WHY we rescinded our Grayson endorsement

Hey, Alan Grayson …

Would you guys like to know WHY we rescinded our endorsement of The Incredible Sulk?

Well, here goes: A few minutes after Billy published his story on the District 8 congressional candidates - a fairly even-handed piece, in my estimation - Alan Grayson went ape-shit on him. Never mind that we'd just endorsed him in Happytown™, or that Billy's section on Grayson was mostly complimentary.

Grayson was pissed - FUCKING PISSED - because we quoted Quoc Van (incorrectly, it seems - and we promised a correction) saying he was the only candidate who qualified by petition (yeah, big deal, right?) and that we called him a "millionaire" and "Washington, D.C." lawyer, which he objected to because he has a law office in the DC area and is in fact a millionaire but thinks it makes him look bad and it's our job to help him out, or something.

After the jump, you'll get the entire email exchange between Alan and Billy, in which Alan accuses us of trying to get his family hurt by saying he's a millionaire. (Editor's note: Grayson sez he was kidding about that. Ha Ha.)

Oh Alan, BTW, when YOU, as a congressional candidate, EMAIL A NEWSPAPER, your conversation is not OFF THE RECORD.

8/20/08 7:46 PM
Dear Billy: This is off the record. This is not for your letters to the editor column, or your on-line article comments. First, Quoc Van is not the only FL-8 candidate to qualify by petition. I qualified by petition, which you probably can confirm on-line. In fact, we got a lot more petitions than Quoc did. We got the 4300 that we needed to qualify, and we got another 4300. Second, "millionaire Washington, DC attorney" is not appropriate. Even the Sentinel has stopped whipping that dog. I moved here in 1996. So cut it out.
Please make appropriate changes in the on-line version of the article.

Sincerely,
Alan

---

Alan,

Thanks for the correction. I did contact your campaign about the petition/qualifying fee, and they weren’t sure. Also, the state elections site was down most of the time I was composing the piece (and was again last night when I got your letter). I erroneously went on Van’s word there. Anyway, I apologize and the correction will be made.

As for the second item, despite your rousing “cut it out,” I think your argument is one of semantics. Your present ad depicts you as a powerful attorney in Washington, and the Vanity Fair piece just came out in December stating the same. There is nothing in that statement that implies that you do not reside here.

You’ll also notice that you were endorsed in the front of the book by the Weekly. Enjoy. Have a nice day.

Billy Manes
--

Dear Billy: Still off the record. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that the present ad or the Vanity Fair piece refers to me as a powerful attorney in Washington in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the Vanity Fair piece opens with a long discussion of our life here in Orlando. Both our contractor fraud cases and our lawyers are all over the country, because we normally have to file the cases where the defendant is located. We actually have only one case, out of dozens, that we are litigating in Washington.

The problem with calling me a "millionaire Washington, DC" attorney is that it creates a false impression. Someone who is reading that phrase might naturally conclude that I spend a lot of time there, when I don't, and I haven't. In fact, last year, I spent more time in Africa than I did in Washington, DC, and last year wasn't unusual. Please rethink this. It's misleading, and it's unfair to me.

I'm not too thrilled with "millionaire," either, but at least that's accurate. If our home is burglarized or our children kidnapped, of course, then I'll blame you for that. Thanks for the endorsement.

Sincerely,
Alan
---

I called your [law firm's] Virginia office this morning to make certain that you were still there. The phone was answered with your name included. That is where you are headquartered, right? Your website says so. I understand your argument, but in my opinion -- as in those of my superiors -- the statement is not erroneous or misleading. As for the finances, I do recall your discussion of your Fortune 500 concerns in our meeting. Obviously, I am not out to harm your family. Thanks.

Billy
---

Dear Billy: Still off the record. I have spent a grand total of less than eight hours in the Virginia office this year. There are three attorneys in that office whom I have never met. There are two others whom I have met twice, briefly. It should come as no surprise that when the law firm phone is answered, the receptionist gives my name, as part of the firm name. I own the firm, so my name is part of the firm name. So what? There are dead people whose names are part of law firm names. It means nothing. To say that I am "still there" is to stretch the meaning of the word "there" beyond any recognition. If I'm almost never there, then how can I be "still there"?
>
> Seriously, saying that I am a Washington DC attorney is a disservice to me and your readers. It would be way more true to refer to Ric Keller as "Washington, DC Congressman," because that's where he lives. That's not where I live. I've learned to accept all the cutesiness and snarkiness, but I still expect a certain degree of accuracy about the facts.
>
> Sincerely,
> Alan
--

Dear Alan,

For the record, "off-the-record" implies a mutual agreement that was never reached in this email exchange. While I'll abide by the gentleman's agreement that we made during our face to face interview in which you repeatedly chose to go off the record, your emails are a separate issue. You are, in fact, emailing a newspaper, whether you choose to view us as one or not. Thank you.

Billy
__

We're anxiously awaiting Alan's response. Remember kids, vote for someone else.

