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Wednesday, October 12, 2005
VA-Gov: Absolutely Despicable
Posted by Tim TagarisAbsolutely despicable.
That's the only way to describe the new attack ads Jerry Kilgore is running against Tim Kaine in Virginia. Set against a black back-drop, the father of a man whose son and daughter-in-law were murdered, speaks passionately about how Tim Kaine "voluntarily" defended the murderer. Forget the fact that Tim Kaine was court-appointed, forget about the fact that the two were apparently murdered in a drug deal gone bad, these type of ads represent the worst of our political process.
Unfortunately, I am not quite sure the Kaine campaign is up to the battle. The Kaine campaign released its response to the ad, and the piece is embarassing. You can watch it here. It almost made me throw up in my mouth.
Jerry Kilgore's campaign needs to be exposed for this, and I hope someone fights back. Whether it's the Kaine campaign, the press, or a handful of reasonable conservatives in Virginia. The Walshington Post called the ad a "smear." Well no kidding. But that editorial will ultimately ring hollow as Virginians listen to the echo of gun shots over the top of serene sounds and a somber story. I don't have to tell any of the progressive audience that reads this blog, but this is a pattern of behavior, the attacking of public servants, for their service, that must be retaliated against. And it's just another example of a poltical party that wants to govern, but has no respect at all for government. After watching Tim Kaine's rebutal, his discussion of Christian values moved me to pray tonight... pray that he scraps that terrible rebuttal ad and recognizes he can't win by bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Posted at 01:26 AM in 2005 Elections, Virginia | Technorati
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I have seen some odd things in politics in America. I've seen a crackhead appointed President by corrupt courts, I've seen great men reduced to playing second fiddle to crackheads, but I've never seen someone's faith attacked for political gain... [Read More]
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Comments
I think the response ad could have been tougher. Or, it could have been smarter. As it was, it was back-and-forth, a total response ad that looks desperate.
Candidates need to put out response ads that don't look like response ads. They need to look like attack ads or issue ads, but not desperate response ads.
BTW, does /this/ work, or *this*. Just wondering.
Posted by: chuckles ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.swingstateproject.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 12, 2005 09:04 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Tim did you happen to mean "despicable" ?
I also think you wanted "bringing a knife to..." in your last sentence. Sorry to be annoying but sometimes spell checking is good.
Posted by: Samson at October 12, 2005 09:34 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
I saw the ad last night and I don't think it's bad. First, he responded to Kilgore's attacks immediately. Second, he stood by his record even though his position is unpopular. Very Russ Feingold-esque, really. Opposing the death penalty as I do and living in VA, I was VERY happy to hear him unambiguously state his position.
That said, at some point soon Kaine will have to go sharply negative. His campaign will have to call Kilgore extreme and dangerous, which he is. Up to now, they have chosen to couch their sharp criticisms of Kilgore in humor (note jerrytheduck.com). They may have to change their methods.
Posted by: econlibVA at October 12, 2005 10:56 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Why is opposing the death penalty so difficult these days? If someone committed murder, should we then murder them for doing it? Does two wrongs make a right?
What country do I live in?!?!?
Posted by: Hiram at October 12, 2005 11:12 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
I think the ads will either A.) Highly Effective or B.) Backfire completely.
In my opinion, its a sad day in American politics when a candidate must resort to exploiting murdered people and their grieving families for political gain.
But like they say, all is fair in love, war, and running for office.
Posted by: nickshepDEM at October 12, 2005 12:37 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
The Kaine blog has a link to the real Kaine response that's running on TV: http://www.kaine2005.org/media/law.html
Posted by: Can of Whup-Ass at October 12, 2005 01:54 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Ugh, it's better than the first, but dammit, get rid of the piano recital in the background!
Posted by: HellofaSandwich at October 13, 2005 01:34 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
First...chuckles. I really do not understand your comments. The last line seems correct to me. The way you suggest, seems to change the meaning and impact - and it appears the way you spell despicable is the same way??? No matter, (cuz I like your impeccable eye anyway) I am glad that I saw the Kilgore ad. How pathetic. It gave me the opportunity to send the campaign a scathing, yet respectable (for him?) email. Now, unfortunately, I will see the rebuttal, expecting the worst.
Posted by: Michael SF at October 13, 2005 11:53 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment