Stop with the old Vito Lopez "gee I hear so-and-so is dropping out" bullshit. THis is a typical machine tactic and seldom is true. Let me be clear: there is currently NO such rumor about Harrison dropping out. You are pulling it out of your ass.

Doesn't know his A from his elbow. If he did he'd know that Working Familes Party endorsed McMahon.

Harrison IS NOT dropping out.

We don't know right now. I can make guesses, but I won't because they would be just that: guesses. I suspect we will know more by the end of the week if not before. But either a.) the staff want to leave, or b.) Steve is hiring new staff (remember, David Yassky did a shake up as well part way through, just to pick one example). As to why, there are also several possible reasons. The situation has changed with both the Repub and the previous Dem rival out of the game and a new Dem in the game. That can warrent a change of strategy. Is it good or bad for Steve? We will find out when they make their statement.

First off, I owe no one an apology because my objection was to the age old machine hack tactic (akin to Fox News' "some say" BS) referring to a "rumor" (generally being invented on the spot) that someone is dropping out. The comment didn't say, "I wonder if this is a sign he might drop out." It suggested it might confirm a rumor...a rumor that doesn't exist. Of course it is a possibility. But seldom does a staff shake up come right BEFORE dropping out. There is no need to firs let staff go, in most circumstances, because the WHOLE staff is going to be let go if someone is ending their campaign. It is possible that he is dropping out, but there are other possibilities as well.

The staff wanting to leave just like that? Yeah. It can happen when things change this much. I can think of several reasons why and maybe if you take a few days to mull it over you will to. Or maybe Harrison is the instigator because he wants new people. The Yassky comparison was comparing a campaign that shifted its staff to a campaign that may be shifting its staff. Gee...what a strange comparison! How did I EVER come up with it! Sorry to tax your ability to compare things.

So...like I said, we will know soon. Speculation is fine. But the original comment's suggestion that there are existing rumors was a clumsy, inacurate and heavy handed tactic that Vito and Clarence both used routinely. I am well within our editorial policy to merely delete such blatant machine tactics. Instead I left it and gave a warning. Anyone is welcome here. But if people use sleazy tactics they will get kicked off in no time.

It is perfectly fair to question my own comments regarding Recchia. Let me point out a few things that I consider different, though I recognize you may not.

1.) I gave full context to the rumor I heard. It was a public discussion, apparently with a Recchia guy in the room who made no comment, at an IND meeting with people quoting discussions in Albany among insiders. This is very different than quoting an unspecified "rumor."

2.) Recchia really had disappeared from the scene, exciting comment, before I heard said rumor. So people were wondering why he was skipping every endorsement meeting of every club in the district, ceding said clubs to Harrison. No one had heard from Recchia or his campaign for while. No one has accused Harrison of being absent.

3.) Whether you realize it or not, there was more substance behind the "rumor" I had cited than I could make public and, in fact, it really was true whatever your sources said. Of if not, Recchia had certainly said things to people enough to give many the impression he was throwing in the towel. It was only after Fossella's complete collapse that Recchia changed his mind...too little too late for most of his supporters. But I am willing to admit that this one doesn't matter because I wasn't able to actually CITE the info I had so I had to rely on 1 and 2.

I know you were a critic of my mentioning the Albany rumor about Recchia. But come on. When insiders are telling you the scuttlebutt from Albany inside circles, and consider it public knowledge, NO ONE is going to pass it up. Many would have stated it far more definitively than I did. Your source must have heard the discussion because the entire rest of the club did. Why didn't he pipe up? I suspect he knew it to be true but also knew I was letting the cat out of the bag before a final decision had been made so was doing damage control. Either that or Recchia himself was still uncertain but had told too many people about his doubts for Albany to take him seriously anymore. In which case his withdrawal was only a matter of time.

Now please tell me honestly if what I reported and the way I reported it was the same as what the Vito Flunky in this thread is doing?

The comment made by the anonymous poster was clearly ignorant speculation. The dead give away was all that stuff about Harrison running in the general instead, on the WFP line. It all reminded me of something we'd expect from Wallner. Was it Wallner? Frankly, I don't think it came from Vito L or the McMahon campaign--if they'd mentioned the WFP, they'd be bragging about McMahon's WFP endorsement (not that it's anything to brag about--the WFP also backed Maziarz-- but that's a discussion for a different day).

On the other hand, that comment was by some no-name (not even a pseud)imbecile posting on someone else's thread; your's was a diary by a well-known (in this context) blogger on a well thought of (in this context) political blog. So your standards have to be somewhat higher (unless your name is Wallner). And they are, but you were still spreading gossip you couldn't confirm as true. Moreover, because your agenda in the race was so well-known, you owed it to yourself, your site, and your candidate to be even more careful than discretion would normally require.

Did you meet the standard?--I don't know. It certainly wasn't at the level of Rock's publishing that Tish James was under investigation, when the so-called investigation turned out to involve not her, but a staffer with a personal immigration beef, which in no way could be said to reflect upon her, unless one held views on immigrants resembling those of Lou Dobbs or Pat Buchanan (which I assume Rock does not).

Spreading rumours is what people in politics do--and I guess I've done my share, but given that this stuff on the web will probably outlast us, we probably should have a very high standard before we set them free in the blogosphere.

And, as you know, I have a couple of well sourced folks on the Rock with their own take on the matter--but I ain't publishing it.

Such things are judgement calls. I consider the source (a good one in the case in question), the reaction of others who are in the know (some agreement from other insiders), and I cover my ass by giving as much context as possible and admitting any level of uncertainty. Which I did in that case. In the end, I couldn't NOT go with it. Hypothetically, if, say, Marty Connor told you, publicly at an IND meeting, that he heard in Albany that Ed Towns was dropping out and he believed the rumor and told you it was public and others agreed that it was true, would you run with it? I bet you would. Now that was hypothetical, but close to the real situation I faced.

Not to mention the story wasn't even that Recchia was dropping out so much as Albany insiders were broadly convinced he was dead in the water. That alone is news.