So Tim Ryan wants to play games.
Thu, May 29, 2008
Lots of reactions to the Free Times story, almost all very positive. Thanks to all who sent in a donation. And thanks for all the supportive emails and comments.
A lot of people are wondering why I wanted to let the Free Times, or any paper, for that matter, do this story. Lots of reasons, one being that I’d like to make it a lot harder for cheap shot artists like Phillip Morris to claim they know who I am, and thereby leap to a cheap shot every time they disagree with me.
The main reason, though, is that I want to get my life back under my control, and no longer under the control of others. That brings me to Tim Ryan.
Here’s how Tim Ryan’s office responded to the story in the Free Times.
The Free Times attempted to contact Congressman Ryan for this story. A spokesman would speak only off the record and implied that he was afraid of what Russo might do if he spoke negatively about him. It’s unclear if the congressman was ever alerted to our requests.
First of all, why would Tim Ryan want to speak negatively about me? That’s odd.
Secondly, the congressman certainly was alerted to the Free Times’ requests, because I alerted the congressman myself. In fact, before I started this blog, I called Tim and warned him that I’d be writing about my experience with the Ryan campaign. I advised Tim to just be honest when he inevitably got asked about me. That, apparently, isn’t going to happen.
I have been told by numerous sources that Congressman Ryan’s office, specifically communications director Brad Bauman, has been reaching out to anyone who will listen with essentially the same message Bauman gave the Free Times, plus a little more, none of which is the truth. I also know that numerous sources who can confirm my story about my involvement with the Ryan campaign have been shut up by Ryan’s office.
This is how this game got played in the past. Russo does something great for someone. Russo gets screwed and left out in the cold. Russo is expected to keep his mouth shut in perpetuity after getting screwed, because everyone thinks Russo is too scared to fight, and that Russo still holds out some hope of not actually being screwed in perpetuity. Then Russo gets called names like insane, conspiracy theorist, etc and whatnot, in order to destroy Russo’s credibility.
Well, that game is over. Here’s how this is going to play out now. New game. I will prove with various documents that what I say is true. One by one. And until Tim Ryan decides to do the right thing, which is to be honest, I will continue to do so. One. By. One.
Or the congressman can just do the right thing. That’s the easy way to do this, Timmy.
Popularity: 45% [?]
May 29th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Tim,
Ryan is a politician, remember that? Self preservation at all cost. The guy is terrified.
I think you can do better. Laisse le crever!
May 29th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Tim, you have got to be one of the most self destructive people I have ever met.
It’s a good thing that you can’t self-immolate yourself with a blog post, although lord knows you’ve come as close as anyone possible could.
It’s so strange, because the stuff you wrote on Cuyahoga county and the Obama campaign was absolutely brilliant, but it gets completely lost in the ocean of vindictive self pity that seems to be your soul.
Do you ever wonder if perhaps your complete inability to control yourself in front of a computer is the root of all of your problems?
May 29th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
ah yes, the designated “russo is insane” messenger, chris baker. ok, baker, i’ll bite.
just how is this self destructive? all i want is to not have a sitting congressman lie about me.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:55 am
“Russo does something great for someone. Russo gets screwed and left out in the cold.”
I’m not sure how you operate, but my question to you is…did you get paid? If you got PAID, there isn’t a reason to say you “got screwed.”
Its ALWAYS about the client, not the manager or consultant.
Look, Ryan is distancing himself from you BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT HIM, (NOT YOU)
Being respected for your work is not enough?
BEING PAID FOR YOUR WORK is not enough?
Who cares what people “think” of you, who will THEY call when the game is on the line, at 2 A.M. when they need a go-to-guy?
It’s about THE CLIENT.
It doesn’t matter what “they” say about you in public, to the press it matters what they KNOW ABOUT YOUR WORK when they need you. As an “Independent Contractor” I don’t care WHO knows me….if my work is good enough, people will know my work when they see it.
As a consultant the best advice you could ever get (in life too) is Alec Baldwin - Glen Gary Glen Ross.
I made nine hundred thousand dollars last year, how much you make?
That’s who I am and YOU are nothing.
“Nice guy?
I don’t give a shit…..
Good Father, Fuck you. Go home and play with your kids….
You wanna work here …close….”
That about sums up being a good consultant. It doesn’t matter WHAT YOU DO in your personal life….IT MATTERS WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR WORK. Who can people call when they need an “expert”?
Your reputation? Fuck it.
IS YOUR WORK reputation BETTER than your personal reputation.
WORK DEFINES A consultant. WHAT CAN YOU DO?
I don’t need to state the obvious, so I won’t, but does your WORK prove to be better than your personal circumstances?
And if I have read your stories correctly, it seems like Tim Ryan gave you some opportunity when you needed it and that he believed in your ability…and NOW you are going to turn around a burn him for the sake of your ego?
“And we won because I was there. Because I was there.”
Whoop-dee-do!
You forgot, the work is about THE CLIENT, NOT YOU!
“Who Tim Russo was, and what he did for Tim Ryan”
As a consultant, it is BETTER to be in the shadows….anonymous. Keep off the front page.
When a company hires me, I don’t care if people KNOW who I am, its about THE client and their issue. It isn’t about me and how many articles are written about ME. If I make the news paper over my client, I HAVEN’T done MY JOB. (Scott McClellan)
I struggle with it too, EGO, “Look what I can do!” So I am NO Hero when it comes to this.
Most people, ESPECIALLY sociopath politicians, DON’T care about YOU.
