How Not to Do Media Outreach

Incoming Congressman Daniel Webster has hired Pepper Pennington to be his Chief of Staff. I question the wisdom of that choice. Pennington was Tom Feeney's press secretary. She decided to publicly feud with former Tampa Tribune columnist Daniel Ruth. The result was Ruth hysterically ripping Pennington and Feeney in a column.

Pennington sent this message to Ruth.

"After reading your column, I planned on giving you the same treatment that you extended my boss and call you a vulgar name," a fairly peeved Pepper Pennington puckered. "But I stopped because I feel so sorry for your miserable existence and the shame your family and colleagues must feel for being associated with you."

Ruth's response.

The term that so appalled Pepper Pennington was the suggestion in the column that Feeney, R-Panhandler, was simply a lying, fibbing, prevaricating pinhead.

Feeney has taken to the airwaves in his Oviedo-area district to pout that his glomming on to Abramoff's frequent flier card was nothing more than a "rookie mistake" made by a newbie congressman unfamiliar with the bizarre rituals of Washington.

To which one can only say to Pepper Pennington: Piffle!

By the time Feeney had landed in Washington, he had served in the Florida Legislature since 1990, including a term as House speaker, in addition to serving as Jeb Bush's running mate during his ill-fated 1994 gubernatorial race.

Rookie? This dope was about as much of a political rookie as the Mayflower Madam.

I dealt with the joy that was the outreach that was the Kendrick Meek Senate campaign. Making enemies of the press and bloggers is not going to help your candidates or elected officials. That is my advice to communications people in politics.