So last night, I ranted away in a diary, and then sent an email to
John Rinaldi to make sure he knew just how angry I was. I hadn't seen him fighting at all, and he seemed to be taking a pass on hammering Republicans over the Foley affair, instead putting up a press release asking Duncan Hunter to join him in a community forum, saying that's what he was most commonly asked about. Well, seems I put my foot in my mouth, the guy is considerably tougher than I gave him credit. What follows is our email exchange. I assume I have his permission, since the subject of the reply to my email was:
Ok so lets see if you have the guts to post this on your blog :) I assume he meant DailyKos, though obviously it's not my blog. Anyways, here we go.
Here's the email I sent to him:
Hello,
So, just what the hell is wrong with you? A week when every Democrat goes on the attack over this Foley thing, and you're letting Duncan Hunter have a free pass? What the hell is that? Get some fire in your belly and go on the attack! What's with all the soggy crap about a community forum with Duncan Hunter, and just who the hell have you been talking to? That's the question you're most commonly asked? Yeah right, and the brown ring in my toilet is really the secret entrance to the land of Narnia. Just who the hell are you trying to kid with that load? Not Iraq? Not jobs? Not guns? Not gay marriage? Not terrorism? Not Bin Laden? But "Are you open to a community forum with Duncan Hunter?" Uh huh, sure.
I was planning on voting a straight D ticket, but unless you man the hell up, I'm voting for the Libertarian.
Sincerely,
My Name
To be honest, I wasn't expecting any reply at all, though I'd sent a second email pointing him to the diary. Well, John's response was, to say the least, unexpected.
Dear Rob,
It is always easy to take these shots from the cheap seats. I started this race in November of last year and since then cannot count the number of times a Democrat has started a conversation with "do you know what you need to do?" or "we never see you, where are you?" I am everywhere: I am on the blogs, at the rallys, on the radio, talking to voters...I have even managed to earn TV media. If you have heard me, seen me or simply called me, you would know that I never pull punches. I get criticized by some of our base for being too negative. Hell, we are represented by an idiot like Hunter who has done NOTHING positive for this country or for the working men and women that live in it. He has screwed the troops, our seniors, our youth, our future, our environment and just about everyone and everything you can imagine that would pay him a dollar he can stick in his campaign treasury which he appears to never need to spend on actually campaigning. I have blasted more emails, had more media exposure and printed in more newspapers than any candidate in the 52nd in a long time. Yet, you still think I am sitting silent and you would rather blast me then help me get the message out. I don't see you on my contribution lists, or volunteer lists. Face it, it takes time and money to get the message out. So frankly, stop your whining and mouthing off until you put your time and money into this race and help make a difference because all you are doing is helping Hunter.
Some of the more memorable quotes out of my mouth during this campaign: Fox News in San Diego loved "Hunter is cut out of the same cloth as Cunningham, I have no doubt he is as guilty." "Hunter is the biggest crook and bigot in the Congress as well as the dumbest." Or one of my personal favorites, in an interview with the Capitol Hill newspaper, "If Hunter's a smart man, he's getting his shower shoes ready for prison,." Or last night, live on Air America, "Hunter does not have the guts to show his face here and debate me, he is a coward, pure and simple."
Lets face it, every right wing, gay hating, moralistic ass in the Congress needs to be examined. Anyone who took Psych 101 learned that people who run around screaming about the things they hate in others are revealing what they hate about themselves. Hunter routinely screams about gays, drag queens, women and minorities and tries to screw them every chance he gets. I just assume he is a gay guy, cross-dressing in his wife's underwear at night when he thinks no one is looking and fears he might be Latina and get sent to the other side of the fence he is building. . I mean cmon, he is the one who owns the love shack hunting cabin with the former asst secretary of the air force and apparently annoys his wife spending long weekends "hunting" with his buddy, yet for some reason his shotgun never needs cleaning, hmmm where have I heard that story before.
So yeah buddy, it's a big district and not quite as red necked was you might think. Our district goes into Mission Valley and north to Poway, so you might want get your facts straight cause we need those 164,000 San Diego residents who, contrary to your beliefs, aren't drinking a bud light while watching NASCAR, smacking their wives on the ass and shooting their shotgun into the air for fun. Plus, do us all a favor and, before you drink your next bud light and go shooting off your mouth on here, get involved in my campaign, contribute, carry a sign or put a bumper sticker on what I assume is an early model truck with a shotgun rack in the back. Hunter has been here a long, long time and democrats are weary around here and pretty divided and it takes a lot of time and money to get heard not ignored. I have no problem telling the world what an ball less bigoted asshole Hunter is but someone has to be listening and people are so weary of losing no one is but its NOT because I am not out there and its NOT because my I am pulling my punches.
So grab hold of yours, get your checkbook out, call your friends and get them to do the same thing and help me open "hunter season" cause this fight is long overdue.
John
The emphasis on "ball less bigoted asshole" is mine. This response was extremely heartwarming, including the jabs he took at me. I'm happy to admit that I was wrong about John Rinaldi, the man's got some serious cajones! Though I'm not sure just what blogs he's on. I just hope he wasn't kidding about wanting me to put this up here. Anyways, take a look at John Rinaldi's website, or head straight over to his ActBlue page.
Update: Just had to change the title.