Posted by Billman on 8/22/2008 12:55:06 PM Permalink | Comments: 12

Comments on this story:

Anonymous said:
What. A. Prick. Alan Grayson has revealed himself as a typical politico blowhard. Hey Grayson, some of us appreciate this local paper and the way they tell it like it is. Even if you hate being called a "Washington" guy, you just acted like one. Congrats. Fucker.
posted on: 8/22/2008 1:38:53 PM

Quoc_Van said:
I applaud the Orlando Weekly. This is the only paper that has given "all" the candidates a fair share of the story. Billy, this is not off the record, I thought your piece was a good piece: It was very fair and very balanced. This is the only article that has ever been written about the race that doesn't just focus on the money in the race. As a citizen, and not as a candidate, I am glad that the Orlando Weely exists as an alternative to the Orlando Sentinel, which has given Candidates like myself and Alex Fry no attention. Unlike the Orlando Sentinel, your piece and the Orlando Weekly has stuck to its purpose and informed the people of an important race. Again I applaud you Billy and the Orlando Weekly. Quoc Van
posted on: 8/23/2008 7:48:54 PM

carole said:
I thought Alan Grayson lived in a giant airplane hanger? No?
posted on: 8/23/2008 10:17:59 PM

jdc111 said:
So, you have a little semantic argument with Alan and all of a sudden you hate him, hate everything he's ever done, think that his work against contractor fraud and his experience are shit, and are now encouraging everyone not to vote for him? Pretty weak, OW. Love y'all, have always loved your paper, but your nit-picky pettiness is a little much sometimes.
posted on: 8/25/2008 11:05:54 AM

Copyranter said:
I agree with jdc111 completely. It seems more than a little petty to retract an endorsement because of this small little dust-up. Yes, Alan Greyson comes across as a total dick -- this iosn't exactly news. Antics like this from him are widely known by those who pay attention to local politics, and frankly, I'm glad. I *want* an agressive bulldog asshole democrat whose fighting against war profiteers. I really really really don't give a shit about Billy and his little tiff, nor do I see how it should effect how the OW operates. It's all so reminiscent of friends in high school. "You can't like that person anymore because I don't like them and they were mean to me." This amounts to a pissing contest between Greyson and Manes and it's lame on both sides. Greyson asked (at least at first) for nuance in Billy's writing. Not unreasonable. Albeit, he also expected too much from someone whose job does not include doing Greyson any PR favors. Blah blah blah.. everyone needs a nap and a juice box. Grow up, all of you.
posted on: 8/26/2008 11:07:00 AM

Justin Strout said:
I have nothing to do with this, but I'd kill for a nap and a juice box right about now.
posted on: 8/26/2008 3:23:26 PM

Anonymous said:
Grayson implies that he lives and practices in Florida (with just a bit of involvement practicing in the Washington area), but he is not even a member of The Florida Bar. According the website of his Vienna, Virginia (DC area) law firm, "His bar admissions include the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Colorado. Mr. Grayson’s court admissions include U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia, Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. Court of Federal Claims and U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C., 4th and Federal Circuits." None of these courts where Grayson is allowed to practice has a thing to do with Florida, but he is running for office here against a Republican who grew up here and practiced law here prior to his election to Congress. If Grayson is not a carpetbagger, who is?
posted on: 8/27/2008 6:26:45 AM

Anonymous said:
Alan Grayson's commercials are so full of shit, he should get into the porta-potty business. There have definitely been some crooked activities in Iraq - no argument there.....but body armor that "doesn't work", empty fire extinguishers & useless parachutes? There is more to the story here that he isn't telling us, and hasn't really been made public enough, that he's exaggerating and using to advance himself.....it's sad that more people aren't seeing this.
posted on: 9/1/2008 1:45:49 PM

Anonymous said:
I think you guys are way too sensitive to be in the journalism business if this exchange upset you. Get over it. He asks some of the most penetrating questions during congressional hearings. So what if he blows a little hot air? If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
posted on: 3/18/2009 7:00:08 PM

Anonymous said:

posted on: 11/2/2009 11:05:53 AM

Up_in_Smoke said:
I love your Reporting, I have included your site on my BlogRoll, Thanks for keeping this slimeball Grayson in check. The Conservatives in Tennessee are hoping for a massive defeat of Grayson in the next Election. I have recommended a following of your site on Twitter to 700 of my followers and nearly a 1000 visitors a month will have access to your site when they visit my Blog. Keep up the good work Gentlemen, you have my support...J.Mark Underwood @Up_in_Smoke
posted on: 11/2/2009 11:13:47 AM

Anonymous said:
Come on. He didn't go "ape-shit". He got a little upset that you represented him in a way he feels is not accurate. And then you got a little upset that he complained about your reporting. People get bitchy at each other over email, and you both fell into the sandbox. Alan Grayson is still awesome. You too.
posted on: 11/6/2009 4:41:11 AM