The Dollinger campaign emails over something I'd heard of previously, but that's now official: their opponent, Joe Robach, is trying to pass himself off as a Democrat. Which makes sense, given that his district is likely to go for Obama two to one.

A STATEMENT FROM DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATE CANDIDATE RICK DOLLINGER BLASTING REPUBLICAN JOE ROBACH’S CAMPAIGN FOR MANIPULATING VOTERS

Rochester, NY – “Over the past several days my campaign has received numerous reports from within the city of Rochester and the town of Brighton alleging that Robach campaign volunteers have been going door-to-door in predominately Democratic neighborhoods asking voters to vote for Barack Obama and, much to my surprise, ‘Democrat’ Joe Robach.

This goes far beyond the typical dirty tricks we have come to expect from Republicans. And, I find the Robach campaign’s general disregard for voters appalling. Chalk this one up as another malicious attempt by State Senate Republicans to deceive voters in an effort to hold onto their slipping majority.

This deliberate manipulation lends further evidence to the argument that Republican Joe Robach will do whatever it takes to win, even if it means deceiving the same community he so frequently boasts his dedication to.

I am demanding that the Robach campaign immediately put a stop to this fraud, and that in the final days of the campaign we return to talking about the issues that matter to our community.”

Democrats need to pay attention to this stuff. It's very gratifying, and arguably a preview of things to come, that our opponents are pretending to be us - but we can't let them get away with it. Democrats need to advertise themselves as just that - Democrats, a part of the winning team that has better ideas for our state and our country.