This stuff "sells" because it is based on the same things present in all the "buyers": ignorance, fear, and hate. People who vote for candidates who push this type of nonsense, and I include all Trump voters, do so based on ignorance, fear, or hate, or a combination thereof. Maybe apathy plays into this, but that is nothing more than willful ignorance.
3
Last week I was having a conversation with several friends in the hall outside of our grad school department. I'm older than my classmates and was explaining that in spite of my age that I'm still finding it difficult to deal with my father's poorly-concealed sexism and racism implicit in his Trump vote.
One of the young men in our cohort told me that he had voted for Trump and asked if I thought that made him a racist. I said that I did, and that anyone who supported Trump after the birther nonsense endorsed racism. He's young, and wasn't sure precisely what the birther issue entailed, so I summarized it as a demand that President Obama release his birth certificate to prove he wasn't born in Kenya. His response was, "Well, he was the first African-American president."
He's probably on someone's racist postcard list.
5
they and their ads are disgusting.
3
Say what you may about the similarities in the ads, but let's get the facts and the history correct: To my knowledge, no TV commercial (nor print ad) by the Bush campaign featured a photo of Horton. A print ad by a lobbying group did, but not one by Bush, and certainly never in a TV spot.
Experience, or a perusal of past decades' news stories, would suggest that those looking for drug-distributors' friends in government are more likely to find them working in law-enforcement than running for county executive. I'm not trying to imply generalized corruption or cast aspersions on any individual LEO, just noting historical facts. Those sincerely seeking to reduce the activities of MS-13 may find investigative accounting a more potent tool than battering rams. Putting a few banking executives and crooked cops in with the street-level dealers would be a more powerful deterrent than the highest of border walls.
2
The gang exists. The NYT could publish that same photo on the front page associated with an article on MS-13. It would be called journalism.
If you want readers to believe that Curran does not support sanctuary cities/counties then you should address the "special interest groups that support and fund her" that is mentioned in the text of the flyer. If you can not refute that argument than you have no case at all.
2
Liberals being soft on crime, and soft on sentencing and letting criminals lose is all legitimate material for political commentary. As long as it is factual, nothing else is relevant to declaring it unacceptable, especially not politically correct rules and speech control.
2
And yet the political family that gave us Willie Horton is now criticizing Trump. Pointing out the Un-American folly of White Nationalism. Let us also not forget"They must be brought to heel". Hypocrisy and irony are always in abundance politically on both sides of the aisle. Particularly when it comes to race.
This kind of campaign literature works. That's a sad fact but true. Candidates would not do it if it did not sway voters and win elections.
Jack Martins should be sued for slander and character assassination. Hopefully the voters have enough brains to destroy his political career and put him back into the gutter where he seems to come from..
If a legit newspaper would print a similar story it would end up in court and the responsible mourn list would be fired. Double standard!
Evidently "MS-13" is another Republican 'wink-wink' code word, like "thugs". At the root this is more of the Republican divide-the-country approach to winning elections. By casting every election as "us against them" (with "them" a fill-in-the-blank bogeyman, whichever is plugged in - racist, religious, sexual orientation). This works for the elections, but Republicans fail miserably at governing, they can't get past the scapegoating to actually solve problems. Maybe they don't want to solve the problems all the way, since if they throw every MS-13 member in prison, who can they blame and scapegoat, and tar political opponents with?
1
You ask people to hold themselves to the high standard of enabling criminals to destroy families and devastate neighborhoods, because it would be impolite not to—someone might be offended. Who cares whether ordinary people see everything they work for in life extinguished?
1
Anything to distract from the fact that the Republican Oyster Bay and Nassau executives (and others) are under federal charges.
2
Since they represent such a small fraction of the population, Republicans don't believe in democracy. They win elections by gerrymandering and voter suppression, but primarily by appeals to the lowest forms of prejudice and ignorance. By doing this over decades, they have successfully established a base that we now call Trump voters. The nasty ads described here are just part of the pattern. They are timed for maximum effect by having a few days to work, but not giving the targets time to mount a counter campaign. Sort of like the announcements about reopening the investigation of Hillary just before the last election.
2
These ads work because (some) folks are taught from birth they're more than true.
And the ads are just a reminder of those teachings.
Can't have a Welfare Queen w/o a Welfare King.
Since last year I have struggled to figure out why a man like Trump could have gotten enough votes to win. It has now become apparent to me that an appeal to the racist tendencies of people, through subterfuge and baiting, remains a workable campaign strategy for many GOP candidates. These examples make things crystal clear.
1
Well done editorial. Indeed.
The appeal to peoples' worst instincts:
It was said that Lee Atwater told George H.W. Bush: “We’re 17 points back and they’ll pick up 10 more points at their convention and we won’t win. Even with a good campaign, we won’t win. You can get so far behind that even a good campaign won’t win it for you.”
After that, Atwater reported it was barely questioned after that. And shame on them.
1
I didn't know thing one about Phil Murphy, D candidate for NJ governor, and just found out he is a Goldman Sachs protege. Why am I not surprised given NJ Sen. Corey Booker's lust-filled affinity for the green, Sen. Menendez's $ corruption trial, and all standard NJ weasel politics. Yet I voted for Mr. Murphy without knowing or seeing him. Why?
Because any politician that affiliated with Chris Christie, and she is his Lt. Gov., was bound to do what she just did. Go for the divisive thrust, the mud, the political equivalent of sex abuse. She who declared her independence from brutal punch and counter punch politics, the slash & burn Christie/Trump style.
Get lost Christie, and take your poodle with you.
1
Yes, but who will protect the good citizens of Nassau County from white men, who lately seem much more efficient at killing larger numbers of people than their non-white terrorist counterparts?
2
In 2004, a website totally unrelated to George W. Bush himself kept getting campaign emails that revealed quite a bit about how it was run.
Someone else, anonymous, was incidentally getting all those emails, and eventually made it public.
The mail server had a catch all mailbox, and emails just kept flowing to the incorrect address. It was amazing.
See if it still comes up--it's the stuff news junkies and historians will love:
http://2004.georgewbush.org/deadletteroffice/
Willie Horton? The Willie Horton that helped GEORGE H.W. BUSH get elected in 1988? The BLACK RAPIST who was given a furlough by Mass. Gov. Dukakis? Thanks for bringing his name up, especially after Bushes 41 and 43 recently attempted to distance themselves from Trump's toxic style. We need to be reminded that 41, 43 and 45 differ only in the degree and stridency of their racist campaign appeals.
That said, the GOP had a chance after their 2012 defeat to better align itself with demographic trends. Instead they decided that remaining the angry white people's party was good for at least a few more election cycles — and it looks as if they were right. Therein lies a problem for the rest of us.
Unfortunately it's the obvious and socially dangerous downside of the 1st Amendment.
If candidates running for office, and people in governing office, were criminally and civilly legally liable for their lying and it's consequences, we'd have a much more democratic and worthwhile government, at all levels.
1
Thank Trump, Bannon and the other gangsters who pretend to want to make America great, when all they want is to control the levers of power to steal the money that should be used for making America and Americans great through education, infrastructure, etc. But this is not news. They mow down Americans with lies and Russian sponsored duplicity, even as other Americans are mowed down in concerts, churches, schools with automatic weapons. If the perpetrators are white, they are excused as mentally troubled, when they are of color they are terrorists. Straight talk is so missing in American dialogue that when Senators like Flake and Corker speak some truth, they are dismissed as malcontents.
1
Willie Horton was a murderer, released on a weekend furlough by the Michael Dukakis administration in Massachusetts. It was a program approved by Governor Dukakis. Mafioso were also released to attend initiation ceremonies into La Cosa Nostra.
Horton murdered a 17 year old gas station attendant in Lawrence, MA in 1974, after which he was sentenced to a life sentence without parole. Dukakis approved weekend furloughs for murderers to further the murderers' "rehabilitation." When Horton received his weekend furlough, he travelled to Maryland, second only to Massachusetts as the most Democratic state in the country. There he raped a young woman and viciously assaulted her fiance'. Horton was captured, tried and received a double life sentence, plus 85 years. He was not returned to Massachusetts out of concern that Horton may receive another weekend furlough.
Dukakis deserved to have this atrocity blamed on him. Politicians that support illegal aliens and illegal immigration, indirectly support alien criminal gangs, like MS-13 and should answer for their political expediency, and lack of support for the criminal justice system.
2
The ugly political climate created by Trump/Bannon white supremacy agenda will become the norm as toxic views are celebrated when they win elections. Will Americans just follow orders as Germans did in the 1930's as nationalism sparks violence by demagogues thriving on race baiting and flag waving. We are massive terrorist attack away from martial law which would give Trump the Putin like dictatorial powers he yearns for and actually complains he does not have now.
