Friday, October 20, 2006
GOP Turns Tables on Dems in Ads
The text is white against a black screen. The sound is the electronic warbling of a video game. But in this political ad, the message is in the faceless voices of cheerful children engaged in mayhem.
"Hit the hooker with the tire iron!" "Steal the old lady's car." "Shoot her first!"
The ad accuses a Democratic candidate of voting against banning the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to children. Another ad, in Connecticut, says a Democrat voted to permit convicted sex offenders in public housing. Yet another, in Arizona, linked a candidate's work as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union to the ACLU's defense of a pedophile's group.
In the fallout from former Rep. Mark Foley's electronic sex scandal, Republicans are turning the tables on Democrats, airing ads and leveling public accusations claiming their opponents have failed to protect children against sexual imagery, sexual violence or sexual predators.
It's a case that Republicans have made against Democrats for some time. But the portrayal of Democrats as weak in the defense of children now also serves as a counterpoint to Democratic charges that GOP leaders did little to protect teenage congressional pages against Foley's sexually explicit electronic messages.
"I don't think it would be getting much national attention if it wasn't for the Foley case," said Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs for the conservative Family Research Council.
To be sure, the attention to sex and allegations of sex in this election is not limited to Foley or the voting records or professional associations of certain candidates. In Pennsylvania, Republican Rep. Don Sherwood has been dogged by an extramarital affair he acknowledged last year. In Nevada, a cocktail waitress accused Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons, who is running for governor, of propositioning her and assaulting her in a parking garage. Gibbons on Thursday denied the accusation.
In a handful of other races, Republicans have raised the image of a fringe organization, the North American Man Boy Love Association, and tried to link Democrats to it through their votes or their association with the ACLU. The civil liberties organization defended NAMBLA in a 2000 First Amendment case.
In Arizona, Republican Rep. Rick Renzi aired an ad citing his challenger's work for the ACLU and the ACLU's defense of the man-boy love organization. In California, Republican Rep. John Doolittle accused his challenger, Charlie Brown, of supporting NAMBLA because he has an ACLU membership. And in Ohio, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell accused his Democratic opponent, Rep. Ted Strickland, of siding with NAMBLA because he voted against a resolution condemning an article in a psychology journal about child sexual abuse.
"Republicans are running a hyper-negative campaign to close out this election season because they are so far behind," said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "But voters are smarter than these ridiculous Republican charges give them credit for."
The ad featuring children playing a violent video game is aimed at Rep. Baron Hill, a Democrat and former House member who is trying to recapture his seat from Republican Rep. Mike Sodrel. It cites Hill's vote in 1999 against an amendment to a juvenile crime bill that would have prohibited the sale of violent and sexually explicit movies and video games to teenagers. The amendment failed after lawmakers argued against it on First Amendment grounds. Ninety-two Republicans also voted against the measure.
But Democrats are seeking to inoculate themselves against such charges. In New Mexico, state Attorney General Patricia Madrid, a Democrat who is challenging Republican Rep. Heather Wilson, has run an ad highlighting the work of her office's Internet sex crimes prosecution unit. In Colorado, Democratic House candidate Ed Perlmutter aired an ad emphasizing his commitment to children.
"In Congress," he says, "I'll fight to pass laws protecting kids from online predators and violent video games."
The text is white against a black screen. The sound is the electronic warbling of a video game. But in this political ad, the message is in the faceless voices of cheerful children engaged in mayhem.
"Hit the hooker with the tire iron!" "Steal the old lady's car." "Shoot her first!"
The ad accuses a Democratic candidate of voting against banning the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to children. Another ad, in Connecticut, says a Democrat voted to permit convicted sex offenders in public housing. Yet another, in Arizona, linked a candidate's work as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union to the ACLU's defense of a pedophile's group.
In the fallout from former Rep. Mark Foley's electronic sex scandal, Republicans are turning the tables on Democrats, airing ads and leveling public accusations claiming their opponents have failed to protect children against sexual imagery, sexual violence or sexual predators.
It's a case that Republicans have made against Democrats for some time. But the portrayal of Democrats as weak in the defense of children now also serves as a counterpoint to Democratic charges that GOP leaders did little to protect teenage congressional pages against Foley's sexually explicit electronic messages.
"I don't think it would be getting much national attention if it wasn't for the Foley case," said Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs for the conservative Family Research Council.
To be sure, the attention to sex and allegations of sex in this election is not limited to Foley or the voting records or professional associations of certain candidates. In Pennsylvania, Republican Rep. Don Sherwood has been dogged by an extramarital affair he acknowledged last year. In Nevada, a cocktail waitress accused Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons, who is running for governor, of propositioning her and assaulting her in a parking garage. Gibbons on Thursday denied the accusation.
In a handful of other races, Republicans have raised the image of a fringe organization, the North American Man Boy Love Association, and tried to link Democrats to it through their votes or their association with the ACLU. The civil liberties organization defended NAMBLA in a 2000 First Amendment case.
In Arizona, Republican Rep. Rick Renzi aired an ad citing his challenger's work for the ACLU and the ACLU's defense of the man-boy love organization. In California, Republican Rep. John Doolittle accused his challenger, Charlie Brown, of supporting NAMBLA because he has an ACLU membership. And in Ohio, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell accused his Democratic opponent, Rep. Ted Strickland, of siding with NAMBLA because he voted against a resolution condemning an article in a psychology journal about child sexual abuse.
"Republicans are running a hyper-negative campaign to close out this election season because they are so far behind," said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "But voters are smarter than these ridiculous Republican charges give them credit for."
The ad featuring children playing a violent video game is aimed at Rep. Baron Hill, a Democrat and former House member who is trying to recapture his seat from Republican Rep. Mike Sodrel. It cites Hill's vote in 1999 against an amendment to a juvenile crime bill that would have prohibited the sale of violent and sexually explicit movies and video games to teenagers. The amendment failed after lawmakers argued against it on First Amendment grounds. Ninety-two Republicans also voted against the measure.
But Democrats are seeking to inoculate themselves against such charges. In New Mexico, state Attorney General Patricia Madrid, a Democrat who is challenging Republican Rep. Heather Wilson, has run an ad highlighting the work of her office's Internet sex crimes prosecution unit. In Colorado, Democratic House candidate Ed Perlmutter aired an ad emphasizing his commitment to children.
"In Congress," he says, "I'll fight to pass laws protecting kids from online predators and violent video games."
