Let's pull back the curtain on Olson's dirty political tactics (Part II)
In Part I, FT pulled back the curtain on recent voter maneuvering tactics involving current Mayor Olson and his bud, the Baleful Blogger (BB). Franklin has been known for biting, exaggerated, and at times, ruthless campaign time techniques. FT is working to shine light on tactics that work to win your vote and the “who” behind them. However, members on Franklin's Facebook groups shine their own light on the BB's tactics.
Yet another alderman has been added to the Baleful Blogger’s hit list. Efforts targeting District 4 Alderman Steve Taylor were put into action when the BB published (on Facebook) a list of signatures from Mayoral Challenger, Basil Ryan's nomination papers. The exposure to private home addresses upset many group members and many also disagreed with BB’s insinuation that signing nomination papers to allow a choice of candidates equates to guaranteed voting come election day. The post caused copious grief to the Franklin Area Community Page administrators, resulting in cutting off all political discussions. Page administrators for Franklin's Facebook groups seem very ready for sanity over misguided rumor-mill politics.
Losing the ability to draft and drag thousands of Franklin residents by a mouse click to his own blog, the Baleful Blogger goes on a rant attacking the group administrators for banning his raunchy political views.
Mayor Olson, quickly inserts himself using the "Friend & Foe referee” tactic. He makes several comments, highlighting support of the Baleful Blogger, "Kevin has a great blog and strong opinions. We're friends” and adds back pats for the community pages with, "Jake is right. We discussed his rules for the Neighborhood Watch page and I agree that it's not the place for political posts. Lynn runs the Community page and although I disagree with the no-politics rule, it's her page”. After splashing enough Koolaid, he directs order like a Kindergarten teacher with, "So... everyone please go back to their corners. Have a cup of hot chocolate and come back and argue nice."
In the meantime the REAL story unfolding is getting less light. Olson's Challenger, Basil Ryan, using his personal Facebook account, was interacting and replying to residents' questions and debating some of Olson’s posts. Then, out of nowhere, instantly Ryan's posts vanished off Facebook. While many thought possibly Ryan bolted after being subject to multiple questions and comments, the truth gets more outrageous.
Apparently, Ryan's personal Facebook page was reported by a fellow Facebooker (or likely several individuals) as a fake account. Facebook, in its quest to curb spammers, phishers and criminals, reacted swiftly - blocking Ryan's account until he could provide identity verification (See screenshot to the left). The quick departure of Ryan's debates lead to inaccurate assumptions then opening the door to deserved apologies.
The dirty playbook made the Franklin groups once again only the voice for Olson, but who’s paying attention with all that Olson back-patting love going on. This is not the first time Ryan has been subject to a heavy political playbook. Ryan was previously subject to a heavy-smear campaign and recall from a group with connections to then-Alderman Steve Olson. That group was forced to disband by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office.
Let's be honest, someone (or a group) does not want Ryan on the social network to share his views or opinions. Reporting a Facebook profile as fake takes it too far setting Ryan up again to lose potential voters. The individual(s) responsible clearly are not from Ryan's Camp, which tends to point to the other.
Where’s Olson to confront dirty political tactics? He chose not to opine about Ryan's banishment from Facebook, but instead spins to insinuate his bud the Baleful Blogger's poor decision-making and actions is Ryan’s doing by stating "What's troubling is that most of this is the result of e-mails and phone calls that are intended to block some of this discussion.”
FT believes in shining the light on the long-time sources of excess spin that is not allowing residents a true balance of candidate input. It’s tough to make solid choices when you can’t see behind the curtain. FT is calling out public manipulation and the Friend Foe tactics so voters can decide what light or darkness you want your community to be under. You can’t keep making the same choices and expect different results.