National Republican Congressional Committee sinks to new low in attack ad

[shemp]

Republican Committee-Sponsored Ad Accuses Dem. Candidate Of Billing Phone Sex Charges To Taxpayers (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/21/politics/main2112769.shtml)

(CBS/AP) The National Republican Congressional Committee is being criticized by one of their own candidates for a sensational attack ad it produced for a congressional race in New York State.

Democratic congressional candidate Michael Arcuri is accused in the ad of billing taxpayers for a call to a phone sex line placed while he was in a hotel. The ad shows Arcuri leering at the silhouette of a dancing woman who says, "Hi, sexy. You've reached the live, one-on-one fantasy line."

But Arcuri's campaign released records showing the call made two years ago from his New York City hotel room to 800-457-8462 -- a sex line -- was followed the next minute by a call to 518-457-8462, the state Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Arcuri, the district attorney in Oneida County, said the ad was "clearly libelous" and threatened to file a lawsuit. Even his GOP opponent, state Sen. Ray Meier, described it as "way over the line."

So, despite the fact that it was an obvious wrong number, and that he realized his mistake and dialed correctly, the RNCC chooses to libel this man and insult the intelligence of the voters. What's next, dragging up 8th-grade one-day suspensions for shooting spitballs? 30 year old parking tickets? Jaywalking fines? How low will these people go, and how far will they go to insult the voters? Stay tuned!

[corplinx]

Man thats almost as bad as these "child predator" ads the dems are running. Its a low season for truth and civility.

[shemp]

Man thats almost as bad as these "child predator" ads the dems are running. Its a low season for truth and civility.

Do you have a source for this? It's the first I've heard of it. Please point me to a specific ad.

Edited to add: I'm going to bed. If you have anything other than vague accusations, I'll reply in the morning.

[Raphael]

Its a low season for truth and civility.

It's going to get worse I'm afraid. I really hate the attack ad route for getting elected, but if it works ...at least there's honour among theives.

[Raphael]

PattyWetterling.com - TV Ad: 'Crimes' (http://www.pattywetterling.com/media/435.php)

I found this Googling. Pretty tame actually.

[Questioninggeller]

That "sex call" was billed for one minute and cost tax payers $1.25; what a non-issue.

The RNC can't even lose the House with dignity...

[Questioninggeller]

PattyWetterling.com - TV Ad: 'Crimes' (http://www.pattywetterling.com/media/435.php)

I found this Googling. Pretty tame actually.

That ad has to do with her own personal loss:

Most Minnesotans have known Patty Wetterling since her son, Jacob was abducted by a masked gunman 17 years ago. Patty was a junior high math teacher and married mother of four when her world turned upside down. While many people in the same position might have succumbed to the tragedy, Patty Wetterling picked herself up and refused to let the bad guys win.

The abductor took Jacob, but Patty wouldn’t let him have anything else: he couldn’t have her marriage, he couldn’t have her other children, and he couldn’t have her knowledge that there are way more good people in the world than bad, and that when good people pull together, amazing things happen.

After her son’s disappearance, Patty began working side by side with law enforcement, fighting to get them the tools they needed to stop child abduction and exploitation. She took her cause to Washington, pulling together a divided Congress and working with three presidents to help pass badly-needed child safety legislation, including sex offender registration laws and AMBER Alert. She has helped to pass more significant law than many members of Congress and has received numerous awards from local, state, and nonprofit organizations for her work.

Source (http://www.pattywetterling.com/about/)

[a_unique_person]

Republican Committee-Sponsored Ad Accuses Dem. Candidate Of Billing Phone Sex Charges To Taxpayers (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/21/politics/main2112769.shtml)



So, despite the fact that it was an obvious wrong number, and that he realized his mistake and dialed correctly, the RNCC chooses to libel this man and insult the intelligence of the voters. What's next, dragging up 8th-grade one-day suspensions for shooting spitballs? 30 year old parking tickets? Jaywalking fines? How low will these people go, and how far will they go to insult the voters? Stay tuned!

Lies have worked before, they'll work again.

[fuelair]

I really find it difficult to find a new low for some republicans to stoop too - but there's a vague chance I have been predjudiced on that point since sometime in 2000 when it hit me I would never even consider voting for anybody who called itself a republican again ( and I have been watching local election stuff lately - nobody I have spotted has the word republican in their ads. Interesting!).

[Oroborus]

It may seem like a new low but I don't doubt it still swayed way more votes than it should have.

[shemp]

Man thats almost as bad as these "child predator" ads the dems are running. Its a low season for truth and civility.