1
I'm trying to understand. So, Democrats are in favor of illegal immigrant violent gangs like MS-13?
Democrats are ok with leniency laws that allow convicted murderers to get back on the street to murder again?
Strange that Democrats are upset with Republican candidates who want to keep the public safe from criminals.
1
This type of ad is a litmus test for voter ignorance, blind party loyalty and overall stupidity.
1
The GOP's tactics have scraped the bottom of the barrel, and the party is rapidly approaching moral bankruptcy. Congratulations, Mr. Trump, your followers have taken over "the party of Lincoln."
1
For a minute I thought you were writing about the ad that shows a pickup truck with a Gillespie bumper sticker on it trying to run down poor hispanic and muslim children who are running for their lives.
Oh, right. That was a Democrat ad. I guess that's ok.
1
The Times should spare us the Board's nauseating liberal hypocrisy. I notice they were no where to be seen when a group associated with the Northam campaign ran an ad depicting a white man in a pick up trying to run over a carefully curated group of minority children. This divisive, blatantly evil depiction of white working class males I guess passes muster with the Board. Contempt for working class whites has been a Times hallmark for decades. I guess that too has been updated for the Trump Era.
1
The political right uses fear instead of facts. It cannot win with facts, so it must use fear. The general public does not know how to decipher the competing messages, nor does it understand what a constitutes a proper resource. This is precisely why the political right calls for the end of teaching liberal studies in schools. They are afraid of voters learning how to interpret truth.
1
Perhaps Democrats should be a little more brass knuckles in their campaigns against their Republican opponents. Surely there must be issues that could be used to put them on the defensive.
It is not encouraging that these sleazy tactics work, but one must not unilaterally disarm in a war. Democrats are just too wussy for politics these days, and have no ideas that really motivate their voters. They are sitting ducks for these MS-13 ads.
“Murphy,” the Guadagno ad says, “will have the backs of deranged murderers like Carranza.”
This is insane and it doesn't matter whether one supports Murphy or not. It is every bit as insane as when Trump stated that Obama "founded ISIS" and publicly reiterated that he was not speaking metaphorically; when he implied after Orlando that "something was going on" with Obama in terms of his relationship to terrorists; when he "joked" that 2nd Amendment voters could "maybe" do something if Clinton was elected instead of him. It's all part of the same playbook. The pathetic part is that it works.
This is the folly of turning a blind eye to "truthful hyperbole."
1
Typical conservative scare tactics.
Science magazine had an interesting article a few years back that suggests that fear leads to political conservatism.
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/321/5896/1667
In reflex tests of 46 political partisans, psychologists found that conservatives were more likely than liberals to be shocked by sudden threats.
Accompanying the physiological differences were deep differences on hot-button political issues: military expansion, the Iraq war, gun control, capital punishment, the Patriot act, warrantless searches, foreign aid, abortion rights, gay marriage, premarital sex and pornography.
The findings imply a fearmongering strategy for conservatives.
Individuals with measurably lower physical sensitivities to sudden noises and threatening visual images were more likely to support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, pacifism, and gun control, whereas individuals displaying measurably higher physiological reactions to those same stimuli were more likely to favor defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism, and the Iraq War.
So, basically, conservatives scare easily, and that's why fearmongering like the Willie Horton ad and Jack Martins' mailer work so well on Republicans.
Fearmongering is also what helped Trump get elected.
Makes you wonder whether the people that fall for the Russia scare tactics are really conservatives at heart, doesn't it?
It's one thing to say the buck stops at the desk of candidate A or candidate B, it's quite another, I think, to illuminate and reveal the actual human beings and businesses who conceive of, design, and distribute what you describe as drivel. Whoever these shady forces are, they aren't policy makers — they're image and message makers: professional public relations people, advertising executives, marketing and creative directors and ultimately printing and web hosting server companies who provide these paid "services" that affect voter impressions and turnout.
Didn't we just hear about advertising that Russia bought on Facebook in 2016? I'd better dollars to doughnuts that the ad creation and buys for these fear-based messages aren't from Russia. They're American; our friends and neighbors. Aren't we in the slightest bit curious to know who they are?
1
If I agreed with every position a candidate held, these kind of repugnant campaign tactics would still force me to vote for the opponent. It's a question of character. It's a question of decency. If a candidate is willing to stoop to this level to get the job, how far will they stoop when in office?
5
Oh, so just like out here in Los Angeles, we should not worry about the illegal aliens that are never pursued by the police as they cannot pay, but citizens can. Oh, and if they feel that the police actually are after them, they return to Mexico until things cool down, then return. Wake up!
1
Welcome to Trump country. I won't say America--because I'm not sure how much of it is left....
1
Republicans have been using the Southern Strategy for so long that it's developed into an unconscious reflex.
In 2005, then RNC chair Ken Mehlman apologized for his party's use of the Southern Strategy. I guess the apology wasn't sincere.
"silver bullet":
The Northam campaign just ran a scurrilous ad depicting a white male in a pickup truck with a Confederate flag and a Gillespie sticker chasing down Black, Hispanic, Muslim children, with fearful panicked expressions on their faces. The add was so disgusting that they pulled the ad after one day.
Also, according to the NYTimes, Al Gore in 1988 first brought up Dukakis's furlough program, but not mentioning Willie Harton's name. And perhaps you are to young to remember Lyndon Johnson's ad showing a pretty young girl pulling daisy petals that turned into a nuclear countdown connecting Goldwater to nuclear war? That scurrilous ad also was pulled after one day.
The damage, even with a single day's exposure, has been done, like a comment in a trial, being withdrawn. The poison has been injected.
My point, both Dems and Reps have engaged in these types of ads since 1964. The anger depends on who's ox is being gored. Unfortunately, there's no law to prevent this.
3
So, according to NYT and its readers, having any concern at all about one's own personal safety and the personal safety of one's family is racist?? I
3
“In the sewer” doesn’t begin to describe this drivel."
Nor does it begin to describe Democrat Northam's TV ad in Virginia tying Republican Gillespie to white supremacists in their car chasing minority kids with the intent to kill them. Why in the world does the Times ignore that? I have to assume it's because a different, more lenient standard applies to Democratic candidates.
3
After 30 years, the NEA has not been able to educate crime from the mainstream? After such frustration, it should be delighted to have fresh approaches at the Department.
I'm always kind of amazed that liberals always hold up the Willie Horton incident as race-baiting rather than an episode that totally disqualified Dukakis from higher office.
Would it have been better if Bush had used a white murderer that Dukakis helped out of prison so he could rape women? Horton was serving a life sentence for murder. The MA Legislature tried to end weekend funtime furloughs for sociopathic criminals like Horton but Dukakis vetoed the bill.
With friends like Weinstein and Dukakis, it's easy to see who counts with Democrats. It ain't women.
3
The only thing that's objectionable about the Jack Martins mailer is that it falsely suggests that his opponent has rolled out the welcome mat for violent gang members. However, the fact that the mailer displays a picture of gang members who are Latino is not racist - it is accurate. Is it racist to merely reproduce a picture of Latino gang members or other minority gang members? Are the only pictures of gang members that are allowed are ones that show white gang members? Must all pictures of minority gang members include a disclaimer that not all gang members belong to that minority and that not all minority members are gang members? Please.
4
This drivel only works if people are dumb enough to believe it.
The only antidote to this is public education which teaches people how to think.
1
As a Nassau County resident living in Mr. Martins former senatorial district, I can report a mailing I received in the last election from the Republican heir to his Senate seat, Elaine Phillips about how her opponent was working to allow "illegal immigrants" to vote. While this ridiculous message insulted my intelligence, I knew it was designed to strike an ugly chord among my neighbors. As her victory in that election proved, it worked. My disgust with the Nassau GOP cannot match the power of their cynical and and unprincipled behavior.
12
In Virginia Gillespie littered the airways with ads suggesting Northam promoted sanctuary cities, therefore, promoted MS-13. There are no sanctuary cities in Virginia, and very little gang presence in 98 percent of Virginia. Do the voters know those facts? I doubt it.
These ridiculous smear campaigns are simply and indictment on the electorate. Voters who cannot or willfully will not look past this nonsense are somehow now seizing control of our country. Voters who take this low brow bait are an embarrassment to the republic. The outcome? We have a sociopathic president, progress on important issues is being halted by the republican majority, funded by greedy corporate interests and billionaires to suit their narrow interests.
Whalaa! Our new America.
We are in serious trouble guys.
1
Republicans have fully embraced their supporters' racist tendencies, happily campaigning on messages of bigotry and fear...and why not? It works. As evidenced by the election of Trump to the highest office, appealing to their supporters' lowest instincts is a winning strategy.
