Makin' Somethin' Outta Nothin'

Much has been blogged recently about Chuck Reed's new smear tactic - going after tribal donations to the Democratic Party. Today the Mercury News wrote an article about the bru-ha-ha. Chuck has attacked the Dems for accepting $55K from tribal interests claiming that some of that money would be used by the party to go after him.

We've routinely discussed how this should be a non-issue given that as Chavez and local Dem leader Steve Preminger pointed out that "there's no local support for expanding gambling, city law already forbids gambling money in local campaigns, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proclaimed he won't allow tribal casinos in urban areas."

Nonetheless, Chuck has claimed that gambling interests "have been keenly eye the San Jose area for years." His support for this claim? "(H)e said he once got a phone call from a representative inquiring whether he'd be supportive."

Additionally, Chuck implied that gambling money is relevant because "city officials have for years been battling in court over efforts to regulate two local card clubs." Last I checked, Bay 101 was not run by an Indian tribe. In fact, if Indian gambling institutions did want to come to the SJ area, wouldn't they oppose card clubs like Bay 101?

So 1) Indian gaming cannot come to San Jose because it's against the law and 2) Indian gaming money has no relevance to the preexisting gambling institutions in the city. Wait a second... why is this smearing relevant? Reed even admits that he "couldn't cite any specific gambling issues on which they differ."

Nonetheless, Chavez has asked the local Democratic party to not use any of the gambling money on her campaign. Preminger said that the money would be passed to other counties in their efforts to support. Yet rumors are that Reed still plans on taking this issue to the bank during the stretch-run of the campain. MW has heard that Reed plans on sending out more hit pieces in an attempt to bring the Indian gaming money - which has now been refused - into the spotlight.

My guess is that the voters won't be swayed by these smear tactics. My guess is that the voters will be informed and educated and will know that this is baseless vice-baiting. The REAL question is WHAT WILL THE MERCURY NEWS DO? Remember only a few weeks ago when Cindy Chavez sent out a letter addressing her real role in the Norcal scandal? Phil Yost dedicated an entire column to picking apart this mailer. Will Phil provide Chuck's literature similar scrutiny or will the Merc continue to reaffirm what many of its readers already believe: that the Merc's commitment to its agenda overrides its commitment to objective journalism?