Nice catch by the N&O on this weighty matter. The NC GOP is planning to air an ad slamming the Democratic gubernatorial candidates by linking them to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Yes, you read that right. It's not enough to smear Obama with his choice of a pastor, it's great fun to smear his endorsers with that veteran as well. The kicker is, John McCain has personally objected to the "offensive advertisement" in an e-mail to state GOP chair Linda Daves.
The television advertisement you are planning to air degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with the Democrats. In the strongest terms, I implore you to not run this advertisement."
The national party has also objected to the ad, but the state's sect is sticking with it:
'We think this is a legitimate question to ask, and we don't think we're the only ones asking it,' said Brent Woodcox, communications director for the state Republican Party. 'We feel this is a North Carolina issue.'"
Get on the bus, Brad, we're going to school: That's NOT a question! Saying Wright's "just too extreme" for North Carolina, and implying that Moore and Perdue are too is not a question. It's not even an issue, it's an innuendo. Whatevs, he's a black man with charisma and that's so scary Brad's going to pretend it matters.
What's sad is how relieved I felt to see that it was the GOP breaking out these tactics, not the Democrats. Is this what we've come to? Waiting for Republicans to out low-blow Democrats? What a campaign season we're having. From the governor's race to the presidential contest, it's hard to find the bottom of the barrel, isn't it? I know our friends in recovery tell us we have to hit rock bottom before we can turn things around, but every time I think we're there we fall lower still.
Meanwhile, in the race that should be hot, for Liddy's seat, we are still struggling to get to know the Democratic candidates. Leaving La Dole free to bang on about important immigration is to the folks back home (not your home, Lid, not since the 50's), even as polls show the economy is foremost on voters' minds. I know I'm spluttering and you're bored (as if!) hearing me whine about how depressing it all is, yet I can neither get over nor resign myself to my disgust. After eight years of a morally and ethically bankrupt presidency and six years of an aw-shucks, down-home Senator who doesn't give a crap about workers or constituents' actual concerns, how can we fail to be energized for the election? Instead I'm counting the days until the primary and hoping to catch a break afterwards. November 2008 feels as far away as it ever did.
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