It's been two months since Mongiardo lost the primary and yet he still has not endorsed Conway. Conway is very coy in his interview with Arnold, but the chronology tells it all.
- Mongiardo lost the primary in a close race, by approximately one vote per precinct.
- Mongiardo's campaign is roughly $70,000 in debt.
- Mongiardo threatened to call for a recanvass of the vote.
- Mongiardo's and Conway's staffs met.
- Hours later, Mongiardo changes his mind about requesting a recount.
- Mongiardo says Conway promised to help retire his debt.
- Conway refuses to pay Mongiardo's debt.
- Conway still lacks Mongiardo's endorsement.
It looks like quid pro quo, several in fact. Conway denies it, but watch Joe Arnold's interview and decide for yourself if Conway's feigned ignorance of the details of the discussion between the two campaign staffs is plausible. At best, Conway looks like he cannot or will not exert any control over his staff, or that he's the pretty puppet of his campaign operatives.
Mongiardo comes off worse. It's been apparent for two months that he is a sore loser. Now we know that he has no qualms about selling his right to a recount for $70,000. And the price for his endorsement is apparently the same, $70,000.
Mongiardo's welfare mentality is all-consuming. His debt is not his problem, in his view, it's somebody else's -- Jack Conway. No personal accountability for Mongiardo; he deserves the help. He thinks he's entitled to Jack Conway's money or the Democratic Committee's or whoever will spare him a dime.
Maybe the Democratic-controlled Congress (in the remaining four months while they are still in control) can pass a $70,000 earmark for Dan Mongiardo.
