The Weekly Standard has received a response from Jesse Benton, via a McConnell campaign aide, concerning the tape recording of Benton, first published at EconomicPolicyJournal.com, where Benton states that while he is working for the McConnell campaign that he is "sorta holdin' my nose for two years."
WS reports on the Benton response:
McConnell campaign aide Allison Moore emails a statement from Benton:
"It is truly sick that someone would record a private phone conversation I had out of kindness and use it to try to hurt me. I believe in Senator McConnell and am 100 percent committed to his re-election. Being selected to lead his campaign is one of the great honors of my life and I look forward to victory in November of 2014."
Of course it isn't sick when you feel that as Dennis Fusaro, you're trying to figure out if Jesse is committing various felonies.
ReplyDeleteBased on what I've seen and heard, Jesse comes across as having a personality not unlike a used car salesman. They'll skirt all sorts of ethical issues and tow the grey line in order to sell product.
Translation: I have been nailed, and I know it.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, though. Is nothing sacred? No matter how you slice it, private phone calls are just that, *private*. In today's instant, internet society where people post intimate photos on social media, we have forgotten the rules about private conversations. This kind of behavior is what causes people to be fake, because they cannot speak candidly to anyone without having to worry about that person divulging private information. Benton states quite clearly in the conversation (which frankly he shouldn't have to do, because anyone should know that you don't publicize private conversations): "Between you and me, I'm sorta holdin' my nose for two years..." Did anyone read that comment clearly? It says, "Between you and me", meaning not for public consumption.
ReplyDeleteI don't care what the circumstances are, it is wrong and unethical to publicize private conversations without BOTH people giving consent. Do you think anyone is ever going to speak candidly to Dennis Fusaro ever again? Not unless they're total morons and are okay with him secretly taping a conversation and posting it to the internet, which (by the way) is illegal in twelve states.
One person here writes: "They'll skirt all sorts of ethical issues and tow the grey line in order to sell product." What "skirting" of ethics did Fusaro do in taping and publicizing a private conversation? It's hypocritical in the extreme to deride the unethical conduct of a person you oppose while condoning the unethical behavior of another you support.
Fusaro has stated that both he and Benton live in "one party consent" states, meaning that the laws in those states require that only one person in the conversation need give consent to the recording. He says this knowing that twelves states in the country require that both persons give consent. However, in many states that legality is still under debate, which means that Fusaro could end up in serious trouble. One thing is for certain, no one will ever trust him on the phone again. Fusaro stated that he waited for Benton to "do the right thing", which is ironic considering his behavior. Two wrongs don't make a right, and they never will.
I am a Christian, just like Fusaro, and both of us know that it's unethical and sinful to speak to a man in a private conversation and then post it on the internet, no matter how long he waited for Benton to "do the right thing". There simply is no mitigating that fact.
Michael Driston,
ReplyDeletePrecisely where in the Bible does it say that it is "sinful" to post a "private" conversation on the internet? Quote Scripture.