I've taken to reading Not Larry Sabato and Raising Kaine for any chance at all that Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis had the decency to apologize for using Chap Petersen's personal information in an attack ad. So far, nothing.
By way of NLS, I did stumble on Devolites-Davis' latest in-kind report earlier this morning. Seems that her hubby, Congressman Tom Davis, paid for over $275,000 worth of ads for his wife's campaign--out of his congressional campaign account. And yet, the obligatory authorization line in the lower third of Devolites-Davis' ads says, "Paid for and authorized by Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis for State Senate."
I look at this, and at the very least I see a major, major ethical lapse on the part of the Davises. Funneling money from your congressional account to the account of a candidate you favor is by itself unseemly. But funneling it to your WIFE'S campaign account?
NLS contends that the Davises may have committed a felony by not disclosing who really paid for the ad--apparently that's the cardinal sin in Virginia campaign finance law. I'm not sure if that can go anywhere ... the fact that it's his wife complicates matters. And one of the commenters says that ad rates are much cheaper for current candidates--and if Tom Davis paid for it, the rate would be double what his wife got. I don't know if that could go anywhere either--the only way I could see that getting traction is if Tom Davis had already decided to retire, given that these days congressmen have to campaign almost year-round.
Even so, the fact that Tom Davis was too lazy to write a check to his wife's campaign himself is pretty serious business in my book. That's all I see here--but it's enough that he's got some explaining to do. I would appreciate it, though, if some of the better-voiced Kossacks would chime in--like I said, right now all I see is a pretty serious ethical lapse, but one big enough to tie around Tom Davis' neck like an anchor.