1
Just a reminder that when the Bush family gets on their high horse to complain about Donald Trump they are not really complaining about the "substance" of Trumpism they are merely complaining about his manners. It was the Bush's and their cohorts Lee Atwater, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney who laid the groundwork for the malignancy we now know as the Trump Administration. This is important because complaining about Trump is meaningless unless we also delegitimize the toxic legacy that created him.
1
You need to learn the "Make America Great Again" language. White people are mentally ill thus no need to address second amendment. People with the slightest amount of color, are in gangs and along with Hillary, should be locked up for a long time. And Muslims and Indians with turbans, are terrorists and should be stopped from entering the country and thrown out if they are already here. And definitely count on your potential voters being too disinterested to see that you are tearing apart the very fabric that has made our country great.
2
Please. As long as it is legal and works, the pols will use it. Not only that, if the Dems use the same "dirty tricks", the NYT will be cheering.
2
It's easy to say these smears should be ignored, but harder to match actions to those words. I'm sure many more voters see those flyers than read your debunking of them. The trick is how to get the truth to the masses to counter the lies. Same with Trump. If I were near the top of the Democratic party I would have dedicated fact checkers on social media accounts whose only job was to intercept and counter via the same media each lie told by Trump or other bad actors in politics. Every tweet would be met by an immediate counter-tweet.
2
When Trump won, we looked at the country and thought, “We’ll, at least New York, New Jersey and California (and other states) retiained their rational, progressive stance”. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe we’re just an ugly nation.
3
In the end, the problem is that these types of campaign ploys work.
Each and every voter must ask themselves: Does it work on me? Why?
3
This mailer demonstrates that the true danger to America's constitutional republic is the American voter.
If voters are motivated by this sort of thing, we'll get the authoritarian kleptocracy we deserve.
15
Dems can't handle the truth. Progress!
If we aspire to greater electoral participation rates, we must be able to communicate complex issues in a way that makes sense for people who have neither the time nor, in many cases, the ability, to developed more informed and therefore nuanced views of these issues. In other words, we must reducto ad absurdum, which is basically what the mailer is. An over the top characterization, yes. But one that contains a kernel of truth.
Wait a minute. Which is it? I often hear people talking about how noble and reserved the elder Mr. Bush was, how he embodied a now lost tradition of restraint and decency. But I lived through that era. Every time I hear someone falsely portray him in this light, I think of Lee Atwater and the Willie Horton campaign. Now, at times like this, we see where this poison came from.
6
If the electorate were not intellectually challenged (to use the PC term) enough to allow these ads to influence them, there would not be such ads. Rather than attacking the politicians and their campaigns for using what works, why not focus on why this sort of thing is effective. When our schools, from pre-K all the to the top, were teaching students to think rather than parrot back the teacher's opinions these ads would not work, and therefore would not exist.
Karl Rove; Lee Atwater; Pat Buchanan; three "dirty tricks" purveyors of politics--Republican style--who made fortunes scaring the hell out of white voters. It's the same as George Wallace's timeless "segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
These kinds of dog-whistle, racist tactics are time-honored Republican staples. They got G.H.W. Bush elected, and before him, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.
Donald Trump is a walking Willie Horton ad all by himself. What else is "build that wall?" or "keep them out?" or "don't let them in?" It's all fear of "the other," but here in the Trump era, the call to white supremacy has got legs for the long haul. It doesn't matter that the "bad guys" are no longer black; the fear-mongering about Hispanic infiltrators on our Southern borders has white people scrambling around the barnyard like chickens when a fox strolls into view.
And Republicans don't back off this throat-grabbing politics. Ed Gillespie is fanning those flames in Virginia, a much larger venue with clearly more at stake than Long Island. But it's all of an ugly piece.
Unhappily, America seems fine with it.
6
Republicans know they cannot win on the issues, so they always have to distract people with race-baiting.
We promise no estate tax for a couple with an estate of $30 million!
Here is what an honest Republican campaign would look like:
We promise to cut Medicare! We promise to cut Medicaid so your frail elderly grandparents will not be able to get home care and will be forced to live in a low-budget soul-less regimented institution.
We promise to have fewer teachers in your child's school!! We promise not to spend money repairing roads and bridges!!!
We promise to undermine Social Security!
We promise to undermine overtime rules so you will not be paid for overtime even if you make only $35,000/year!
We promise to stop protecting the air you breath, the water you drink, and the food you eat!
We promise to cut the CDC budget to stop early warning and rapid response for public health emergencies!
And the list is long......
When will Republican voters stop being such easy marks?
18
Actual quote from my Republican friend..."I am the most not-racist person I know. I have black friends. But those Black Lives Matter ass-holes need to be shot!"
To me, that sums up the thinking of America better than anything I've read or seen in the news.
The Vegas shooting and now the Texas shooting prove that white guy violence and horrible behavior are no less terrible than anything black and brown people living among us could do. We have just been taught to hate them more, and fear them more.
18
Anyone who doubts that hate is a powerful political weapon most often exploited by Republicans must have been asleep during the last presidential election and not followed Trump's first year in office.
The modern Republican Party - essentially the party of the old slavery, Civil War and segregationist South - has made exploiting fear and hate its main political weapon. There is no surprise they are still doing it.
Ironically they used to also use fear and hate of Russia and deficits as another of their go to weapons, until that is, Russia helped them win the 2016 election and now they are in power they stopped caring about deficits, both of which underscore another characteristic of the party called hypocrisy.
14
Ads like these will work because the unwashed masses who don't read the NYTimes, do their own research, or follow political campaigns are, for lack of a better term, sheep. They will respond to the ad with horror and ignorance. Nothing we say will stop individuals like Martins from using ads like this, they work on the sheep.
5
Wait a minute, isn't it in Virginia that the Democratic candidate ran an ad that showed a truck with the Republican candidate's name on it running down Muslim and Latino children? How selective your memory is.
And by the way, it's true that they could be their next door neighbor.
2
Why don't those republicans show pictures of the Las Vegas murderer and yesterday's church massacre killer and propose that white Americans are also a threat to their constituents lives?
I guess a white veteran and another with lots of money are different!
1
The thing is that these situations can be both factually accurate and also perceived by some as racist. In Massachusetts, Willie Horton was a household name before Bush used it in the election - and ironically, it was the leftist media's "outrage" over the ad, which saw limited airplay, that gave it the spotlight and likely amplified the message. But at the end of the day, Mr. Dukakis was a soft-on-crime Democratic governor of a state with an escalating crime problem, and in fact, Mr. Horton was guilty of all of the things alleged in the advertisement.
8
Are we surprised at how low a republican can go and how disgusting a person one can be? They are all playing "Follow the Leader."
1
Not surprising, when many Americans' daily news diet consists of terror-baiting Fox News.
4
The two most recent mass shootings by white men may trigger the beginning of a cultural shift of whom Americans should most fear. Hopefully, people will question the President's description of the crime as a "mental health" issue. It is not. The mentally ill as a whole are not more violent than the general population. Too simplistic of an answer! The killer in Texas had abused his wife and child, perhaps a better prediction of propensity for violent behavior. We all should fear any person holding a gun. When we, as American, see that person in the mirror, then we will have laws and policies put forward by elected officials with wisdom to protect us all. The only American characteristic of our problem with high rates of gun violence is the abundance of guns in our society. It is unmatched in the world and so are the number of casualties for a country not at war or with insurrections. Other developed countries have fewer casualties annually. There are so many people that can be killed by knives or even trucks by the ill-intentioned.
2
The only way to combat this 'drivel' is to wear it like a badge of honor: Hold it up at every public event, every interview, every speech, make everyone who sees Ms Curran become aware of the GOP gutter tactics and challenge the public to see this as a naked attempt to cheat voters, to lie to the public, and to perpetuate a THEFT OF OUR DEMOCRACY!
Somehow we have to make a stand and create real costs for such psychological manipulation and subversion of our democratic values.
3
Back in the '80s and '90s when violent Russian mobsters began to make their presence felt in the U.S. I don't recall anyone in the GOP screaming about illegal immigration or using it as a tool to sow fear to win elections.
Hmm, I wonder if it could have something to do with skin tone...
Nah! Couldn't be! All GOP politicians swear up and down that they're not racists so it must be true, right?
3
Republicans are the party of outright lies in pursuit of money and power. There's hardly a shred of civic duty among them. The Constitution, morality, religious conviction, fiscal responsibility, public safety mean nothing to them except as hollow notions to hide their rapacious greed behind. Drain the swamp for real and throw the bums out!
