Park County GOP headquarters vandalized Written by CJ Baker
Thursday, 09 October 2008
The Cody Park County Republican campaign office at 1262 Sheridan Ave. was vandalized sometime Monday night, apparently by a fan or fans of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Tribune photo by CJ Baker
Park County Republicans awoke Tuesday morning to find that their campaign office had undergone an unwelcome change.
In yellow window paint, overnight vandals had scrawled “Obama” on the headquarter’s front windows and affixed Barack Obama posters over the GOP’s John McCain signs.
“That’s just the kind of people that support him (Obama),” said GOP volunteer Joni Seuferer.
Fellow volunteer and Cody resident Terry Hinkle said two McCain signs have been stolen from his yard over the past week, and he blames Obama supporters.
“They have been stealing signs all around town,” he said.
However, the problem appears to be bi-partisan.
“We have been having a horrible problem with people stealing our signs,” said Park County Democrats Chair Margaret Whited. She estimated that a “minimum” of 75 Obama yard signs have been taken.
Hinkle noted the cost of the signs as a concern.
“We know everyone has their political views and we understand that,” Hinkle said. “But we certainly don’t condone destroying other people’s material.”
Whited was skeptical that Democrats were to blame for the Republican vandalism.
“I wouldn’t doubt if they did it themselves, because they don’t have it on the issues,” said Park County Democrats Chair Margaret Whited. “I can’t imagine any of our people doing that.”
With no witnesses, Cody Assistant Chief of Police George Menig said no one knows for sure.
“It could be anybody,” he said.
Menig said police plan to give the area special attention on the overnight shift, though he said the act was nothing new.
“This happens every election season,” he said. “Not all of it gets reported.”
“We all want to do things like that, but we never would,” Seuferer said. “It’s reprehensible.”
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KOCO.comRelated To Story
Reward Offered For Capture Of Payne County Vandal
Party Leaders Say Incident Is Sign National Election Has Turned NastyPOSTED: 6:29 pm CDT October 7, 2008
UPDATED: 6:35 pm CDT October 7, 2008
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Police are looking for whoever trashed the Payne County GOP headquarters, and the local Republican Party chairman is offering a reward for the capture of those responsible.
Vandals threw several pieces of brick Sunday morning through a window at Republican headquarters in Stillwater, and local politicians said it's a sign the election has gotten nasty.
"I was pretty disgusted that someone would do that, but it happened. I just don't think that this kind of thing is really typical of Stillwater," said local party treasurer Jerry Rackley.
Rackley said he believes the vandals were trying to send a message, one directed toward presidential politics and not local races.
Volunteer Shirley Arnold said she's seen more campaign signs smashed than ever before.
"All the time -- two, three, four times -- (we have) people coming in to replace their signs. I personally have lost six out of my front yard," she said.
Payne County party leaders said they're not sure whether they were targeted because of their political affiliation.
Anybody with knowledge of the incident should call the Stillwater Police Department at 405-742-8298.
Copyright 2008 by koco.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
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The Herald |
heraldonline.com Vandals strike York County GOP headquartersBy Matt Garfield · The Herald
Updated 10/11/08 - 5:28 PM |
Vandals spray-painted the words “Republican means slavery” on the door of the York County GOP campaign headquarters overnight Friday.
Party volunteers called police after discovering the message when they arrived at the office on Rock Hill’s Oakland Avenue. The vandals also stole about 45 candidate signs from the front yard and spray-painted over a banner that carried a picture of Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Their messages included lettering and symbols sometimes used by gangs.
The culprits could face charges on petty larceny and damage to property, said Rock Hill police Sgt. Roderick Stinson. No one appears to have entered the office.
Whether it was teenagers playing a prank or adults looking to make a political statement, the nature of the message reflected racially charged hostilities that have flared around the country in recent days. Democrat Barack Obama is the first African-American to win a major party’s presidential nomination.
At McCain rallies last week, some spectators were heard yelling comments about Obama such as “kill him” and “off with his head.” At an event in Florida, a racial insult was directed at a black television cameraman.
McCain sought to quell such rhetoric Friday, saying Obama is a “decent person" and a “family man” who shouldn’t be feared as a potential president.
In York County, Republican leader Glenn McCall is among the first African-American to chair a county party in South Carolina. He’s also one of two black representatives on the 100-member Republican National Committee.
McCall said he believes the vandals were trying to influence voters at a time when polls show a tight contest.
“It just goes to show the election is much closer than folks would have you believe,” McCall said. “We have probably the most liberal ticket on the Democratic side that we’ve ever seen. When I look at the polls, it’s within the margin of error. There are people who are just getting nervous about that. As a result, they do desperate things.”
Party officials announced the incident and distributed photos of the vandalism this morning. Within hours, TV news stations and at least one conservative political blog, Palmetto Scoop, were reporting on it.
The vandals did their work sometime after 2 a.m., because that’s when party volunteers left the office after putting out candidate signs, said coordinator Joe St. John.