Is the "Patty Wetterling" ad what you're referring to? While I'll admit the ad is a cheap and sleazy play on emotions, how is it lying? Mark Foley attempted to seduce pages who were under 18. To me, that seems to fall into the category of "child predator."

While it is technically true that a one-minute call to a sex hotline was billed to taxpayers, it was clearly an error, and it is a lie to show him leering at a silhouette of a dancing woman. How is branding Mark Foley as a child predator worse than this intentional misinterpretation of an honest error?

[Meadmaker]

Here in Michigan, Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm is running ads I think are pretty sleazy. Her Republican challenger, Dick DeVos, had a stake in Altera, a company that runs nursing homes. Opinions differ on exactly how much control DeVos had in Altera. Altera was sued by several people (six? I think) who were raped or abused in Altera nursing homes.

Granholm is running ads featuring sad little old ladies. They don't exactly say, "Dick DeVos rapes little old ladies.", but they might as well.

(DeVos has his own sleazy ads running, and I'm not voting for him, but I thought the Granholm campaign ads were utterly ridiculous.)

[Ace_of_Sevens]

My impression has been that while Republicans do this slightly more, there's so much to go around it's not worth quibbling over. My policy is just not to vote for anyone who uses such an ad, but these soft money ads make the issue thornier.

[RandFan]

Mark Foley attempted to seduce pages who were under 18. To me, that seems to fall into the category of "child predator." Why?

ETA: I keep asking this question and no one will answer it. Lot's of folks admit that it isn't but not one person who thinks that it is will explain why. Why?

[delphi_ote]

This ad is going to backfire. It's too simple to refute and there's too much time left until the election. The backlash is going to be big.

[Mephisto]

This reminds me of the smear ads the Bush adminstration used in 2004 where they showed soldier's body armour disappearing because, "Kerry wouldn't support protecting our troops the way they should be," (not verbatim), yet the U.S. had troops in 2005 disregarding orders to patrol certain areas because they DIDN'T have enough body armor or sufficient armor for the vehicles.

I found it rather disappointing that no one took up that issue.

[Zep]

Politicians using smear campagins? To get votes? Really? Who woulda thunk it.

What's the world coming to, I ask you. :rolleyes:

[Beerina]

Why?

ETA: I keep asking this question and no one will answer it. Lot's of folks admit that it isn't but not one person who thinks that it is will explain why. Why?

There are people in both politics and social services with a vested interest in likening consentual sex with a 17 year old as being as psychologically damaging as a violent rape of a 6 year old.

[Tricky]

Politicians using smear campagins? To get votes? Really? Who woulda thunk it.

What's the world coming to, I ask you. :rolleyes:
Maybe its the liberal press, but it does seem that the GOP is a lot nastier than the Democrats.

FactCheck mentions this example.
Kentucky Mudslinging: Accusations Without Evidence (http://www.factcheck.org/article456.html)



Republican Rep. Ron Lewis of Kentucky attacks his opponent, retired Army Col. Mike Weaver, with an ad saying the Democrat is "not fit for duty in Congress" because of a National Guard pay-for-promotion scandal that goes back 14 years. The ad accuses Weaver of "disgraceful conduct," and Lewis even said at a campaign stop that Weaver "broke the law."

But Lewis offers no proof. In fact, multiple investigations by the FBI and the Army Inspector General's office resulted in criminal convictions of two Kentucky National Guard officials but never accused or implicated Weaver, who was the only career Army officer on a three-man National Guard board charged with recommending veteran officers for retention or retirement. Furthermore, a review by the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs concluded that Weaver specifically "took no part in the fund-raising or other political activities" that were involved in the scandal.

[daredelvis]

Man thats almost as bad as these "child predator" ads the dems are running. Its a low season for truth and civility.

Please back this up. Talk about low point, I think you have reached it.

Daredelvis

[EvilSmurf]

Mark Foley attempted to seduce pages who were under 18. To me, that seems to fall into the category of "child predator."
Why?

ETA: I keep asking this question and no one will answer it. Lot's of folks admit that it isn't but not one person who thinks that it is will explain why. Why?

Why is Foley a child predator? 2 reasons. Firstly, the age of consent in Florida is graduated: 16 years of age if you're 21 or under, 18 years of age if the adult is over the age of 21. Foley is obviously over the age of 21. He could be charged, therefore, with internet solicitation of a minor. Secondly, those holding a position of responsibility are (and, most will agree, should be) judged at a higher standard than a normal citizen.