5
The small-minded, the ill-informed, and the outright racists whose numbers are far larger than we thought prior to the 2016 election will not only love these tactics, but they will fuel their conspiracy fantasies. These are the same people who believed that Hillary and John Podesta were running a child sex slave operation out of a popular local pizza restaurant. These are the same people who strap on their assault rifles to go that restaurant, 'to see for themselves' because they can't believe the truth or have any trust in media. Until education through college is mandatory for everyone, we'll never return to a day when most voters had critical thinking skills.
It should not be lost on us that within a very few years, people of color, African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians, among others, will comprise the majority in this country. What we are witnessing in cynical Republican politics is a last gasp attempt to maintain continued control over the levers and pulleys of government, and locus of power in the United States.
Of course, the GOP will never admit it, but its tactics and dog whistles strike a resonant chord among those who wish to preserve the status quo, and fear being left out even more than they are today. That the Republican base tolerates this sort of exploitation, while its needs have long been, and continue to be, ignored by the Grand Old Party, is truly shocking.
Trump proved many things about the American electorate.
1) Hate sells.
2) Racism sells.
3) Xenophobia sells.
4) Bigotry sells.
5) Sexism sells.
6) Lying sells.
7) Ignorance sells.
8) Moral turpitude sells.
9) Unapologetic arrogance sells.
10 Stupidity sells.
ETAL
1
And here we have it, the self-proclaimed leader of the democratic, free world, descending into the same degree of political and civil chaos it has heaped on the rest of the world since the end of WWII.
Guns are still off limits despite a surge of mass shootings, Big Pharma is off limits despite an opioid death epidemic, Israel is off limits despite relentless damage to U.S. interests abroad, Saudi Arabia is the U.S.'s 2nd strongest ally in the region despite abominable human rights abuses and the spread of Radical Islam abroad.
And Campaign Finance Reform is off limits despite the recent election of two of the worst presidents in U.S. history: Bush Jr. and Trump.
The nation's domestic and foreign policies are rapidly generating pity instead of fear.
I do remember those atrocious murders. That weekend that Willie was allowed freedom under some strange circumstance that had been approved by then Gov. Dukakis of Massachusetts .
I occasionally see men tatooed and looking juts like the guys in that election ad, these guys are scary and are alien to the American way of life. Trump has been rounding these bandits up and kicking their butts out of the country as he promised he would do.
If these guys are protesting the fact that these guys are all men of color, tough, that's what they look like. Round em up and kick em out.
Jack Martins is trying to get elected, people do funny things during elections, perhaps his staff was somewhat over zealous in putting this postcard together.
But I still say round em up and kick em out.
7
I find the 3%ers and Open Carryers scary and alien to the American way of life because of their Confederate flags, outlaw biker dress, and weapons brandishing. I think their appearance is intended to intimidate others, especially immigrants and refugees. They make me fearful about malicious harassment and hate crimes in my community. Should they be shipped to re-education camps, disarmed, or put under close supervision because of their appearance and political/social ideas, or do we follow the U.S. Constitution, Amendments I, V, and XVI and give them freedom of expression and due process?
Lies and slander have been working forever and will continue to do so. So will 'false equivalency', one of the republicans' favorite weapons, where they go wholesale with some atrocious behavior after a democrat does a little. The young African Americans who did lunch counter protests in the 60's were trained to not react to any violence perpetrated by the white trash hooligans, because the perception would be "See, they're just as bad!" In truth there's no comparison between the sides in terms of what they do and why they do it. The republican assumption has always been that they can use these folks for elections and then stow them away. Nixon got the ball rolling and Reagan, both Bushes, and now Trump have followed. Don't you just love the Bushes complaining about Trump? He is the juvenile delinquent you helped raise.
1
ODIOUS is a good word to describe Republicrooks.
1
When the republicans need to resort to this sort of smear campaign in order to get votes it tells us that their ideas will not stand up to inspection. Maybe they just don't deserve the public office they are running for. From the ads it seems they might best be qualified to clean sewers.
1
Political ads in the sewer are there because they work. So the problem continues to be voters that ready to believe any extreme claim that plays to their most vile prejudice. The problem will continue until voters acquire an ability to make informed, logical judgments. We should not hold our breath waiting for that to occur.
1
The GOP are using similar "fear and smear" tactics in the WA state senate race profiled in Sunday's edition. In the age of unlimited and anonymous PAC spending candidates can claim to have no control over these ads.
Fear and hate are destructive tools that cut both ways. We must demand our candidates do better.
1
And once again, honesty and truth are left in the dust
2
Add to this the anonyomous flyers sent out in New Jersey warning about South Asian "terrorist" candidates and it means those in Northeast blue states need to look at their neighbors before blaming it all on the red South and Midwest.
Virginia is for Liars and Gillespie is one of the biggest ones. A former lobbies claiming to drain the swamp. Give me a break. Wake up VA. Go vote tomorrow
1
Daisy in 1964.
Johnson ran an ad showing a child playing in a field before segueing to a nuclear explosion. The inference was that Goldwater, Johnson's oponent, would blow up the world.
2
The party of Donald Segretti, Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, Roger Stone, Swift Boaters for Truth, elves, etc. lives on with their October Surprises, and Southern Strategies, and Willie Hortons, and general degradation of our election process. And why not, it works! The one constant of Republican campaigns is the torrent of disinformation and lies. It's not a bug, it's a feature.
2
It's the Trump era. Racism has gone mainstream.
1
THE GOP Concerns itself with violent crimes by focusing on immigrants. There is one criminal descendant of immigrants who is left out of the picture. Trump has bought and sued his way out of behaviors of questionable legality by being involved with upwards of 3500 lawsuits. Trump is a self-confessed perpetrator of repeated sexual assaults against women going back decades, in a video where he bragged to Billy Bush about being the Puusy Grabber in Chief. So where are the mailers from the GOP about the dangers of having Trump in the White House because of his history of sexual assaults on women? The only way to win against hostile trolls and bots is to beat them with more trolls and bots. I fervently hope that the Democrats will have prepared the local delegations to drag voters kicking and screaming to the polls TOMORROW, 11/7/2017. I think the outcomes will be strongly against the GOP. But better safe than sorry. Do your part to get rid of the CRIMINAL IN CHIEF. VOTE TOMORROW! The survival of the US Democracy depends on your participation.
2
Although 'dirt' and other lies are current in political campaigns, the current republican harvest of race-baiters have gone beyond the 'ugly', and 'odious', and irresponsibly base ads, for advantage in a race their own character and abilities fell short. These folks, Martins, Guadagno, Gillespie, are shameless demagogic thugs looking for relevance. It would be a mark of citizen's complacency and immorality to elect these 'criminals'...for allowing the political destruction of their opponents; even Machiavello would disapprove of such unscrupulous means, 'a la Willie-Horton' strategy. If we, the electors, have an ounce of honesty, and another of decency, these republican candidates ought to be relegated to the stinky swamps, and morass, of oblivion. Enough is enough.
4
The same tactic has emerged in the mayoral race in Albuquerque, not only in the Republican mailers and tv adds, but in the Republican candidate's constant proclamation that progress Dem, Tim Keller, wants to "Hug a Thug." The fear-mongering Republican is also a Baptist minister.
2
Republicans, at long last, have no shame.
Ah, yes, Willie Horton. I remember one of the ads--a revolving door with murderers and rapists going in and out on prison furloughs. Yup, that's what we like to do here in Massachusetts: make sure our capital offenders are having a good time.
George H. W. Bush happily started us down this path. The Bushes are all so "mea culpa" about the state of their nasty, ridiculous Republican party, but it's their family that started it all by using dirty attack ads stinking of racism to get elected. George Jr. goes around making speeches implying that Trump is responsible for what America has become, but he'd be far more accurate if he pointed his finger at dear old dad, big buddy of Roger Ailes and the rest of the journalistic swamp.
George H.W. Bush seems to have conviently forgotten Lee Atwater, Willie Horton and Clarence Thomas as he condemns Trump as a' blow hard.' PapI Bush played the misogyny card against Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton.
George W. Bush seems to also have suffered a memory lapse about these events aided and abetted by the trolling of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney in his own campaigns.
But it was Ronald Reagan who was the master political governing acting clever talented race-baiter. With classics like 'Cadillac driving Chicago welfare queens and 'strapping young bucks standing in line at the grocery store with food stamps waiting to buy T-bone steaks.' Reagan spoke of states rights in Philadelphia Mississippi where three civil rights workers were murdered and mused if Dr. King was a communist.
Trump is a cruder coarse critter kind of the Bush and Reagan archetype
1
Look at today's Times' editorial on gun control. The most dangerous people in our country today are white men with guns. Don't vote for one.
