Peter Schorsch
With Christmas just around the corner, and New Year close behind, so arrives a flurry of politically themed holiday greetings, each providing a little bit of cheer (not to mention a few chuckles) to usher in 2016.
One standout comes from Georgia-based political consultancy Stoneridge Group, a conservative firm for candidates looking for “bleeding-edge campaign know-how combined with an avant-garde approach to campaign execution” (as the Stoneridge website proclaims).
Stonebridge offers a warm – yet highly redacted – Christmas message poking fun at Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and her email troubles while Secretary of State.
“From our private servers to yours,” it reads, “Merry Christmas and happy new year from everyone at the Stoneridge Group.”
What follows is what appears to be a legitimate Clinton email, sent to lead staffer Huma Abedin, dated Dec. 1 with a subject line “party date.” The header says UNCLASSIFIED: U.S. Department of State, to add to the apparent authenticity.
The three-line note comes from Clinton herself (from [email protected] and signed “H”). However, much of the text is blacked out, leaving only the words: “Merry … Christmas … From … The … Stone … Ridge … Group.”
Although this particular holiday wish might lack festive trappings of the holiday – setting it apart from the popular Southern Strategy Group Christmas Card – Stoneridge more than makes up for it with timely satire and humor.
It should also come as little surprise that Stonebridge would want to see Democrats roasting on an open fire during this (or any) time of year.
Stoneridge has worked on the campaigns of Republican luminaries as U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Thom Tillis, Governors Nathan Deal of Georgia, Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Robert Bentley of Alabama, as well as Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Americans for Prosperity and the American Conservative Union/CPAC.
Nevertheless, it’s all in the fun spirit of the season, right?
