Gary Dodds, AKA "The Anti-Karl Rove"
-A cunning plan-
Gary Dodds was down in the NH Democratic primary race for that state's 1st Congressional District last spring. Having taken out two mortgages on his house -- without his wife's knowledge -- and facing a likely Federal Elections Commission investigation into "discrepancies in campaign finance reports," Dodds hit on what seemed like a brilliant political maneuver.
According to the report, police found his empty car on the side of the road. "He went missing for more than a day, creating a national story about the missing candidate. He later explained that following [a car wreck], he'd stumbled into the woods, crossed the river, and then lay down under a pile of leaves, where he was eventually found."
Police weren't buying it. Dodds seemed to have faked a head injury and made up a story about swimming across a river (why would you do that anyway?). "When he was found, his feet were so wet that police had to pour water out of his shoes, but the rest of his body was dry," the report reads. "And when they questioned him about how the water had tasted, he'd gotten the answer wrong (it's brackish)."
In a motion filed with the Strafford County Superior Court, prosecutors wrote, "It would be argued that Mr. Dodds fabricated the story he told police and falsified his physical appearance in an attempt to gain publicity to help propel his campaign for the United States Congress. The state would argue that Mr. Dodds believed the publicity garnered from this accident would increase the visibility of his campaign, allowing him to pay back the mortgages, avoid further FEC investigation, and right a campaign that was lagging."
It didn't work. In the primary, Dodd received a whopping 1,000 votes, losing his race to Carol Shea-Porter. The moral of the story is, if you're going to pull a publicity stunt, don't steal a plotline from The Young and The Restless. (TPMMuckraker)
-Headline of the day-
"John Ashcroft: I'm Willing To Be Waterboarded." I'm not sure which punchline to go with: "Well, what are we waiting for?" or "Yew! We don't want to hear about your creepy sex life..."
Take your pick. (Think Progress)
-[FARK] headline of the day-
"Race between man and pickup truck comprehensively won by truck." Actual story at Buffalo News. (FARK)
