Since Andre Won’t Correct Himself, I’ll Do it For Him

I try to abide by the maxim “Don’t feed the trolls,” but sometimes I need to bite, especially when my name and the name of the organization I so passionately advocate for are attached.

Andre posted this blog on his site.  You can go ahead and read it, but here’s the gist:

In an email sent out Monday afternoon, the Young Democrats of Georgia informed their members that Lance Robertson needs volunteers for his PSC campaign. The email goes on to let Georgia Young Democrats know how they can contact Robertson’s campaign…

Lance Robertson currently affiliates himself with the Republican Party…

t seems suspicious that the Young Democrats of Georgia would promote a Republican candidate for statewide office. Even more suspicious is the background of the Republican candidate the Young Dems are promoting.

There’s a little theory known as Occam’s razor. Occam’s razor says all things equal, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

So which explanation is the simplest? That the Georgia Young Democrats suddenly support Republican candidates for office? Or that the Young Democrats of Georgia are up to dirty tricks designed to get the most unelectable Republican nominated in the July primary?

Notably, Andre has no quotes from any individuals within Young Democrats of Georgia, including President Louis Elrod, Press Secretary Ansley Tuten, or me, the guy whose address the email came from and whose email is plastered all over it from top to bottom.  He never asked any of us for comment, but instead attempted to concoct a baseless story out of what I can only presume is an active imagination.

Here’s the email, verbatim, that I sent to Andre earlier today, which he has yet to respond to or, evidently, deal with as I suggested he did:

Andre, Louis Elrod brought your article to my attention.

I put that into the newsletter as Mr. Robertson asked for me to do so.  I did not think anything of his request, as I had met him at the opening of the new Democratic Party of Georgia Headquarters, where he introduced himself as a former officer in the Young Democrats of Georgia.  Therefore, I believed him to be a Democrat, and had no reason to think otherwise when he sent me the aforementioned request.

I expect that you will issue a retraction or clarification in your article.

I appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention, and I can assure you that Mr. Robertson’s name will be removed from our newsletters, and I will be glad to issue a retraction and clarification in subsequent mailings.

So there you go people.  That’s literally what happened.  But yet, the simplest explanation, that the guy told me he was a Democrat and wanted to promote his campaign, is in fact the situation we find ourselves in.  As I conclude, I would make a few statements.  First, I’d ask Andre to live up to the most basic tenet of journalistic integrity and correct his post, or delete it altogether, as its newsworthiness is frankly nonexistent.  But I would also ask Mr. Robertson, a man who has claimed to be both a Democrat and a Republican, a man whose Facebook page describes him as “conservative,” “progressive,” and “independent,” and a man whose “likes” include the GCSU Young Republicans, Howard Dean, and Kasim Reed, to explain what the heck he is, and what party he is going to affiliate himself with.


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10 responses to “Since Andre Won’t Correct Himself, I’ll Do it For Him”

  1. gasupervoter Avatar
    gasupervoter

    You may not like Andre.

    He can be an egotistical bastard at times.

    But you have to admit, Andre got a joke candidate to end his campaign for office.

    That says something.

  2. Jules Avatar
    Jules

    Andre, sigh.

  3. TBS Avatar
    TBS

    Isn’t Lance Robertson the former “roommate” and bestie of the former erstwhile CEO of DeKalb? I seem to recall the former scuttlebutt about about them being lovers. Or something.

  4. Ladida Avatar
    Ladida

    Andre isn’t a very reliable source, since he often gets things wrong and fails to correct. The headline of his latest post is: The Democratic National Committee Gives the Georgia Democratic Party a $10K Bailout

    http://georgiaunfiltered.blogspot.com/2012/03/democratic-national-committee-gives.html

    That’s not a bailout. It’s the 50 State Strategy money and they are lucky the DNC hasn’t cut that off yet. Andre’s right about one thing though. The party is broke.

  5. APN Editor Avatar

    His rationale was that a Democrat could not win, so better to run as a moderate Republican. I can see how that’s something the Party can’t support.

  6. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    Admittedly, I do not read APN on a regular basis, though I guess I should. But the point is that not long before that (at the DPG office opening) Mr. Robertson told me he used to be a YD officer (which I was later told was a lie), and his simple being at the DPG opening seemed to heavily imply his partisan affiliation.

    Again, I regret my trusting him at his word. I issued a full retraction yesterday.

  7. APN Editor Avatar

    http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/blogs/lance-robertson-running-for-public-service-commission.html

    Two months ago, Mr. Robertson told me he was running, probably as a Republican, but he wasn’t sure of the name of the incumbent he was running against.

  8. Waldo Avatar
    Waldo

    I guess it takes a fake republican to point out the other fake republicans. I’m more shocked that people still read that blog.

  9. Ed Avatar
    Ed

    You give far too much attention to people who deserve none. FYI.

  10. Ladida Avatar
    Ladida

    This is an interesting case, and probably the first of many. I expect Democrats will have a big problem this year with fakes. We’re all going to have to be much more vigilant. Even if first time candidates qualify as Ds, they should still be held accountable by something other than a toothless loyalty oath. This is exactly the situation the folks pushing for Dem primary endorsements a while back were trying to prepare for.

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