LIBERALS DIE!!!!!! DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!!
People are outraged by the local GOP’s freaky, racist, fear-mongering mailers:
And why shouldn’t they be? It’s so over the top, it’s almost funny. Ok, it’s not funny. But it reminded me of this, which is funny:
The local GOP is obviously trying to take Faux News and kick it up a level. Which is why, with their “party over people, party over county” approach, it makes it difficult to be all huggy and post-partisan. You’re shaking hands with someone who wished you didn’t even exist, except when you can be used to scare people into voting GOP. Or try to scare them, anyway.
How are you supposed to be “Getting To Yes” with people who act this way?
When I moved to this area about 20 years ago, I found the people in Rochester to be pretty open-minded. And although it may be politically conservative, I think that the people who live here are generally a tolerant group, who try to accept those different from themselves. If I’m right, then the GOP is playing the wrong notes and Minarik, in assuming that others share his hate-filled vile beliefs, may have again miscalculated. It seems like, from the reaction being generated by these mailers, this is the place I thought it was when I decided to make this my home.
So, between FAIR and HATE, he’s two for two recently, isn’t he?
Your lead in - “People are outraged” may not be completely accurate. Some people might be outraged. But on the 11:00 news, on a piece about the last minute push by the parties to GOTV, there’s a clip of Morelle noting that (not exact quote) “For too long we’ve had a few people in power who have done nothing about (drum roll please…) scandals at the Water Authority. (Goes on to vaguely refer to other things.)” Didn’t mention FAIR.
WTF?
Don’t forget, the news only shows what they chose to show .. it doesn’t neccesarily mean that Morelle didn’t MENTION FAIR, it may mean that the news didn’t show him mention FAIR.
People are definitely outraged. Ted Nixon reports knocking on a Republican woman’s door today, and she said, “This kind of garbage makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t even want it in my house.” He has an extremely strong video up on his website about this crap.
Nixon’s got to have one of the best (if not the best) websites I have seen for a candidate that isn’t running at the national level. How is that he manages to effectively get his message across on so many issues, in just one minute?
I wonder if it cost him $8,000 to do so?
That’s an awesome video. I’m glad Ted Nixon is not afraid to stand up to the deceit coming from Steven Minarik’s rubber stamp operation… We need more Democrats like him in office!
Wow - a video that’s not about the Water Authority, and focuses on the topics of the day. What’s he thinking - that he wants to do effective advertising? What an innovative concept.
Check out today’s D&C editorials - the third one down. For the D&C, it’s a big step. Entitled “Campaign foul play”, it states that “voters should vote against candidates who stoop to tricks.” The editorial specifically comments on the GOP mailer, stating “Perhaps the most serious breach of this election season arrived in the mail in Monroe County late last week. It played on the fears stirred by a proposal that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain New York driver’s licenses. With images of a ‘welfare coupon’ and two Muslim men, including one holding an Uzi, the flier urges voters to say ‘no’ to Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature and to ‘vote Republican.’ ”
The next line troubles me - “While the message is fair political fodder, the way it’s presented goes too far.” Since when is a message of hatred, racism and fear mongering “fair political fodder”? I guess since Lee Atwater and Karl Rove defined political strategy, and the media accepted that definition. Shouldn’t “fair political fodder” be discussion on issues of the race in which the candidate is involved, and the qualifications of the candidate? If what the editors mean by “the message” is the proposal concerning driver’s licenses, shouldn’t that message relate to those directly involved in the decisionmaking process? As noted yesterday, O’Brien voted against it, but he was smeared with the same broad political brush, as were those who will never be in a position to address this political issue.
Is this the way the D&C can justify to itself standing up against the local GOP, and perhaps claim it’s being even handed -by accepting the premise that the message is fair political fodder? (Maybe I’m just being too critical, because overall the editors got it right.)
But props where props are due. The editorial concludes that the “Fair Campaign Practices Committee should weigh in even on Election Day, if necessary. And of course, so should voters.”
The D&C gets as much credit as the rooster does for the sun rise. They missed an opportunity in their op-ed.
It’s so sad that this cartoon is as funny as it is … after all, doesn’t humor mirror reality?
the d and c always hedges its bets so as not to offend anyone too much.
More generally though a certain groups of conservatives for years have used the notions of non-partisanship in strictly strategic manner. This needs to be made clear.
while really operating with a friend enemy conception of the political environment in which manipulation of language to gain the desired end is perfectly justified, non-partisanship is used only as a tactic to enforce agreement and suppress dissent. You can see a good though lesser example of this in Greece right now at the school board. Mediation is being used as one such tool to suppress dissent. Non-partisanship is rarely used in any authentic way only invoked for reasons of self interest. This is the way of the Doyle Minarik era.
IT ain’t the kinder gentler republicanism of a bygone era.