Update: 3:10 P.M.: An aide to a Republican senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, which handles nominations to the BBG, says the shoving incident “will certainly be an issue if the White House continues to back his nomination.”
“The BBG works to promote freedom and stop abuse of the press overseas. What kind of message does that send dictators in Iran and Venezuela if the U.S. promotes someone caught on tape assaulting reporters?”
Update: 2:57 P.M.: The Boston Globe is reporting that Meehan “said in an e-mail he would respond soon to McCormack's claims.” Meanwhile, Martha Coakley is blaming tensions on “Scott Brown stalkers” and said she was not “privy” to the facts surrounding the incident.
“I do know that the Scott Brown stalkers who have followed me around and the people at that press conference ... were incredibly aggressive about trying to get in my face,” Coakley told the Boston Herald. “I didn’t see what happened so I can’t say.”
DSCC spokesman Eric Schultz also shifted blame for the incident to Republicans, calling it a “dirty trick.”
“It is no surprise that Washington Republicans are trying to use every dirty trick they have to throw the Coakley campaign off their stride, but we are determined to end this campaign talking about the issues that matter to voters, like creating jobs and lowering middle class taxes,” Schultz said in a statement reported by Politico.
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Michael Meehan, the man accused of strong-arming Weekly Standard reporter John McCormack for asking a tough question of Massachusetts Senate candidate Martha Coakley, was nominated by President Obama for a seat on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a semi-autonomous government body that oversees U.S. civilian international broadcasts such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.
Ironically, considering the allegations about Meehan, the BBG’s web site describes the board’s mission as providing “an example of a free and professional press” to the world.
The Board is supposed to be comprised of eight members—four Democrats and four Republicans—with expertise in the fields of mass communications, print, broadcast media, or international affairs. Each member is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Obama sent Meehan’s name (along with that of former Bush press secretary Dana Perino and six others) to the Senate in November.
Meehan is not mere campaign muscle, but a well-connected political operative who worked for a number of high-profile national Democrats. According to a POLITICO bio, he has held top communications posts at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). He has also worked as an adviser to Sens. John Kerry (D., Mass) and Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.), as chief of staff to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), and as political director for former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
According to his LinkedIn profile and a web bio at Virillion Strategies, where he serves as senior vice-president, Meehan worked for NARAL Pro-Choice America in 2003, as “Vice President of Strategy and Politics.”
Meehan was reportedly on-loan from the DSCC to “assist the Coakley camp with messaging.”
Message delivered.
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