Mufi Camp Removes ‘Compare and Decide’ Flier from Website
It was on a Mufi Hannemann campaign website Tuesday — the infamous campaign flier that was mailed to Hawaii residents last month “comparing” Hannemann with his Democratic primary opponent Neil Abercrombie — even though Abercrombie complained about the mailer to Hannemann in a televised debate Monday night.
But sometime after Civil Beat’s Tuesday article pointed out that Hannemann was still using the flier after apologizing for its use, it was removed from Hannemann’s Just The Facts .
During the debate, Hannemann was asked why the brochure was still showing up in neighbor island mail boxes. He blamed the problem on the U.S. Postal Service, implying that he would have stopped its spread if he could have.
Yet the next day the brochure was still on an official campaign .
It’s gone now.
But the Hannemann campaign has not backed off from its contention that the content of the “Compare and Decide” flier is accurate. In fact, the website continues to defend the flier:
“Neil Abercrombie responds to any open discussion about his public record as if he is being smeared. He is quick to dismiss any reference to unflattering facts about his performance in the U.S. Congress as ‘negative campaigning.’ He doesn’t contest the accuracy of these charges, but simply throws up a smoke screen of false indignation.”
Now when you click on the where the flier used to be posted, what you find — at least, until the Hannemann campaign decides to tweak the content again — are the flier’s details on Abercrombie (e.g., that a former staffer went to jail for embezzlement). The website continues to cite the sources for its claims.
But there’s no mention of the flier’s details about Hannemann (e.g., that he was a White House Fellow).
There’s no mention of the words “Compare and Decide,” either. Instead, the site states “Facts Support Direct Mail Comparison of Hannemann and Abercrombie.”
And there is no mention that Hannemann apologized for the mailer after top political leaders in the state took the former Honolulu mayor to task over it.
