Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Lis Smith brings her losing ways to the Obama campaign

Our old friend Lis Smith is back in the news. Lis was the communications director for Ted Strickland during his campaign for reelection back in 2010. The bulk of her communication strategy seems to revolve around making snarky comments about Republicans on Twitter. And she isn't even very good at that. For example, she tweeted out that someone who blocked her on Twitter had a "glass jaw" and mockingly called him a "grown man". Here at Third Base Politics, it was revealed that someone else also blocked others on Twitter.

Her boss, Ted Strickland.

Somehow, despite how unimportant this issue was, Smith, after all that she said, still thought it was a big enough deal to try to cover for her boss and pretend he never blocked me. Me. A blogger. In his pajamas.

She's paid for this, people.

Rather than focusing on developing the right message for Ohioans, she's lowering the tone of the debate and trying to prevent herself from eating her own words.
Oops!

Even simple jobs at her latest position, working for the Democratic Governor's Association, seemed a bit challenging. As communications director for the DGA, their website was her responsibility. The DGA has a straightforward purpose. Promote Democrats, and attack Republicans. Which is why we, and others, found it amusing that the DGA website was posting glowingly positive news about Republican governors.
What Lis posted is an article from the St. Petersburg Times. The headline reads "In Orlando, Republican governors tout can-do reform efforts." And its right there on the DGA website. What else will people browsing the DGA find out about Republican governors?

But turn your attention away from Washington and you'll see plenty of bold leadership in America's state capitals: drastic spending cuts leading to balanced budgets, slashed public employee pensions and education reform measures bucking powerful teacher unions.

Maybe if Lis didn't spend most of her day being sarcastic about Republicans on Twitter, she might have a website, and a strategy, that promotes the Democrats she is supposed to be helping. Or maybe she is just really really excited that she was quoted in a newspaper!
I hope somebody knocked on her office door and said "Hey Lis, you're doing it wrong."

Now, the Obama administration has hired her to be their "Director of Rapid Response".
President Barack Obama's re-election team picked Strickland campaign veteran Lis Smith to be its director of rapid response.

Her role for Obama's campaign will be "responding to attacks from Republicans, making sure voters know the truth about our opponent's record," according to a campaign source.
Wait a minute...isn't that what Attack Watch was supposed to do?



So, will Lis be taking over Attack Watch? Or will the Attack Watch people be competing with her to see who can be the first one to make a devastating sarcastic tweet after the GOP candidate points out what a complete failure every part of Barack Obama's domestic policy has been? Actually, this makes sense. Attack Watch and Lis Smith both use Twitter as their grand strategy on their way to becoming laughing stocks.

Let's just hope that Lis's association with the campaign has the same effect as it did for these candidates:

  • 2010: Worked on Ted Strickland's reelection campaign. Result: LOST
  • 2009: Worked on Governor Jon Corzine's reelection campaign. In Democratic New Jersey. Result: LOST
  • 2009: Worked on Terry McAuliffe's VA gubernatorial campaign, who had major name recognition and outspent everyone else in the race. Result: LOST
  • 2008: Worked on Dan Seals campaign for Congress. In deep blue Illinois in a Democrat wave. LOST
  • 2007: Smith made this "most stupid" comment and apparently got booted from Chris Koster's MO AG campaign

Obama sure knows how to pick 'em...

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