Have You No Decency?
By the standards that prevailed when Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison were president, negative campaigning today is a Sunday School picnic. Those guys played rough. But Republican candidates have led the way into campaign exchanges that really go beyond the pale.
The most recent episode revolves around Michael Steele, who is very likely to use his senatorial bid in Maryland. Michael J. Fox made an ad promoting Ben Cardin as a candidate who favors stem cell research. Fox was clearly having a bad day, exhibiting tremors and other symptoms of advanced Parkinson's. Rush Limbaugh said that he thought Fox was exaggerating his symptoms for political purposes. Limbaugh has not apologized or retracted his remarks. Steele hasn't strongly disavowed Limbaugh's support, although he has rather mildly said that he doesn't approve. Actually, it's a damn shame that ignorant neanderthal windbag lizards like Limbaugh are allowed access to the airwaves; they are threats to society because some people are stupid enough to believe them.
George Felix Allen is running scared in Virginia. A race that most people thought he'd win by double digits without breaking a sweat is now too close to call. He has done what Republicans do when they're cornered. He has misrepresented. Everyone following the campaign has known for some time that Jim Webb, Felix's opponent, wrote in 1979 that women didn't belong in combat and that the Naval Academy was a horny woman's dream. Let's set aside for a moment the reality that there's a lot of sexual harrassment and misconduct at the Naval Academy, and if I had a daughter who wanted to go there, I'd do all in my power to point out that it really wasn't a safe place for a woman. Webb made his comments in 1979, twenty-seven years ago. I don't know anyone who hasn't changed his or her mind on some major issue in that time. But Allen uses those stale old comments as if they were uttered yesterday--or maybe even earlier today.
Okay, Republicans. You're going down. There's not a damn thing you can do about it. Despite Tom Foley's lust for young boys, you could salvage some character by at least being magnanimous in defeat.
The most recent episode revolves around Michael Steele, who is very likely to use his senatorial bid in Maryland. Michael J. Fox made an ad promoting Ben Cardin as a candidate who favors stem cell research. Fox was clearly having a bad day, exhibiting tremors and other symptoms of advanced Parkinson's. Rush Limbaugh said that he thought Fox was exaggerating his symptoms for political purposes. Limbaugh has not apologized or retracted his remarks. Steele hasn't strongly disavowed Limbaugh's support, although he has rather mildly said that he doesn't approve. Actually, it's a damn shame that ignorant neanderthal windbag lizards like Limbaugh are allowed access to the airwaves; they are threats to society because some people are stupid enough to believe them.
George Felix Allen is running scared in Virginia. A race that most people thought he'd win by double digits without breaking a sweat is now too close to call. He has done what Republicans do when they're cornered. He has misrepresented. Everyone following the campaign has known for some time that Jim Webb, Felix's opponent, wrote in 1979 that women didn't belong in combat and that the Naval Academy was a horny woman's dream. Let's set aside for a moment the reality that there's a lot of sexual harrassment and misconduct at the Naval Academy, and if I had a daughter who wanted to go there, I'd do all in my power to point out that it really wasn't a safe place for a woman. Webb made his comments in 1979, twenty-seven years ago. I don't know anyone who hasn't changed his or her mind on some major issue in that time. But Allen uses those stale old comments as if they were uttered yesterday--or maybe even earlier today.
Okay, Republicans. You're going down. There's not a damn thing you can do about it. Despite Tom Foley's lust for young boys, you could salvage some character by at least being magnanimous in defeat.
posted by amsterdr at 3:22 PM
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