey). I have no problem with him even though we disagree on some things because of the type of person he is and the character he has. He is an honest, good person who will always act in good faith in what he feels are the best interests of the county and the party. He is not self-serving. Thats the difference. I also told him that when we ran this person for the board, the leaders of C4L (Patterson) ran someone against him (Dunn) because Kolodzey didnt support public sector unions and the teacher pension shift. So their political purity is debatable anyways. He said thats why the Charles Lollar campaign is failing, because he doesnt endorse because he doesnt want to cause hard feelings between people and get in the middle of other peoples battles. I said hes smart for having that position. He said thats why hes losing- hes not gaining loyalty from people because he doesnt endorse them. I said that doesnt have anything to do with the problems his campaign is having. He said it absolutely does. I said hes making a connection where there is none. I told him that the Lollar campaign has had some problems with management which is unfortunate because I really like Charles. I also said that if there were a connection between endorsements and the success of the gubernatorial candidates, then tell me who the other three candidates for governor have endorsed. I said I hadnt heard of any. He said sure there is, just yesterday I heard Larry Hogan endorsed David Craig. I said What? They are running against each other. He said it was kind of a joke, Hogan endorsed Craig for County executive of Harford County. I said well that doesnt really county then, does it? At the end of the conversation, I was in tears because there are very few truly honorable men around who are willing to do whats right regardless of the cost or personal benefit. I suddenly came to the realization that my image of Dan Bongino was completely wrong. He came off to me as arrogant, and I dont think hes any different than anyone else. Particularly disappointing to me was the way he viewed himself in comparison to me. I realize that he left a good job at the White House for an uncertain future, and he has done a lot over the last few years to promote the correct message. Because of his former position, he has had the national spotlight and has made a name for himself. No one knew Dan Bongino the Secret Service Agent, but everyone now knows Dan Bongino the public speaker, candidate for Congress and former Senatorial candidate, the radio host, TV guest, and book author. He has done well for himself, and that is good, because in the process, he has promoted the right principles in our state and at a federal level. But in our conversation, I was left with the impression that to him, I was a nobody, and what I did was not important in comparison to him, and he felt I had no right to influence his decision in my local election because he was Dan Bongino and he earned the right to do what he wanted without being lectured by some nobody like me. Several times he made statements regarding what he has done and how he earned the right to endorse whoever he wanted and that someone like me shouldnt be advising him what to do (I guess the fact that its my county doesnt matter in the world of Dan Bongino). I told him that he absolutely did have the right to endorse who he wanted, but he should know that it is very hurtful to his supporters in Cecil County when he inserted himself in a situation where he doesnt reside at a local level endorsing a candidate who is so disrespected because of his lack of character by TEA party activists and Republicans who are in Cecil County, the same people who were out door knocking for him for hours upon hours. I know I personally knocked on a lot of doors for him and promoted him in our emails and on Facebook, had him speak at our TEA party, encouraged people to donate to him, and donated to him myself. I also told him to ask how many doors Willick ever knocked on for him. He said I know. I said that we never asked for anything from him. We have worked for him. What had Willick ever done to help him? He said, I know. Yet he asked for Bongino to do something to benefit him. I also told him that Willick and C4L do nothing in Cecil County except send out emails and post on Facebook. They havent done anything locally. He said I know. My impression from the conversation was that Bongino knew there were issues with Willick, knew his boots on the ground in Cecil did not support Willick, and knew that this would be a problem, but decided to endorse anyway. He didnt bother to talk to people in Cecil County about this, even though he had a team of workers here who he knew very well because he already knew what the answer would be. He said that he still supports us and that this is not an indication of his support for us. My personal belief is that he doesnt need us in this election, but C4L as a statewide organization can help him, so it was pretty easy to throw us under the bus for his benefit. Thats not the man I thought Dan Bongino was. I had ever intention of helping him in the general election, but I wont lift a finger now. Jackie
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 18:43:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015