Local Republicans use the converted two-story house on Oakland Avenue as a temporary base of operations during the fall campaign season. They oversee phone banks, store candidate yard signs and host party functions.
The vandalism drew a condemnation from York County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Watkins, who said he hopes those responsible are punished. The Democratic Party rents space in an office building on East Main Street in downtown.
“This kind of thing has absolutely no place in our public discourse about important issues in this election,” Watkins said. “I’m just saddened by the whole thing. I hope whoever did it is caught and prosecuted.”
Said McCall, his Republican counterpart: “We’ll get past this and move on.”
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GOP headquarters vandalizedBy Jason Spencer
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.
The sign in front of the Spartanburg County Republican Party Headquarters on East Main Street and a large green trash bin behind it were found vandalized Wednesday morning.
On one side of the sign, the words "Republican Party" had a line through them and "no more" was painted underneath. The words "no war" were painted on the other side.
The front of the trash bin -- which is owned by Waste Management Inc. and paid for by the business next door to the GOP headquarters -- had "no war" in large letters. On the side of it was "(expletive) Bush" and "resist empire," and on the back were the words "murder" and "impeach."
The letter "W" with a circle around it and a line through it also was spray painted on the pavement behind the building.
Local party chairman Rick Beltram estimated a "couple thousand dollars" worth of damage in all. Vandals destroyed the sign in 2004 the day after Vice President Dick Cheney was in town, and it cost $500 to replace then.
"There are some folks acting like juveniles, and instead of coming forward and being part of the debate, they're choosing anonymous destruction," Beltram said.
Such property damage displays a "total lack of respect" for a person or entity, he said.
The ongoing Iraq war has elicited strong feelings around the country and world, with protesters greeting the president during his recent Latin American tour. A February poll by Elon University showed that nearly 64 percent of people in the Southeast -- Florida, Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas -- disapprove of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq.
Because the word "murder" was used in graffiti that also mentioned President Bush, those at GOP headquarters Wednesday morning said they thought that the federal government would get involved.
Spartanburg Public Safety officers took a report and the case was assigned to Investigator Jay Steadman, the department's FBI liaison. Through his investigation, Steadman will determine if federal authorities need to be more involved, said Capt. Billy Norris with Public Safety.
David Cloer, who owns the building and lets the Republican Party use it for their headquarters, said the vandalism was "kind of unique," and that he didn't question his decision to let the GOP set up shop in the same place he runs his sales business.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's office plans to foot the bill for replacing the sign.
Jason Spencer can be reached at 562-7214 or jason.spencer@shj.com.
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20070315/NEWS/703150351/1051/NEWS01&source=rss-----------------------------------------------------------------
Vandals spray paint GOP headquarters in NaplesGraffiti was written with black spray paint on three sides of the U.S. 41 building
By RYAN MILLS
Originally published 03:37 p.m., April 23, 2007
Updated 03:51 p.m., April 23, 2007
The Collier County Republican headquarters in downtown Naples was vandalized over the weekend with anti-war and anti-Bush slogans painted on the building's exterior.
Graffiti was written with black spray paint on three sides of the building, 194 U.S. 41 N. Red, white and blue decorations that once adorned the headquarters entrance were burned in the small parking lot at the rear of the building.
The volunteers manning the headquarters Monday said the graffiti occurred there three times in the last week and a half, the first time they ever had problems in Naples.
"Democracy failed" was painted on the sidewalk directly outside the main entrance to the office and an anarchy symbol -- a letter A in a circle -- was painted on the door. "Repaint with Iraqi blood" and "If legality equaled morality, Bush would be in jail" were painted on either side of the front door. Peace signs were painted on all three vandalized sides of the building.
"All war is deception" and "Who would Jesus bomb?" are among the comments painted on the rear of the building, which the GOP shares with The Back Store, Grace Healing Center and an attorney. One side of the building had numerous painted comments and symbols, including "I won't kill for capitalists," "Prodigies of peace," "Fascists" and "Hicks don't mix with politics." "Stop Bush" was painted on a side door.
The volunteers at the headquarters refused additional comment and said the local GOP board also had no comment out of concern that publicizing the incidents would spur additional vandalism.
The Naples Police Department is looking into the vandalism, but does not have any suspects at this point, said Deputy Chief Jim Slapp.
"It appears to be kids at this point, but we’re not positive," he said.
The case has been assigned to a juvenile officer who will determine the seriousness of the crime, Sgt. Phil Valdario said. He said it does not appear to be a hate crime.
"It looks like a standard political statement," Valdario said. "We don’t know if its connected to protests or anything like that."
A dollar figure hasn’t been placed on the damage, Slapp said. Vandalism becomes a felony when damage exceeds $1,000, he said.
"Of course you can’t damage the property of someone else when you’re making a statement," Slapp said. "You have to do so within the legal boundaries."
Naples police will be have extra patrols in the area paying special attention to the GOP headquarters.
"This particular area needs special attention because of recent activity," Valdario said.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/apr/23/vandals_spray_paint_gop_headquarters_naples/?printer=1/