How about pointing out how much these toxic campaigns cost, Democrats? How about blaring from the rooftops what you could do with the thousands and millions of dollars of vile lies? Fix some public schools? At the very least, clean up some streets? How about mentioning it often and then more often so that people hear about it? How about repeating it ad nauseum since that's what it apparently takes?
Nothing new here. The Republican Party, even moderates like George H. W. Bush "senior" have stooped to McCarthy style politics for decades. What is seriously sad here is that too many Americans actually believe the filth that spills out of the latrines of Republican Party politics. How sad!
"Laura Curran’s campaign is supported and funded by New York City special interest groups." The reference to "New York City special interest groups" is a clear invocation of the old canard that Jews are attempting to manipulate the government into allowing the destruction of "the white race" - which might be pretty funny until one realizes that a substantial fraction of the voters of Nassau County moved out of NYC to "escape" the depredations of the non-white criminal classes that "took over" the city --- added to the fact that these descendants of Italian and Irish immigrants had once been regarded by their "white" neighbors as non-white criminal classes, represented by the Mafia and the perpetually drunk, lazy, and generally criminal Irish masses. There is nothing new about this kind of racism except that it has now been adopted by many of its former victims.
"Even allowing that a certain nastiness is inevitable as Election Day nears, this utterly misleading immigration ploy crosses the line. It’s a dog-eared page out of the dirty-tricks playbook, updated for the Trump era." There is NO Line! This is the new normal. It's often observed that Dems bring plastic spoons to a knife fight.
1
Jack Martins, you should be ashamed. Your reprehensible, sickening, untruthful mailer, which you perversely defend as "the truth", sets a new low for bizarre, racist behavior. New Yorkers (apparently not all, but most) are above this kind of sham. I guess Martins won't be happy until Nassau County is just like Mississippi. Disgusting.
True enough, but jurisdictions banging the drum for leftist political beliefs of sexual freedom should avoid overbranding. Northampton looks like a lesbian retirement community now with a downtown as decrepit as I've seen since the pre-Jordache 1970s. It's all gone. Sanctuary cities, what a joke. If you are on the run from the law, that's not my problem.
“The only thing we have to fear — is fear itself.” Worked for FDR but Americans are stupider now than they were in 1941. They no longer read newspapers, and they get their information from Twitter, whose name echoes its serious nature.
With all this and you still haven't made an endorsement in the Long Island race?
What's the matter with you?
Is this a case of: "Naughty, naughty, Mr. Martins, you really shouldn't do that sort of thing, but we think you still might have the qualifications to be County Executive."
Are you out of your gourd?
Whether or not Laura Currans will ultimately support or oppose sanctuary cities, it is clear that they are putting put criminals back on the streets, as the Kate Steinle murder demonstrated.
Supporters often claim that immigrants commit fewer crimes than Americans. Whether or not that's true, the fact is that ILLEGAL immigrants commit a slew of crimes:
"California, Texas and Arizona, which have large numbers of illegal aliens, have significant problems due to those aliens breaking the law. Indeed, an unreleased internal report by the Texas Department of Public Safety indicates that from 2008 to 2014, illegal aliens committed over 600,000 crimes — including nearly 3,000 homicides and almost 8,000 sexual assaults — in that state alone."
http://www.heritage.org/homeland-security/commentary/sanctuary-cities-pu...
5
Now THIS is news: the Times is against guilt by association? The opinion pages are saturated with your regular columnists and guest writers proclaiming that "whites" or "men" or "Republicans" think this or that, as if the Times editorial board knew.
It is disturbing that the Times board, as consistently left as Fox News is right, is so blind as to not realize that its op=ed writers are extrapolating all the time from small samples to incriminate large groups.
5
As a voting resident of Nassau County, I am appalled at the lengths Joe Mondello and his corrupt machine will go to to bolster fear into the lives of Residents.
He and his lying gang of influence peddlers who have given us Francis Purcell, Tom Gulotta, Kate Murry and the most recent "somehow slipped prosecution" candidate Ed Mangano, not to mention his hand picked hatchet-men Dean Skelos & son.
Now he's working the grinder on the presence of immigrants in our community, passing innuendo as fact and fear as a County paid for mailer delivered to every home.
If he had a speck of human decency, he'd be ashamed both of his latest proposed lackey - Jack Martins - and the tactics of smearing hard working people that his campaign promote, but it is clear both now and in the past he, and the party he fronts are devoid of any ethics.
The "gangs" we need worry most about is that headed by the fear and race baiting variety, of which the Nassau GOP is a member in good standings.
These adds speak to the 33% who still think Trump is doing a good job. This group is primarily made up of the basket of deplorables. Those gun-hugging N@#$%er hating, white supremist. They are here to stay, and have the right to vote. What to do? Let's at least be honest about who they are.
Cash, dishonesty, and vilification of one's opponent wins elections. It is a proven formula. Elections are not won by gaining supporters, they are lost by gaining opponents.
Mr. Martins behavior is typical Republican tactics in elections of any type. Why would anyone be surprised?
Deplorable.
There is another nasty ad running in the DC metro area trying to link Ralph Northam to a child sex offender. The idea seems to be that when Democrats were trying to restore voting rights to felons who had served their time in Virginia, Ed Gillespie's campaign went and found the worst felon they could, then put that person's face and story on a commercial trying to link him to Northam. Wouldn't it be great if we could actually vote based on issues instead of fear mongering and false equivalencies?
It is clear that everything the GOP is doing--from denying a hearing for Merrick Garland to the obscenities described in this piece--is in support of their end goals. Truth, civility, honor and dignity be damned.
1
Does Mr. Martins realize that he has a Latino last name. Given his name, he must also be guilty by association.
Crime is real. Horton was a vicious rapist and torturer. Dukakis did free Horton and others like him, because of a deeply held Democratic Party policy of anti-incarceration that cost countless lives. Denial of the rape is just that: sleazy denial and sleazy historical revisionism.
The same is true of the horrific crimes committed by immigrant gangs taking over Long Island. How can you defend MS13? How can you deny the brutal drstruction of neighborhoods and lives, the stripping of safety and security from citizens who don’t happen to work and live with the sorts of secure conditions enjoyed by Times employees?
Pandering to illegal immigration is a Democrat platform. Every Democrat is culpable for endorsing it with their party affiliation. Don’t endorse it? Change parties.
If you really feel none of this is a problem, I suggest you practice what you preach. Do away with your guards at the doors of your offices — in fact relocate to an abandoned strip mall in the middle of a community blighted by gangs; walk to your cars in an unprotected parking lot; move your children to that neighborhood and enroll them in the hardest hit public schools. Times editors can shut off their home alarms in their mansions and take in some of the paroled felons they love to carry on about. Do unto yourselves what your agenda would do to others.
So long as there is reality, there will never be enough Times’ editorials to paper over it.
6
Maybe every board of elections should have a bipartisan committee that reviews all political ads that are targeted to be released in the last two weeks of an election for truth. It may have caught the Russian media campaign that made Trump our president and it may force candidates to actually talk about issues that matter rather than appeal to despicable and irrelevant primal instincts.
We just elected a totally incompetent carnival barker who never met corruption he didn't like, produces policy in 140 characters or less, and has not had an original (or helpful) idea in this first year. He was elected on a coalition of traditional Republicans, swing voters disgusted by the failure of the nation to address real change in our economy, and a mix of anarchists and white supremacists.
The neo-Nazis didn't scare away voters in 2016 - so it is a working formula. Xenophobia is here to stay in our mud-slinging political communication. Goebbels is laughing in Hell, along with McCarthy.
The only way to fight it, the only way, is for people who don't usually vote to get themselves to the polling places and vote in elections that might not even know are happening. Yes, it is hard to get off of work, to stand in line, and burn time and money you don't have. But it is important, because otherwise we are letting the crooks run the jail.
Add to this list the racist ad by The Latino Victory Fund. The ad showed a white man (of course) gunning the engine of his truck in preparation to running down minority children (of course) at a bus stop.
If you're going to be outraged by racist ads, don't just highlight the ones that fit your narrative.
5
The dirty little the dirty little secret is Willie Horton was a Democrat idea, hatched in the primary against the pathetic Dukakis. Democrats are notoriously soft on crime and when you show them pictures of criminals showering mayhem on the electorate they squeal like stick pigs. That’s effective marketing when the dems do it, racism when the republicans do it. Get over it.
6
Maybe the ad should show the Latino-American homeless man beat up by Trump supporters.
Jack Martins mailer : «This message approved by the Trump reelection organization«
All fits very well....
