“I checked some of the polls this morning and, as of today, most polls show Davis is up by three to five points. The ‘What’s the Matter with Kansas?’ crowd are the base voters for Brownback. His campaign might believe they can swing a few votes but more than anything this is just a way to convince the base that they need to get out on election day and vote.”
That comment was left on KCC two short days ago by a gent named Jimmy in response to my column about the Paul Davis stripper bust story beginning to take flight.
The decade and a half old news had been percolating for a couple of weeks and no doubt the Davis camp was crossing their fingers, hoping the story would blow over.
Fat chance.
Because when I retrieved my mail earlier this week and found a four panel, full color mailer with a strip club stage, stripper poles, whorish red lighting, a remorseful pic of Davis and bold letters talking about how Davis was “caught in a ‘compromising position’ with a girl at a strip club during a drug raid,” I kinda knew he was cooked.
You know, we’ll see, but this is, after all, Kansas.
And Republican supporters of embattled governor Sam Brownback were not about to let this 16 year-old tawdry tidbit fade into the night. Not in the Great State of Kansas with a liberal Lawrence Democrat knocking on the door of the newly renovated statehouse.
Davis was probably in trouble anyway.
I mean, seriously, a Democrat in Kansas and a mild mannered one to boot?
For all of Sam the Sham’s many missteps, when rural Kansan flat earthers step into a voting booth all bets are when it comes to them voting for a donkey over an elephant.
That’s how human nature works.
I’VE GOT NEWS FOR SALON, PEOPLE DON’T TAKE STRIPPERS INTO A PRIVATE ROOM FOR A LAP DANCE
And now conjuring the vision of the young Davis in some seedy back room, one on one with a stripper playing grab ass while drugs were allegedly being dealt was just the excuse they needed to return to the fold.
And now here it comes…
A Fox News survey late Wednesday had Brownback ahead of Davis, 46 to 40.
And a CNN survey had the race knotted at 49 each.
Look, anything could still happen, but remember sex sells. And that’s exactly what Brownback’s camp is selling – and selling hard – where Paul Davis is concerned.
The $64 million question:
Come on, Brownback never had a lap dance?
Anybody? Anybody? Anybody?
As much as I’d love to argue with you admin, and point out that Brownback’s policies have hurt the finances of the state and education or our young people here in Kansas, the chance for a democrat or “independent” to win a state wide race is somewhere between extremely slim and impossible. The stripper story has very little to do with it. The “R” behind the name in the voting booth is all that matters.
Definitely the R is important, Stomps but…
They take these polls for a reason and every once in a while a Kathleen Sebelius with a D will slip through.
Judging from how Brownback’s political advisors are playing the Strippergate card, I’d say they disagree with your statement that it doesn’t matter. And they are, after all, in the business of running campaigns and trying to win elections. Just sayin’
Yep, they’re getting paid for their advice and I’m not. True dat
If they were paying me, I’d run as many different ads as I could that link Davis with Obama.
Just sayin’
The only lap dance Brownback has ever had is from some Labradoodle.
Funny one, mike t, but isn’t at least going to a strip club with your buddies ONE TIME kind of a right of passage?
Do you suppose Brownback has ever bought a Playboy? Ever tuned to one of those late night HBO, ShowTime of Skinamax soft porn movies? Or did he at least “lust in his heart” a la Jimmy Carter.
I’d like to see at least one reporter ask him about these mailing and if he thinks that’s a big enough character flaw to rule out Davis for office.
And then, wham!
“Have to ever gone to a strip club, Mr. Brownback?”
Why not? It’s fair game and after all it’s Brownback who is making an issue of Davis maybe riding Bareback
David did not go just ‘one night’ … he was an attorney for the strip club.
A lap dance in a private room means something different than a ‘lap dance’. They were fully engaged in coitus (love Big Bang) or he was getting a bj.
Davis*
Well…this is unexpected.
Two things.
1. To my understanding, Fox News and CNN are not the most scientific or accurate when it comes to polling. According to Nate Silver, “Looking at national and state data, Fox News currently has a +3.6 percentage-point pro-Republican house effect.” I.E. they tend to lean towards the republican advantage compared to other polls. CNN seems to have the reputation of “how can we use the polls to generate headlines?” I understand that Fox and CNN are well known brands but that doesn’t necessarily mean that their methods of polling are the best. They are, however, the most recent polls that I know of so we will have to wait to see what the others show before assuming Brownback has the lead.
2. I heard the stripper story maybe two weeks ago on KCUR but it sounds like the flyers went out pretty recently. If we took the Fox and CNN polls at face value then I would be surprised if the flyers had an affect on the polls that fast. I am basing this off of more of a gut feeling as opposed to any sort of objective research so I could be wrong.
You may be right, Jimmy…
I haven’t been following when and where the flyers first went out or what other television or online avenues they may have gone down, but I think it’s safe to say, it’s a card they intend to play.
BTW, based on my experience, lap dances usually take place out in the open as the strippers move from table to table.
The funny stuff is more what goes on in the private dancer rooms, which is why I dinged Salon for referring to it as merely “a lap dance.”
And say what you will about the Fox news poll, a month ago the same poll had Davis up 45-41.
That is true about the Fox poll. I think it is fair to say the race is tightening but that is a hell of a swing for Fox. I don’t think CNN had any polls on the Kansas race up until recently.
There are lap dances and private lap dances.
Talking to some of my KS Republican friends they are voting for against Brownback not for Davis.
They say one lil’ Democrat won’t make a difference.
based on “my personal experience” says hearne.
come on hearne…you’ve gotten the VIP treatement!
I’m sure you and your home boy glaze frequeneted
many a strip club in time.
Only difference is you had to pay for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t believe I’ve ever been to a strip club with Craig, wild man.
As I’ve mentioned, I went in my youth, kind of to see what I could see. And later with married buddies who found that sort of thing to be an outlet. And finally, as part of my job at the Kansas City Star.
The funny thing is, my first editors O.J. Nelson and Bill Luening dreamed up a story whereby I took a young, single 20-something girl who worked in the Star library to Bazooka’s and wrote about the experience.
Go figure
“The funny stuff” ?????
Reminds me of Rodney Dangerfield’s line.
“Sex has always been a scary experience for me since I’m usually alone in the dark when it happens.”
What do you think Brownback has done in the last 20 years HE MAY NOT be proud of? How many things could be printed about him and his past misdeeds of any flavor that would look bad in the press?
Im way over all the double standards and disingenuous political messages.
Lewis Black said it best; they are all the same. The Democrats BLOW, the Republicans SUCK.
Flailing himself bloody like his fellow Opus Dei buddies?
This is the only thing Brownshirt has that can possibly beat a nobody like Davis. Otherwise he is just a Republican insider with nothing but bad tax ideas.
Stay classy Sasnak, Stay classy…
Harley, Googling “Opus Dei”………
It’s so pathetic that this is even an issue. But I guess it is something that gets to the 80 year old blue hairs in Kansas.
Don’t know if Brownie has received lap dances himself or not, but he’s been known to sit on a Koch or two for a few dollars.