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PA attack ads: The worst of election 2012
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PA attack ads: The worst of election 2012
From the outrageously dishonest to the merely idiotic, this campaign season has brought some of the most jaw-dropping attack ads we've ever witnessed. PACs and interest groups have poured money into smears like calling attorney general candidate Kathleen Kane and soft on rape and tying congressional hopeful Kathy Boockvar to Mumia Abu-Jamal. And the internet has shown us, you don't need a ton of shadow money to make a truly terrible ad. But, of course, it helps.
So, in the name of that democracy we're so proud of, we bring you our top (ie. bottom) attack ads of the season. So far, anyway. (If there's something truly depressing/offensive/false/poorly produced that should be on the list, let us know.)
"My Dog, Bob Brady" Some things, you wish you could unsee. Self-described "quixotic" Repubican challenger for the 1st Congressional District John Featherman, in this bizarre and vaguely offensive web video, has collected a whole bunch of such visuals, perhaps chief among them the image of a topless woman, for no apparent reason kissing a framed photo of our Congressman. After an Eastern European woman (not topless) names her dog "Bobbardy" in the Representative's honor, things start heading downhill pretty fast, probably bottoming out with cigar-puffing lecherous parodies of black Philly Democrats. But, no description does it justice. Best to watch it for yourself.
"Can't Trust Kane" Well, the Republican State Leadership Committee has taken down the worst of its ads, calling Attorney General candidate Kathleen Kane "soft" on rapists by portraying a child being abducted with a voiceover that said: "Kane also went soft on a rapist of a 16-year-old, who was released and later assaulted two more women. We just can’t risk our families’ safety on Kathleen Kane." After fact-checking groups came down on the ad, it was pulled. But the "Wrong for PA" site is still up, with ads like this one, noting that an alleged rapist got off on lesser charges under Kane's watch.
"Radical Kathy" Here's an idea: Dissuade suburban voters from electing Kathy Boockvar to Congress by: Scaring. The. Living. Daylights. Out. Of. Them. That was apparently the idea behind the Tumblr page created by the National Republican Congressional Committee to slam the Bucks County candidate by linking her with Mumia Abu-Jamal. (Though, as Daniel Denvir has reported, creative redistricting may be Boockvar's real downfall against Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. ) The ad was deemed a "reach" by Factcheck.org
"Politicians Say the Darnedest Things" Brand new from the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, is this gem, attacking incumbent state Sen. Bob Casey Jr. "Bob Casey Jr. says he's pro-life. But Casey Jr. voted for Obamacare, the largest expansion of abortion in U.S. history, even forcing churches to pay for abortion-inducing drugs against their religious beliefs." Never mind that studies indicate that, actually, Obamacare doesn't expand abortions but rather reduces them. Incidnetally, the same group is going after Rob McCord, state treasurer, implying that he, not the governor or the state legislature, has the ability to dictate state budgets, including whether Planned Parenthood is funded going forward.
"Walked" Well, David Freed, the Republican who is up against Kane for the attorney general job, kind of has his own reason to gripe about bad advertising now. That's because a (very effective) ad that says he's cool with the handling of the investigation of Jerry Sandusky's sex crimes hasn't been pulled, despite some questions about the quotes the ad was based on. The Committee for Fairness and Justice explained itself this way: "The AP issued a correction that stated that David Freed 'did not rule out' a review of the case. The AP also reported that a 'campaign spokesman' said that a review would be done 'were [Freed] to see any evidence that required' one. The correction (not retraction) of the story doesn't change the salient point: Others, including Kane, have called for an independent review of why it took so long for Sandusky to be charged, but based on the evidence available today, Freed does not believe there needs to be or must be a review, which is exactly what is stated in the ad." Kane denounced the ad, to little effect.
"Persecution of the Catholic church" And, we're back to Casey again. "What would Jack Kennedy say?" an ad asks, about Sen. Bob Casey Jr. "Casey voted for Obamacare, which made possible Obama's persecution of the Catholic church and the worst assault on personal freedom since the Alien and Sedition laws," the radio ad by an independent group Defending Our Faith gripes. That "persecution" of course refers to the Affordable Care Act's requirement that employers, including religious organizations, include contraception coverage in their insurance plans. Comparing it to the Alien and Sedition Acts does, of course, require a running leap.
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