The Republican Party has risen to control of the federal government by playing the "race card" from Reagan's "welfare queens" to George H.W. Bush's infamous (as you note) Willie Horton ad. Bigotry and fear are always, sadly, winning issues and the Republicans under our new Racist-in-Chief have been even more blatant and emboldened about it. I hope the voters will not be frightened and that the Democrats will punch, and punch back hard to show they won't tolerate a racist or the associated "soft on crime" label.
Personal anecdote: I received a call from a "polling organization" last week which, based on its questions and limited selection of multiple choice responses, was clearly a Republican funded enterprise trying to influence the call recipient of the benefits of Martins and the shortcomings of Curran. At multiple times during the call, the questioner pronounced Curran's name as "Kuran" with an emphasis on the second syllable. Despite my repeated corrections, the questioner persisted in this pronunciation. Attempt to get the listener to make an association with the Muslim holy book and therefore fear another group?
You make the call.
Politicians will keep using these tactics because they work. Arousing fear always works :especially when we really begin to realize that we truly are a racist, misogynistic ,fearful and hateful country. It pains me terribly to say that but I am afraid it is true. I fear our republic will devolve into chaos.
I think it is sweet that you mention the Virginia race but don't mention the "Evil Pickup Driving Murderous White Guy" ads that ran last week. I'm glad you left out the single craziest political ad I've ever seen, because had you included it, it would have made you seem almost like a news organization.
6
Unfortunately, somebody who would vote for people employing these tactics probably do not read articles like this one. We know that repetition of untruths make the same stick to the uninformed/misinformed.
1
Why no mention of the recent TV ad in the Virginia governor's race which show whites in a pickup truck with a confederate flag chasing young men of color down the street then showing itself to be a young black man's nightmare? Offensive racists ads are racists no matter which side does them, why does the Times only can about one side?
7
"in the sewer" is the best way to describe republican propaganda.
That said, the endorsement of sanctuary cities has been branded upon democrats who have seemingly embraced the concept. Much as republicans have embraced the concept of assault rifles in the hands of deranged rednecks.
The fact is that most Americans do not want immigration policies that facilitate either the MS-13 thugs or the Uzbeck terrorist wannabes illegal immigration into our country. Americans are not in fear of these bottom feeders. They just do not want them living among us.
Rightly or wrongly, the democratic party has allowed itself to be branded as either stupid or complicit in illegal immigration. That will not matter to the "liberal" anarchists favored by Mr Blow in an accompanying opinion piece any more than the massacre of school children or church goers matters to the "alt right" gun worshipers.
The middle of the electorate matters and when the democratic party understands that reality, it may begin to win elections outside of its urban bubbles.
1
This will be the Republican tactic all across the country in 2018. It worked for Trump, and he has given permission, by his success, to replicate it.
The GOP hasn't needed anything this explicit since 2008 because Barack Obama was their Willie Horton. What else do you think the whole birther lie was about? And you have rocks in your head if you think that when he finally said that Obama was born in the US, Trump really meant to apologize for fanning the flames of the lie. That whole episode was a mechanism for haters to express solidarity with fellow haters of the black man, and it succeeded way beyond his dreams.
It is no accident that the KKK and David Duke types are drawn to the GOP. It has always had a large racist component. The only difference is that the white supremacists are now in the White House.
Yeah, make America WHITE again!!! Great idea.
We're seeing this too at the County level up here in Western NY. To anyone with a brain, the mailers from the "Republican Committees" for whatever are embarrassing. An educated mother, school teacher, 4-H leader, and church-goer is actually a satanic gang member who wants hideouts (via sanctuary) and meth clinics next to both the schools. Who would of thought! The horror!
Dear Republicans - I'm glad you won't miss your foot with that shotgun; I hope it's an auto-loader (like my Remington 1100) so you can get both feet before you fall to the ground and cry that is was the Democrats and MS-13.
How can anyone take the NY Times seriously when your editorial about odious, racially tinged, campaign ads fails to even mention the vile TV ad in the Virginia race connecting Republican Ed Gillespie with Confederate Flag waving racists trying to run down young minorities with a pick up truck. A little fairness goes a long way toward earning objective credibility.
7
Vicious!
Based on what’s happened over the last few weeks (and really for years) the most dangerous neighbors are white men
53
McCarthyism + Willie Horton = Trump Republican.
1
"It’s a dog-eared page out of the dirty-tricks playbook, updated for the [covfefe] era."
Dog-eared, and dog-whistled.
1
If all of these Republican candidates were really so concerned with protecting "good" people from danger, they'd support gun control, stronger environmental regulations to combat climate change, and universal access to affordable healthcare and substance abuse treatment.
(They'd also oppose a president who endangers the country on a daily basis by provoking North Korea, refusing to enforce sanctions against Russia, and gradually eroding our international alliances.)
The fact that these Republican candidates oppose all of these popular, rational, and constructive policies shows that they really aren't interested in protecting their prospective constituents from danger, only with acquiring ever more power and money for themselves by scapegoating people with darker skin.
Shame on them for being so nasty, unscrupulous, and self-serving. Shame on everybody else who votes for these charlatans.
American voters, the 'folks' have demonstrated time after time after time after.....that simplistic lies, misrepresentations and general hate mongering work all work.
it's as American as after yet another mass shooting when people say, 'our hopes and prayers are with'.... or 'we never thought in a million years it'd happen here' or........
1
"It’s the old guilt by association."
Thank you, I couldn't stop laughing!
The NYT, the self-styled paper of the "resistance," which has spent the past year running down non-existent "Trump-Russian collusion" as an explanation for Hillary's loss, and who breathlessly reports on "guilt by association" when it comes to Russia, now hypocritically laments "guilt by association" in the matter of a local pol's ad on M-13.
As for the Times' concern over resurgent "McCarthyism," again you have to be foolin'! If any publication has dabbled in "McCarthyism," this past year, it has been the Times, with a "Red" in almost every GOP bed.
Even speaking with Russians has become akin, in Leftist circles, to speaking to Harvey Weinstein. The editorial board is so serious about this that they miss all irony.
Anyway, if the photo had "tattooed" right wingers, or neo-nazis, the Times almost assuredly would have passed on any "racial" analogy. (Did the Times run an editorial on the anti-Gillespie ad in Virginia in which "neo-nazis" run down "minority" children in a truck?)
The ad may be crude, but it is certainly fair in this political season.
But if you wish something to criticize, you might consider Snoop Dogg's new album "art" depicting what appears to be a "dead" Trump in a body bag. The Times could compare that "hate" to that which surrounded JFK before his assassination in a November not too long ago.
4
Good for The New York Times for publicizing the disgusting, fear-mongering campaign of the Republican candidate for Nassau County executive.
Why has the newspaper not endorsed the Democratic candidate, Laura Curran? By not endorsing her now, after an editorial exposing the repugnant campaign tactics of the Republican candidate, the paper implies that there must be something terrible about Ms. Curran.
Holding back at this juncture is very unfair to the Democratic candidate.
Once more The Times unleashes the ferocious warm breeze of its umbrage against the lies and the delight in lies that have gutted the GOP and threatened the Republic. "Scurrilous" is something a First Class passenger on the Titanic might have said in complaining about the Titanic lunch buffet running out of Fillets of Brill and Soused Herring. If "'In the sewer' doesn’t begin to describe this drivel", then maybe you could step up and describe it as it is: start with "gravely dangerous".
It's worth remembering that though Dukakis had supported it, the law permitting furloughs had been passed in 1972 under a Republican governor with support of most Republican state legislators. George H W Bush misrepresented this as Dukakis as governor pushing the law through. One should also remember the 2000 South Carolina Republican primary, where George W Bush achieved a remarkable victory over John McCain by sending hundreds of operatives to on the Sunday morning before the vote leaflet churches throughout the state. The leaflet spoke of McCain as having fathered a mixed race child, which was not the case. That rotten apple didn't fall far from the tree. And of course let us not forget Ronald Reagan, whose stump speeches referred to "young bucks" and (fictional) "welfare queens and who just happened to begin his campaign at the County Fair of the Mississippi County where with the local police participating three civil rights workers had been murdered, as other blacks before them had in that evil county. Read Reagan's speech to learn how wonderful these people and their heritage were.
Why yes, these three Republican Presidents knew better "how to push buttons" than their opponents. And they were quite willing to stoke the fires of racism, cultivating the current crop of Republicans.
