Welll...apparently,the Medina campaign is trying to distance themselves from him...and some good journalism from my paper(took balls in this area)
http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2010/02/26/news/doc4b8821fb43925919658451.txtBlogger’s posts leave politicians looking for distance
By JOANN LIVINGSTON
Daily Light Managing Editor
Published: Friday, February 26, 2010 1:35 PM CST
Several Republican political candidates are distancing themselves from explicit statements on a campaign supporter’s “blog” that advocated, in part, the gang rape of a female – “Ellie mae” – who the “blogger” subsequently equated to be a local reporter.
Gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina is scheduled to appear Sunday at a political rally, where a flyer indicates she was to be introduced by the “blogger,” a co-organizer of the event. The flyer also lists state senatorial District 22 candidate Darren Yancy as a guest speaker.
After the Daily Light e-mailed the Medina campaign with several questions asking about the relationship between the gubernatorial candidate and the “blogger,” a spokesman issued the following response: “Mr. (Joey) Dauben is in no way formally involved with Mrs. Medina’s campaign. There is no background check because Mr. Dauben does not work for this campaign.
“The Anti-Loop 9 Rally is not our event,” the Medina spokesman said. “Mrs. Medina’s (sic) has been invited to speak at this event, and we have accepted that invitation.
“We were not aware of the alleged comments. Mrs. Medina does not in any way espouse or advocate violence,” the spokesman said.
The comments
The comments occurred during an exchange between username “JoeyGDauben” and “Ellie mae” on an Internet “blog” owned by 29-year-old Joseph Glen Dauben.
Dauben had indicated he was having financial difficulties due to unspecified circumstances involving his two “Internet companies,” with “Ellie mae” commenting, “Maybe you could work at taco bell.”
“JoeyGDauben” responded with a comment that included verbiage that he would “beat the living s---” out of her and she could go stand on a street corner near the courthouse “and make me some money.” His remarks also included, “But, I do want the chance to cut your throat and hit you with large metal objects – maybe my car – and perhaps a keyboard from time to time. You’re a disgusting political harlot that needs to be tied to that courthouse and gangraped (sic) by all the judicial johns who you’re covering up for.”
Questions to Yancy
The Daily Light also e-mailed questions to Yancy, who requested a URL to where the comments were posted. Within a short time frame, the questions that the Daily Light had directed to Yancy were posted on the “blog” along with comments by username “JoeyGDauben” that he was standing by his statements advocating sexual and physical violence against “Ellie mae.”
“JoeyGDauben” said he was “not recanting a single thing I wrote” but did offer an apology to “women in general” for what he characterized as “sarcasm.” It was in those two subsequent postings that he equated “Ellie mae” to a local reporter.
Yancy’s response
After requesting the URL to verify the comments on Wednesday, Yancy sent his responses to the Daily Light’s questions on Thursday afternoon, saying he had been busy with his campaign and that he had been unable to view the comments because the URL did not work.
An e-mail was sent back to Yancy from the Daily Light informing him the URL had worked for several hours up until the material was removed – and he was asked how the questions sent to him had ended up on the “blog” with additional comments from “JoeyGDauben” relating to both “Ellie mae” and a local reporter.
As of press time, Yancy had not responded to those followup questions about how the questions came to be posted on the “blog.”
In his responses to the original questions, however, Yancy said he “would never approve of such language or action against anyone – not just women.”
“Regardless of whether I am a State Senator or not – I am always supportive of those victimized by sexual or physical violence. This applies to men or women,” he said, saying he was not supportive of statements promoting sexual or physical violence against any person.
Asked if he had accepted a campaign endorsement from Dauben, Yancy said he was not aware of any and added, “My campaign does not seek or accept endorsements from any person or group that would promote such acts of violence.”
Yancy said he would not be attending the political rally Sunday but that was due to changes in his campaign’s requirements and that he had pulled his appearance more than 10 days ago.
Lending credibility?
There was no response from the Medina campaign to one of the Daily Light’s initial questions as to whether Dauben’s introduction of the gubernatorial candidate could be perceived as her lending credibility and credence to Dauben’s “blog” and its statements espousing sexual and physical violence against a female.
A followup request for comment by the Daily Light to the Medina campaign also went unanswered; however, in his subsequent postings on his “blog” “JoeyGDauben” said he would no longer be introducing Medina, one of three Republican candidates – along with incumbent Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison – vying for the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination.
Material removed
Within several hours of the Daily Light contacting the Medina and Yancy campaigns, all three postings – the original that espoused the throat-cutting and gang rape, and the two subsequent postings standing by that stated violence – had been removed from Dauben’s “blog” without explanation. The postings and their related comments were removed in their entirety.
Legal issues
According to various documents, Dauben has been involved in litigation in several courts relating to his use of the Internet and Web sites. At last report, he was still a defendant in a lawsuit pending in 40th District Court concerning his involvement in a Palmer city council election.
Unspecified litigation involving his two “Internet companies” also has led to his lamenting on his “blog” about a recent loss of income, with Dauben saying briefly it was a matter of those businesses being “basically cut from some highly litigous (sic) ‘reorganization’ … .”
Dauben, a previous failed candidate in political campaigns for such offices as Midlothian ISD board trustee, Waxahachie council member and U.S. representative, recently announced on his “blog” that he has been tapped to attend an upcoming Young Americans for Liberty Spring Break event in Kentucky.
Young Americans for Liberty is endorsed by Republican Congressman Ron Paul and led by one of his former staff members, according to its Web site. Attempts by the Daily Light to reach the lead contact for Young Americans for Liberty to inquire about Dauben’s relationship with the organization were unsuccessful as of press time.
Dauben also has reportedly been tapped by the Ellis County Republican Party to serve as an alternate election judge at one of its precinct sites on Election Day, March 2.
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