WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

Gosh, this makes me feel bad for Gerry's daughter...

Apparently she was in the Woodson school play this weekend.  As with any school play there was a program where parents put in ads congratulating their kids.  Every single ad in the program had either family pictures or just pictures of the kids.

Except for parent Gerry Connolly who bought the back cover and put a picture of himself instead of his child- and didn't even pay for the ad himself like every other parent- he had his Congressional campaign pay for it.  See it here.

I've been out most of the weekend, but I have been totally overwhelmed with email from other parents and students about this.  Rather than angry, most of them are just sad that Gerry doesn't even have the grace and common sense to give his daughter the attention in her school program.  I feel bad for her also.  Looking at all the other parents congratulating their kids, followed by her dad putting in a picture of himself had to be totally embarrassing.

(Gerry Sucks, Part 55)

Comments

You have sunk to a new low. I did not think that it was possible, but you have shown again that you will do anything to promote yourself even when it involves hurting a young high school child. There is a special place in hell for people like you.

I think that last comment was aimed at Ben- but it actually reads better aimed at Gerry for doing this thoughtless ad.

anon9:48

What the hell are you talking about?

[Not Jack Herrity]

Now that ad is pitiful. As a communications strategist, it pains me to see such horrible, demeaning, and selfish copy text in a kid's play program.

Ben, I don't think there's a "special place in hell for people like you". You'll just be in normal hell with the rest of us...

Does this thing save IP addresses? I wouldn't be surprised if 9:48's comment came from a certain address in the Mantua neighborhood of Fairfax.

[Not Cathy Smith]

I am a parent at Woodson High School and this ad created a large amount of discussion at the production. Everyone knows Gerry and Cathy are parents at Woodson. Most people know them both personally since Woodson is not a large school. A majority of parents would probably vote for Gerry. Not after this though. His first responsibility before being a Congress candidate is to be a father. This means shelling out the hundred bucks to put an ad in the program himself (not from political donors) and highlighting his daughter and not himself. This isn't just selfish, it is narsistic. I'll be voting for Deneny or Byrne now and so will many other parents.

Meanwhile, everyone south of 66 and west of 95 don't give a rat's ass.

Not Cathy Smith - is your level of mastery of the English language indicative of a Woodson High education?

[Church Hill Dem]

Gerry's ad is totally lame, don't get me wrong. But to play devil's advocate-- if Gerry had bought an ad like anyone else's that wasn't self promoting, how many folks would have jumped on him for having an unauthorized ad, political solely by virtue of his candidacy?

Gerry Connolly...all politics, all the time. There's a time to turn it off. This was one of them. Kinda pathetic.

This is really disgusting. If I were Gerry's daughter I'd be really hurt and angry right now. Does Gerry Connolly have no shame at all?

Not Cathy Smith is a creation of Ben, just like his assertion that he has been "totally overwhelmed by email from parents and other students about this."

A "parent at Woodson High School" also doesn't sign a post with "Not Cathy Smith."

Another sleazy and fabricated post by NLS. Byrne must be in real trouble.

[Ben Tribbett's Mom]

Ben was fascinated by young boys as a teenager. Now that he is a man he also likes to dwell on teenagers.

Ben is not a homosexual anymore. As you can see from his blog, Ben is just a pervert who likes young boys and girls.

[Scandal]

Ben, You haven't even scratched the surface. The whole reason this has happened is because when Gerry Connolly got married, he DELIBERATELY got his wife pregnant. I hope you address this issue in the near future. Who knows, you might learn some biology too!

[Bryan J. Scrafford]

In regards to who paid for the ad (Gerry or his campaign) I can see where the campaign decided to do the safe thing and had it funded by his campaign. Perhaps the best solution would have had Gerry paying for the ad himself and treating it as an in-kind donation to his campaign so that his donors wouldn't be paying for it. I think that would have solved the problem of the FEC regulations.

The fact that his campaign paid for the ad, however, is not to big issue. The big issue is that the ad should have focused on his daughter – if there was a picture with Gerry in it, it should have also included his daughter. The fact that the photo was only of him and that he drew attention to his position of Chairman of the Board of supervisors, in my opinion, made this look like a political stunt instead of something that praised his daughter.

Interestingly enough I think it would have served Gerry better if he had taken out an ad that had put all the focus on his daughter. People would have thought it illustrated how he was a good father who loved his daughter. While people don’t necessarily doubt that now, I don’t think this ad really helps his campaign at all. If anything, it might have done some harm.

[Interested Observer]

I agree that this is a tacky ad, but I really doubt it was the talk of Woodson. That's just silly. Silly like a political advertisement in a school program. But, come on, why are parents putting in ads congratulating their kids in the program? Maybe I'm a little out of touch, but I don't remember seeing that growing up. It's like the paid wedding announcement page in the Washington Post. It strikes me as more social climbing than anything else.

It doesn't matter how GC would've put that ad in. If he DIDN'T put an ad in, it would be an issue on here. No matter what he would've done, there'd be an issue raised about it.

Purpose of the program and the ads is fundraising..or at least it was when my kids were at Woodson. More than a few RE agents including yours truly advertised in school programs.
As for Caitlin, she and her mom are out almost every week-end doing a coffee for Gerry. I doubt she had a problem with the ad. BTW Ben, I believe this is the first time you have ever used the word "gosh" on this board.
That was so....gentle.
Not a Babe

[bwana]

If the purpose of the program is fundraising, I have to wonder is/was there a rule against him putting in two advertisements?

Given that these ads are not huge $$ things, it seems somewhat logical to have put in one ad that focused on his daughter (with no mention of his candidacy), and a second ad that touted his candidacy (with no mention of his daughter)...and, if this was not possible, only put in the ad that focuses on his daughter.

The ads are for fundraising. A lot of high schools also let the parents of seniors take out ads in the back of the yearbook for the very same reason.

Come on ben, whats the purpose of the ad book -- to sell ads. Gerry bought one. His relationship with his daugther has nothing to do with the ads. If other parents buy adds ina particular way and other parents follow. Maybe we could have the same parent jump of a bride and you might follow.

Gerry is not an attractive man. He should stop running pictures of himself. And please, please, no more of the red white and blue fat guy shirt pictures that pop up on this blog every so often!