2
Willie Horton buried Dukakis's presidential run and quite rightly so. Any president who is not going to confront violence of any kind effectively is not fit to be in the white house. The mass killings either due to gun violence or terrorism has become far too frequent and deadly.Trump has to effectively block guns from being possessed by violent criminals or potential criminals. The rising violence by extreme democrats has to stop immediately or else parties and organizations that resort to violence have to be banned. The assault and battery on our Kentucky senator Dr. Rand Paul that resulted in broken ribs and contusion of lungs is appalling. This cowardly neighbor of Dr. Paul, a retired anesthesiologist, supposedly a registered democrat deserves to be imprisoned for at least 10 years. Tolerance of violence will only result in more violence. There should be ZERO tolerance for terrorism and violence of any kind. Hope Dr. Paul has a speedy recovery from the serious injuries. Those who have had the opportunity to meet Dr. Paul in person will agree that he is a lean, delicate, gentle person who could not have been able to defend himself when assaulted from behind, still no news about the details. There is possibly no American who would agree with Dr. Paul on every argument he makes but violence is not the answer to a unique personality like Dr. Paul.
4
15% of the electorate will vote for the biggest racist. People with no morals, like Trump and Martins, will always reach for those votes and will always get them. Only by exposing them to deserved ridicule can we hope that outrage brings out a competing decency vote.
and these ads work because many voters are ignorant, spineless, phobic, haters and racists... in other words, stumpy supporters...
1
As the Bush family desperately seeks to rehabilitate itself by not being Trump (big deal!), it's worth remembering the sleaze: deficits, racism, Clarence Thomas and sexual assault, pardoning the Iran-Contra criminals, Iraq, and economic destruction. I've left a lot out too.
The GOP remains true to its inner ugly core.
Here in Virginia Gillespie managed to dig up Lee Atwater to do his ads.
Trump signals to the populace they need not be ashamed of race baiting. There is no need to couch their hatred in careful language. No dog whistles need be used.
I hope this is the last death throe of our enduring racism.
The most disgusting ad was the one in the VA governor race by that racist organization.
This ad was true: Democrats adore sanctuary cities all over America.
You reap what you sow.
2
Trump has legitimized racism generally and in electoral politics. We may be on the verge of seeing how ugly is the underbelly of America.
For the record Al Gore started using Willie Horton long before the GOP. the writer of the article knows that but intentionally did not inform the reader
6
People need to be more worried about the gerry -mandering and voter restrictions that are being put in place all over the country to [ut Republicans in office against the public will.
I dream of a citizenry fair-minded enough to look at such a despicable advertisement, stick a post-it on it saying "This offensive, racist, dishonest campaign material has convinced me that you are not worthy of my vote" and mail it back to the candidate.
42
Americans vote for racists based on racist appeals. Shocking.
14
ADN... not racist to not want gang members in your community. They should not be here in the first place. Nothing to do with racism. They could all be red heads or blonds... they just happen to be brown.
And this is why I detest Republicans. Their candidates are so thirsty for office that they lack shame, much less human decency. The ones who stand by and let this pass are as bad as those who perpetrate it.
1
No matter how bad the MS-13 gang is, they are not doing anywhere near the damage to our country as the Republican party is doing.
3
Shameful attacks, currently by republican candidates, that they know are not only not true but a slander to decency. And in New Jersey, candidate Guadagno seems comfortable being the rabid dog, lying in a most vulgar and dangerous fashion; she does not deserve our trust in holding public office, with such a vituperative tongue.
Disgusting, but, unfortunately, it works.
1
More and more I realize that Mrs. Clinton was right in calling them "deplorables." Clearly saying that was a major mistake, but that doesn't mean she was wrong.
DISGRACEFUL, but then what can one expect from the party of Trump?
4
You are, in essence, reporting on one result of having an unapologetic and consistent liar be the moral leader of the GOP. Here's a metric for this misery: Your article had to go back YEARS to find campaign lies that are as vicious as the ones you describe. For #45 you would only have to go back a couple of WEEKS on his tweeties to find lies this hateful. He provides the role model and moral compass for these aspiring politicians you name, and the GOP has shown no sign whatever that they have any problem with this level of deception and hatred.
Racism , Sexism and Religious intolerance works in America and maybe we should stop pretending that it bothers us. Nixon's Southern Strategy, Reagan's Welfare Queens and Bush's Willie Horton all have the same thing in common and that is they all worked. Events is Las Vegas and now Texas do not call for any policy changes but the recent event in New York does? The current president ran on a platform of building a wall on our southern border to keep out the others. Not once in Trumps campaign was there ever a mention of a wall on our northern border.Now the Democratic Party is openly saying it has to find a way to appease working class white men all the time being tone deaf about how that comes across to everyone else. Classlessness works and until we the people raise the bar it is going to be used. The old saying You cannot Con an honest man comes to mind. If we were not willing to believe the worst of people who don't worship,look or love like us divisiveness would not work. Trump ran a campaign that had a total lack of visionary polices and won. We truly have not come as far as we would to believe as a nation and maybe its time we stop fooling ourselves.
7
Now if you were any form of organised crime, gang or whatever, would you favour a legal position, such as sanctuary cities, or prefer the fearmongering party that guarantees you access to any amount of guns and ammunition that you'd like, conveniently available regular department stores, and totally untraceable? I suspect that MS-13 would look to the practicality of the latter.
"This is an attempted smear reminiscent of Joseph McCarthy’s heyday"
Yes, today's candidates should reject McCarthy's tactics and instead stick to respectable accusations such as claiming that opponents are tools of a nefarious Kremlin conspiracy.
5
Reminds me of when Nixon openly called on the Kremlin to spy on JFK's phone calls while trying to build a Nixon Tower in Moscow. Oh wait...
But they are tools of a nefarious Kremlin conspiracy, Steve! 17 intelligence agencies say so.
1
Has Murphy or any member of his campaign lied or *ahem* "forgotten" about meetings with people associated with MS-13? Has Murphy ever "jokingly" requested that MS-13 help him take down his political opponents? If someone points out to Murphy that MS-13 kills, would he shrug and say "so do we" (meaning the U.S.)? Anything like that at all?
No. Your analogy fails miserably. The investigation into any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia may ultimately clear Trump's name, but Trump has brought the suspicion upon himself. Firing Comey and declaring it was because of the Russia "hoax," considering whether he should fire Mueller as well, surrounding himself with "forgetful" people, concealing his finances, becoming incensed at Sessions for not shielding him from scrutiny... he has fanned the flames every step of the way.
Fear, bigotry, prejudices, is a way of dividing and conquering.
Shame on those who use these messages in their bid for public office.
3
It is a fact, plain and simple, that it's almost always the Republicans who pull this deplorable stuff. The GOP has become the party of Big Pharma … of the gun Lobby … of the fossil fuel interests … and of most of the other special interests. And, going back to the infamous Willie Horton ad, they are the party of the political smear.
That roughly half of my fellow countrymen continue to support Republican candidates is what distresses me more than anything else about 21st century America.
9
Why does it not surprise me race politics as practiced by nearly all Republicans is the "go to" election campaign strategy? Because it works.
We as a country have never finished fighting the Civil War. Hatred of people of color is the Republican way. Sure, they can couch it in fancy language and try to obscure the real truth in their thoughts and actions - but the anger, intolerance and hatred shines through. Many things make sense when seen through the lens of racism. I'm sick of it.
5
If being intolerant of muggings, robberies, car jackings, home invasions makes me a "racist" so be it.
Actually, hatred or at least oppression, of POC was the way of both parties until LBJ purged that garbage out of the democratic party in the 1960s by pushing hard for civil rights legislation.
The republican party was all too happy to pick that garbage up and bring it into their own house. It has been rotting and festering there ever since. You can spray all the 'dog whistle' air freshener you want, but it still stinks. Last year they even dispensed with the 'air freshener', and most people still stuck with them. Even the 53% of white women who voted for an admitted sexual assaulter.
White supremacy is a powerful force.
This campaign ad, which is clearly wrong, has nothing to do with the Willie Horton ad, which was very accurate. I lived in Mass. art the time of Dukakis as governor and yes, he had very loose ideas about rehabilitation. How the Horton ad came to be seen as inappropriate I don;'t know.
But once again the Times assumes what others would properly contest and then takes on a legitimate wrong with its narrow, knee-jerk views.
When will the Times diversify its editorial board and bring it back to the distinguished source of balanced news that it once maintained? The Times has become the worst once can say about a media organization: it is as predictable on the left as Fox News is on the right.
7
What Republicans seem to have lost sight of is the truth. They no longer state their goals and policies and means for attaining these things; they lie, threaten, incite fear and walk away with the prize. The end result is the systematic deconstruction of our laws and our rights while their donors laugh all the way to the _Cyprus- bank. So sad. I used to vote for them
5
These politicians running these ads have learned well from Trump Drum up fear, not hope. Give out sound bites, not solutions to problems. Attack, attack, attack, but do not offer proof.
These are the new lessons you learn from Trump and his donors. I bet if you looked behind the curtain of these campaigns, you would find a lot of the same donors and strategists that work for the RNC and had a hand in Trump's win.
