Maybe the term “video stalker” is well-understood in newsrooms, but I think the term has a very sinister ring to it for the rest of us who are largely unfamiliar with the term. I guess I’d just like to see a blow dealt to baseless political smears. I guy can dream, can’t he?Unsuccessful Springfield Ward 8 aldermanic candidate George Petrilli has sued his opponent, Kris Theilen, former state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka and the Sangamon County Republican Central Committee over campaign literature distributed by the Theilen campaign.
The suit claims they defamed Petrilli when they referred to him in the literature as a "video stalker."
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Theilen had not yet seen the lawsuit when reached for comment Wednesday."The video stalker terminology, it's a coined phrase by the media," he said. "It's been in use since 2004. Ms. Topinka used modern terminology in her endorsement, and she is entitled to her opinion."
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Petrilli once videotaped a Peoria appearance by Topinka, the 2006 Republican candidate for governor, for the campaign of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Petrilli has claimed he did the taping only as a favor to a…roommate who worked for Blagojevich.
Also notable, the fact that Patrilli filed the suit on election day seems to indicate he was pretty pissed about it. Of course, it also has the advantage of inoculating him from accusations of sour grapes since the suit was filed before anyone knew the results of the election.
1 comment:
A couple of things: First, when you take a video camera and follow around someone to film them and then take that film to the campaign headquarters of your boss, you are a video stalker in my and 99% of the populations mind.
Second, this suit has ZERO chance and it just plays into the stereotype that democrats use the courts as their personal tools. It just makes me sick that he would file something like this. I believe he has hurt his family name and is done with politics.
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