[Ace_of_Sevens]

EvilSmurf, as a legal issue, Foley didn't actually have sex with any sixteen-year-olds, and your second point is an ethical one, not legal. And neither of these have anything to do with whether Foley was a child-predator.

[RandFan]

Why is Foley a child predator? 2 reasons. Firstly, the age of consent in Florida is graduated: 16 years of age if you're 21 or under, 18 years of age if the adult is over the age of 21. Foley is obviously over the age of 21. He could be charged, therefore, with internet solicitation of a minor. Secondly, those holding a position of responsibility are (and, most will agree, should be) judged at a higher standard than a normal citizen. You are the first to make such an argument. Thanks. I don't accept the argument. At all. In this context a child is typically thought of as someone who is younger than 16 years old. A 16 year old is an adolescent. Not a child. We treat 16 year olds differently. Calling Foley a child predator for flirting with someone 16 years old is offensive to a child who has been forced to have oral, vaginal and/or anal copulation when he or she hasn't even reached the age of puberty and would not otherwise be interested in sex.

I have no problem with the law. If you want to label Foley a creep or his actions inappropriate or even illegal (assuming that they were) then fine. A child predator? No. There's no basis for that.

[Megalodon]

I have no problem with the law. If you want to label Foley a creep or his actions inappropriate or even illegal (assuming that they were) then fine. A child predator? No. There's no basis for that.

Agree with you... however, I would still like to see Corp's link to "...these "child predator" ads the dems are running.".

Once again, he (apparently) lies and leaves the building...

[Tricky]

Boy, the hits just keep on comin'

Republican TV ad being denounced as racially divisive (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4282493.html)


WASHINGTON - A new Republican Party TV ad featuring a scantily clad white woman winking and inviting a black candidate to "call me" is drawing charges of race-baiting, with critics saying it contradicts a landmark GOP statement last year that the party was wrong in past decades to use racial appeals to win support from white voters.

Critics said the ad, which is funded by the Republican National Committee and has aired since Friday, plays on fears of interracial relationships to scare some white voters in rural Tennessee to oppose Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr. Ford is locked in a tight race to become the first black senator since Reconstruction to represent a state in the former Confederacy.
Having grown up in the deep South, I am not unfamiliar with political ads with not-too-thinly disguised racism. It doesn't play as well as it used to (that dang voters rights act) and I'm hoping this will blow up in the face of the GOP.

eta

Then again, maybe the south really is coming around
Candidate is up front about using her cleavage to campaign. (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4282243.html)

MONTGOMERY, ALA. - Loretta Nall, the Libertarian Party's write-in candidate for governor of Alabama, is campaigning on her cleavage and hoping that voters will eventually focus on her platform.
...
Her campaign is offering T-shirts and marijuana stash boxes adorned with a photo of her with a plunging neckline and the words: "More of these boobs." Below that are pictures of other candidates for governor — including Republican incumbent Bob Riley and Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley — and the words: "And less of these boobs."

Well, she ain't gonna win no beauty contests.
http://hammeroftruth.com/images/articles/LorettaNall.jpg

[shemp]

Eh, just bring a paper bag with you.

Seriously, Tricky, I gotta admit, your Republican ad is lower than mine, blazing new trails of lowness.

[Tricky]

Seriously, Tricky, I gotta admit, your Republican ad is lower than mine, blazing new trails of lowness.
Not really. This is tame compared to historical elections. I lived in Georgia at the time J. B. Stoner was in his political heydey. Boy, he was a piece of work.

Stoner ran for governor of Georgia in 1970. During this campaign, where he called himself the "candidate of love," he described Hitler as "too moderate", black people as an extension of the ape family, and Jews as "vipers of hell."

[Hutch]

Well, on the Front page of the Huntsville Times this morning is an article on an attack ad in the Lt. Governors race by the Republican candidate Luther Strange. The ad itself isn't much as attack ads go, but it turns out the ad is one that was made for Lynn Swann's campaign for Senator in Pennsylvania! Ol'Luther just borrowed and dubbed another voice-over and voila! Interchangable attack ads!

Of course, as Tricky knows well, only in Alabama could you have a Lt. Governors race between two men named Luther Strange and "Little" Jim Folsom.

Link (may need to register): http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1161681545150300.xml&coll=1

[shemp]

Not really. This is tame compared to historical elections. I lived in Georgia at the time J. B. Stoner was in his political heydey. Boy, he was a piece of work.

Yeah, but that was back in the deadball era. We only count modern records.