Kerry Campaign Demands Apology from St. Petersburg Dems

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St. Petersburg Democratic club ad says 'pull trigger' on Rumsfeld

MIAMI (AP) — Florida Republicans are crying foul after a St. Petersburg Democratic club placed a full-page ad in a weekly newspaper, saying Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should be "put up against a wall" and someone should "pull the trigger."
The ad, appearing in last Thursday's edition of the Gabber, a weekly paper covering the Pinellas County community of Gulfport, included a lengthy criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq and then singled out Rumsfeld.

"And then there's Rumsfeld who said of Iraq 'We have our good days and our bad days.' We should put this S.O.B. up against a wall and say 'This is one of our bad days,' and pull the trigger," the ad read under a banner "St. Petersburg Democratic Club."

"Do you want to salvage our country? Be a savior of our country? Then vote for John Kerry and get rid of the whole Bush Bunch!" The ad then directs financial donations to Kerry's campaign headquarters in Washington.

The bottom of the ad depicts an American flag and reads: "Iraq. Killed 623. Wounded 4927."

State Republican Party chairman Carole Jean Jordan called the ad "deplorable" and urged Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, Florida Democratic Party chairman Scott Maddox and the local party chairman to repudiate the group's statements.

"I am shocked beyond words at what amounts to a call for the assassination of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by the St. Petersburg Democratic Club," Jordan said in a statement.

A Defense Department spokesman declined comment.

The ad listed phone numbers for club president Ken Steinke and vice president Edna McCall. Both lines were busy during repeated attempts by The Associated Press to reach Steinke and McCall for comment.

Mark Kornblau, a Kerry campaign spokesman, said the club was not working for their campaign "in any official capacity" and called for an apology.

"It is outrageous and does not in any way reflect the position of our campaign. We hope that those responsible will retract the statement, apologize for it and move on to more productive pursuits," Kornblau said.

Maddox said in a statement that the ad was "reprehensible and in poor taste" and urged its immediate removal and a formal apology.

State party spokeswoman Allie Merzer said the group is a social club chartered by the state Democratic party but does not receive funds from the state party and did not consult party before the ad was placed. She said the state party was reviewing the club's charter membership.

Ken Reichart, editor and publisher of the Gabber, with a circulation of 13,000, said the club paid $175 for the ad and has advertised in the newspaper periodically for the past two years. He considered not running the ad but chose to publish it because he felt the reference to Rumsfeld was a "figure of speech."

"I didn't get the visual of Ken Steinke, the author of the ad, standing in front of Rumsfeld with an Uzi. I got the picture of the parent saying 'Boy, I want to kill my kid.' It's just a figure of speech."

In retrospect, Reichart said he would not have published the ad because of all the attention it garnered after it appeared in the Internet's Drudge Report. In addition to 300 e-mails, Reichart said it "cost me a day's revenue. We've spent all day answering phone calls from the media."

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I'm going to do my part to make sure he loses another days income as well.

[yoda]

who Marshall? Kerry or the person who did the ad?

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I'm letting the owners and editor of the Gulfport Gabber know exactly how I feel about the ad as a local resident. Next on my list is the "club" that placed the ad as well as the DNC. I am glad Kerry is distancing himself from these idiots but the fact is that they are chartered by the DNC as a political entity not a "social club". BTW, I would be just as upset is one of the rabid dogs on the Republican side did this kind of thing. I have no problem with political debate but this type of thing is way beyond the bounds of good judgement.

[yoda]

I agree. This is WAY beyond. This is a major problem. The people who did this should be thrown off the staff and made to find new jobs.