A conference call organized by U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran’s Mississippi campaign broke down and turned into chaos last week when supposed tea party activists began asking racially tinged questions about “picking cotton” and if it was “okay to harvest the votes of black people,” and playing clips from “Animal House” on the call.
Cochran, the “establishment” candidate, narrowly beat tea party favorite Chris McDaniel in that state’s June 24 primary. Legal challenges are imminent. Conservative blogger Charles C. Johnson has been at the center of it all. Johnson, who is supporting McDaniel, and who has also worked on Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s Senate campaign, urged his twitter followers to crash the call. They did.
At issue is whether or not Cochran’s campaign paid the black community to vote for him. Johnson has been at the center of those allegations—which arise from a source Johnson paid for the story–as well as just about every other crazy thing that’s gone on in that race. This includes, but isn’t limited to, allegations of infidelity, a nursing home break-in in order to get a photo of Cochran’s infirmed wife, and a subsequent suicide. Johnson offered to pay $1,000 for a copy of the photo. And he blames the suicide of the McDaniel aide on the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and isn’t afraid to say so.
In an increasingly crowded field, Johnson is one of the more controversial and inflammatory conservative bloggers in the country. Sometimes he gets it right. Sometimes he doesn’t.
Brad Dayspring a top operative with the NRSC, called him a “pathetic little boy who yearns for attention.” Pathetic boy or not, he’s certainly getting attention for work he’s doing in Mississippi.
Closer to home, he wrote a story about GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan in December headlined, “Dan Sullivan AK US Senate child molester coddler.”
The article, published in Brietbart, indicated that as attorney general, Sullivan was responsible for the heinous 2013 double murder and rape of a 2-year-old and 92-year-old in Anchorage. As I wrote shortly after the article came out, the piece is error-riddled and inflammatory. It was a political hit job.
The summer before it was written, Johnson stayed at U.S. Senate candidate Mead Treadwell’s Anchorage house. Treadwell is running against Sullivan in the primary.
When asked about the connection with Johnson, Treadwell wrote in an email that he knew of Johnson through a “common connection with the Claremont Institute where I was a 2009 Lincoln Fellow.”
Treadwell said that Johnson came to Alaska to speak about a book that he had written about Calvin Coolidge and to get married. He said that Johnson was a house guest for a “couple of nights,” and that Johnson has subsequently “done some work for the campaign in preparation for the summer debates.”
It’s unclear how much Johnson will continue to be involved in the campaign. However, he’s still a Treadwell booster, telling a talk show host recently that Treadwell “will definitely win” the GOP primary.
If Johnson stays involved, and has any active part in the campaign, it won’t be hard to spot his fingerprints. He goes for the jugular and won’t shy away from attacking anyone who gets in his way. He even went so far as to tweet about the suicide of the father of Cochran’s press secretary.
As he wrote about Cochran’s team, “bring it on, bitches.”
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Last Question:
What was the nature of your relationship with Mead Treadwell and his campaign when you wrote the Breitbart piece mentioned above?
Another Question:
Based upon your tweets and some of your writings, you seem to support Tea Party candidates. Why then would you support Mead Treadwell and work for him here, when Joe Miller has been endorsed by the Tea Party in the past and is supported by those affiliated groups in Alaska this year?
Well, you could just answer a couple of questions here.
I have one for you in fact. Why would you encourage your twitter followers to crash the conference call and in doing so, do you bare any responsibility for some of the comments that were made because of it? Specifically the racially charged and off-putting remarks that were made.
Need a price check on tin foil hats please?!?!?
It’s disappointing that Amanda didn’t reach out to me. I would have been happy to answer any questions she might have.
I seriously doubt the commenters here subscribe to The New Yorker, but they (and every Alaskan including bloggers who dislike other bloggers) should – if only to read the Connie Brusk piece on former TNK (Tyumen Oil) owner Len Blavatnik published this past winter. These Russian oligarchs are gangsters and thieves. Any American who associates with them — is associating themselves with organized crime. Plain and simple.
DNR Dan Sullivan took money for his U.S. Senate campaign from Blavatnik (a Russian oligarch) according to Dermot Cole.
TNK is now owned by Rosneft and still in partnership with BP (TNK-BP).
Either way, Alaska Republicans are increasingly ridiculous people. I think it’s funny to watch the in-fighting. Who’s running this party? And do we really trust a group of people who can’t keep their clubhouse in order to run the state?
From what I hear on the street,Mead’s lack of ethical conduct, as it relates to his official position, is one of the reasons so many of his staffers have quit. You should check that out.
Agree Derp.
I agree with Steve B’s comment. He is 100% correct
Speaking of sleazy connections, is there anyone sleazier than Dan Sullivan’s sugar daddy, Karl Rove?
Oh come on, give it a break. All these people commenting “I was voting for Mead but now will never.. I’m just so appalled” are just wannabe Chuck Johnsons working for Sullivan. I don’t mind the ruthless mudslinging so much, but the false holier than thou approach really gets to me
Up to now, I have been a supporter of Mead;s candidacy. After reading and googling this guy, the fact that Mead associates and takes counsel from someone like this is totally unacceptable to me and is an insult to my moral fabric. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. It also makes me question the validity of some of the rumor and innuendo that the Treadwell campaign has been pushing.
Politics can be a dirty business – – by choice. Mead pretended to be something I hoped he was. Obviously, I was wrong. You really can’t go much lower. Glad I found out before it was too late. I certainly won’t be voting for Mead.
Treadwell has a long, often overlooked, record of sleazy and unethical behavior. When he was Deputy Commissioner of DEC in the Hickel administration the state ombudsman investigated an unsavory allegation iinvolving Treadwell and concluded that while no lawa appeared to be broken that he did act unethically. In his race for the GOP lite governor nomination 4 years ago there was, on behalf of Treadwell, some unjustified character assasination and fraudulent complaints against his opponent. Now, it appears that in Treadwell’s attempts to make it to the big leagues he is associating with one of the sleaziest and seemingly most unethical political operative/blogger in the country. No wonder Mark Begich is attacking only Dan Sullivan. With this type of sleazy connection, Begich knows that Treadwell will be easy to beat. I urge voters to think twice before casting a vote for Treadwell. This guy is proving to be one of the sleaziest. And most unethical candidates in the country. Unreal.
A candidate’s staff is a direct reflection of the candidate. Choose wisely.
Never had heard of him before, read this and the salon article.. trolololol. Sounds like an entertaining guy to watch (from afar).
#sleazewithMead.
I have been reading a lot about the Mississipi race and have found Charles Johnson’s behavior to border on socio-pathic. He has no limits, nor a moral compass. He is a racist, a liar, cruel and doesn’t appear to have any redeeming qualities. If he knows the difference between right and wrong, you would never know it. I find it amazing that Mead Treadwell would even associate with someone like this punk. I think it says a lot about Treadwell’s character or lack thereof. I now fully suspect that Mead was involved in the distorted story where Johnson attempted to assasinate Dan Sullivan’s character. Treadwell is obviously far sleazier than he let’s on. Treadwell owes Dan Sullivan an apology as well as all Alaskans. He should drop out of the race. His continued involvement only helps Begich’s chances just like his friend, Mr. Johnson, is helping the Democrats down south. I find Mr. Treadwell disgusting and abhor the fact that he stoops so low as to associate with this derelict.
Is this him? Is this the whisperer?
So, did you talk to him? Do we finally get to see this legendary file where all dirt is held on Dan? What did you bring us? Or is it a crock, like Fagan said/pasted into his piece two weeks ago?
We, your audience, await your reporting like children on Christmas Eve.