It’s about THEM! I have watched campaign managers work their asses off for a candidate, perform back flips and LITERAL miracles for campaigns ONLY to not get calls returned the day after election.
But who do they call when they are in trouble or need something done?
Who do they pay?
You shouldn’t need “props” JUST A FUCKING CHECK…..You shouldn’t be a lap dog that needs to be patted on the head. Bad Campaign Manager, BAD!
The only respect you will find in a pay envelop IS HOW MANY ZERO’s ARE ON THE FREAKIN’ check (and THAT has to be enough)
Fuck the bosses opinion, you can BUY respect. Does he pay you? Take a drive up C-Bus Short North and look at all the “Chachi” posers that get respect just because they LOOK like they have money.
Screw their Fossil watches, YOU HAVE A ROLEX! (Don’t you?)
May 30th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Come on Tim. Try to use those critical thinking skills on yourself for once. You’re trying to be taken seriously as a political thinker at the same time as you are threatening to publicly destroy the person whose career you take credit for. Can their be anything more vindictive and childish.
What’s your goal?
If its to be taken seriously as a business consultant what makes you think anyone would do that given this threat to tear down the very person who defines why you are good at what you do? Who would hire someone so undisciplined and vindictive?
If its to be taken seriously as a political thinker no one is going to do that to the man who’s determined to blame all of his problems on the wife of the Senator for the Party he says he supports. (The totally weird thing about all this is that for some reason you’ve decided to take all the shrapnel from Russel’s war. Wouldn’t the “sane” move be to follow his lead and get the fuck over this paranoid fantasy? Few of the article’s readers know how many people were gunning for you at the time. I, however, have a pretty good clue given how often I was hearing about your past in the back channels. From the way you’ve been acting, it doesn’t seem like you even know.)
In my opinion, the smart move for a person confessing to the things that you have confessed to would be to simply document your role in Tim Ryan’s career, express how proud you are of it, and say how you understand why he would need to distance himself from you even though it pains you.
At meet the bloggers you were always the smartest guy in the room. Online you’re the spoiled two year old in need of a time out. Which image is better from a business or personal perspective?
Interestingly enough your best online plays have been the stuff you’ve done behind the scenes. (I hear of these things because people have a hard time keeping mum during card games.) I would try to channel that. Note that none of these plays had anything to do with the ODP Christmas Party or even you for that matter.
I’ll end with the phrase I coined that was inspired by you: It’s not about you. If it starts to become about you, its time to quit. Now if only Hilary would learn this.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:36 am
BTW, replay this:
> all i want is to not have a sitting congressman lie about me.
Didn’t you just confess that they used some creating paying method to keep you from being listed as working for the campaign? You knew about this… by your own words you endorsed this.
They aren’t “lying” about you. They don’t want to talk about you. That’s what they said, and anyone with half a brain understands that.
This is all self pity and paranoid victimization on your part. As I told my son after he blew up in a meeting with the principal of his school: never fucking let them see how mad you are. Never let them know how their actions affect you. That gives them power over you. Take it like a man. Get over it, and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
May 30th, 2008 at 8:12 am
tim, i get it. you want PUBLIC validation that you are worth more than a single, albeit colossal, fucked up decision. and you can only get that from people who will never, ever give it to you in public.
its a designed no-win — so it wont hurt quite so bad if this enterprise gets torpedoed, too. so theres always someone else to blame.
but it doesnt matter. in the end, you can never lash out at enough people to make it feel ok. trust me.
maybe im just coming off as a know-it-all asshole. dont really care. heres the deal — ohios blogosphere needs your critical voice now more than ever. it doesnt need the tilting at windmills and petty attacks on the perceived hypocrisies of other bloggers.
for what its worth, my advice is to accept the things in your personal life that you simply cannot change (eggs didnt make you gay — its just who you are, how you come into this world). and move on.
May 30th, 2008 at 8:32 am
why would it destroy the congressman to acknowledge the truth? just wonderin.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:07 am
This reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite television shows, ‘Dead Like Me’ (since we appear to be doing quotes):
“You know what your problem is? You wake up every morning wondering what the world’s gonna do for you - wondering who’s gonna bend over backwards kiss your ass and make you happy when you should just thank God for another day and leave it the fuck at that.”
May 30th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
you cannot possibly be serious, tim.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:14 am
What if your indecression didn’t happen and you were working on some campaign and you found out your oppenent hired someone who did what you did? What would you do?
How hard is it to be a democratic political consultant in the democratic stronghold that is Northern Ohio? Come on, you want to prove how good you are, get a republican elected. You admittedly like to play on both teams… why not politically?
So let me see if I got this right, you are a 40 something bi-sexual male living in your parents house who was arrested because you tried to pick up a 13 year old boy and you turned down a job as a pizza shop manager.
ROTFLMAO …. good luck, you’ll need it. LOSER
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Yes, a “LOSER” getting advice from a bigger “LOSER” named Bryan Clark
What’s next? Will Todd Hoffman roll his fat ass in here for a cameo?
June 9th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Anyone who defends you is just as fucking uneducated, ignorant and stupid as you are. I hope non of these ‘defending dumbfucks’ of you have kids because if they did, they would think you should’ve been hung from Public Square — or perhaps from one of the lift bridges in the Flats (in the ‘up’ position, of course) — knowing you were cruising the internet for sex FROM UNDERAGE BOYS! Then driving to meet up with them.
Perverted sickos like you deserve no breaks. I wished you stepped out of your car because you wouldn’t be writing this right now. At least not from the confines of your parents basement, loser. The death penalty exists for child pervs like you.