4
Why is condemning a vicious gang "race-based"?
The use of the terms "race-based", "racist", and "racism' are so overused to smear others and to end discussions that they have lost their meaning.
12
If Democrats are worried about adds that link them to policies for "sanctuary cities" maybe they should let fellow Democrats know that such policies make no sense.
I live in California, where local politicians have made sanctuary cities of LA, San Francisco, and a host of other cities as well as making California a "sanctuary state."
Exactly what does that mean? Congress enacted laws regarding immigration in 1986, which have been ignored by politician for three decades. That is a real problem. The US population has grown by perhaps 80 million people in that period.
Immigration laws were enacted to control the rate of population growth. Because many parts of the country are running out of room.
That includes LA, which has congested freeways, lies under a sea of smog which shortens peoples lives, and has run out of water, because LA is situated in a desert.
Why exactly do liberals want to make LA larger still?
Population growth is lowering the quality of life, the unskilled immigrants take jobs from America's poor and crowd the ER's with people who get medical care "off budget" resulting in higher health care premiums.
Illegal immigration is one of the reasons liberals REFUSE to even discuss universal health care.
Moreover, liberals lecture the rest of us about not worrying enough about global warming, when population growth is the PRIMARY cause of global warming.
We need the freedom to defend our environment without being called "racists" and "bigots."
12
As well as Jack Martin saying he “firmly stands by “ this kind of utterly contemptible campaign mailer, Martin could reasonably add “and Alex Jones, Roy Moore, Anne Coulter and Steve King also appproved this message.”
I’m sure none of them would mind.
12
Sadly the election of Trump proved that racial division is still an effective way to win elections
10
Oh grow up. Pots calling kettles black is obvious in it's tendentious hypocrisy. Is there a gang problem on Long Island? You bet. Does it thrive due to soft-headed liberals? You bet. If candidates reject the labels pinnd on them, then quit representing the brand that gives rise to the labels. NY democrats are money-grubbing hypocrites, do-nothing gravy-train riders who detest working people, who turned Upstate into their private, second homes playground devoid of middle-class jobs and who have presided over a thirty-year decline in living standards except for their Manhattan Masters of the Universe. No amount of campaign invective is enough, no level of vitriol is beyond the pale and nothing short of fraud is fair game in this existential struggle. Man up.
8
it would be nice if this "sewage" backfired on the people using it, but it's not clear to me if appealing to racism and xenophobia will help or hurt your chances at getting elected to public office in the USA.
2
And the surprise is?
2
Democrats need to respond in kind: Show the picture of all mass shooters in recent times and run ads against them showing that their Republican opponent who blindly support right to bear AK 47 have the back of the mass shooters. Hey, go ahead and show these stooges of NRA as supporting the right of criminals to bear hundreds of military style automatic rifles, bazookas and possess grenades (this has a lot more truth than running the ads that link MS-13 to a Democratic candidate. Trumps election in 2016 has shown that the Goebel style propaganda used by conservatives needs strong counter-measure.
12
Trump extreme demagoguing of this subject is the Bush 1 campaign on super steroids.
2
Turnout, turnout, turnout.
11
The problem is that with an ignorant populace, these type of scare tactics work quite well.
5
This work by GOP candidates shows that they will stop at nothing to obtain power. Lies, cheating, libel, slander and more lies. No problem for the modern GOP candidate. Throw the dirt and people will come. Disgusting and shocking.
These radical incendiaries who claim to be conservatives need to be shown how to take a long walk off a short pier.
10
Southern Strategy, welfare queens, Willie Horton, build a wall . . . whatever else the Republican party may or may not stand for, racist appeals to White people are what keep it in power.
28
Republicans can't win on the strength of their ideas because they don't have any. They can't win on the strength of their record of governance, because that record is awful. They can't win by promising to get things done because they have proved over and over again that they can't govern.
What's left? Garbage like the mailer shown in this article.
Unfortunately, people are frequently so stupid and intellectually lazy that they will believe these things. For instance, while Michael Dukakis supported the prison program that allowed Willie Horton out, that program was put in place by, and with the approval of, his GOP predecessor.
14
The Willie Horton case shines a revealing light on the differences between Leftists and conservatives.
All I see in the Willie Horton case is a criminal justice system, abetted by the Democratic Party, more interested in the conveniences of a sociopathic murderer than in protecting law-abiding citizens.
All you see is race. Just the same with MS 13 and the Long Island political competitions.
With any luck, Donald Trump is finally going to take us past the insufferable racism of the Establishment political parties and the Establishment media.
4
I guess that's why GOP also ran so many fear campaigns focused on the violent Russian mob over the last 30 years (they didn't). Also: I'm sure it's only black offenders do bad things after they're furloughed or paroled (they're not).
Yet, for some odd reason, the GOP focuses on dangerous criminals, who just so happen to not look like the typical GOP voter. Just a weird coincidence I guess..
I have no doubt that is " all you see" . As a group Republican voters are very limited in their vision, and more so after 20 years of being dumbed down by Fox news. Any hope that Trump will take us anywhere positive are misguided---are you tired of winning yet?
The sad part is that the real difference here is that right wing pols have no respect for voters or facts. Curran has never said that she would turn Nassau County into a sanctuary county. Moreover, no sanctuary city or county I know of has offered sanctuary for people arrested for violent crimes.
What Martins promises is:
Jack Martins will block efforts to make Nassau County a sanctuary county for illegal immigrants WHO ARE CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIMES [emphasis supplied]"
As I said, no one I know of has ever proposed making any county or city a sanctuary for anyone who has committed a violent crime. This ad is just a dog whistle (or dog air raid siren) for low I.Q. voters or bigots who like Trump and support Nazis and the Klan.
Notably, in the several public debates, between Jack Martins and Laura Curren, he never made any such claim against Curran, nor did he suggest that she was "soft on crime".
It is only at the end, with no face to face confrontations left, that he and the Republican State Committee, though last minute mailings to voters, that he has made this outrageously false, fear mongering claim.
He is part and parcel of a corrupt political machine that has brought Nassau County to the brink of ruin again, at great cost to its future and to taxpayers.
It is time to clean house in the Nassau County and Town of Hempstead governments, and to get Long Island on the path to the affordability and greatness it deserves.
76
A minor but important correction.
Willie Horton was given a furlough from prison based on a law enacted by the previous governor of Mass., a Republican. Gov. Dukakis and his office had no oversight or control over who was afforded furloughs under that law. Thus the whole workings of that campaign were total false and unjustified--as it appears is true in this case.
But once you have someone afraid, reason is no longer an option.
16
And if people are justified in their fears? Do they have no right to care about their own lives and the lives of their family members?
Liberals favor amnesty for illegal immigrants. MS-13 are mostly illegal immigrants. So it's quite logical to believe the Democratic candidate is going to be less inclined to deport illegal immigrants, including MS-13 members, than the Republican candidate. Just like Willy Horton, it seem like a fact based ad to me.
5
Alternative facts you mean. Wise up and read my friend.
So you're admitting that deporting all illegal immigrants (almost all of whom are NOT in MS13), actually won't result in all MS13 members being deported.
Sounds like a great idea.
The flaw in that argument is that no democratic candidate favors giving amnesty to criminal gangs whose members are illegal immigrants. The GOP has conflated undocumented status with violent criminality to the degree that CBP agents are imprisoning and violently ripping families apart, and have even denied a child with cerebral palsy access to her family and caregivers after she had surgery. All logic and facts get thrown aside and trampled in the headlong rush or political power and the money that flows with it. Our poisoned politics, as a result, are undermining the country as recrimination piles on recrimination, and propagandists with no workable policy ideas, nor concern for average people gain office and start immediately stuffing their pockets and doing all they can to benefit their donors and retain the power of their offices.
The elder George Bush did NOT run the "Weekend Passes" Willie Horton ad. The ad was produced and run by NSPAC (National Security Political Action Committee). It ran only on cable networks whose combined ratings accounted for less than 1% of American households. And Bush already led Michael Dukakis by the time (early September 1988) that the ad began its four-week run.
2
There you go again, letting the facts get in the way of a popular leftist narrative. But like many urban myths perpetuated by the left, once a bit of sun shines on the incendiary sound bite, it begins to melt away rapidly. The Democrats seem to need a mirror and look at their own policies and nominees, from Dukakis to Gore to Hillary Clinton to truly understand that voters don't trust them.
The tragic election of Mr. Trump speaks to how out-of-touch today's Democratic party is and what a poor choice they made. Notwithstanding the irrelevant "popular vote" comeback (it, again, another excuse that avoids the issue), it doesn't change the fact that the Republicans dominate the current political environment in state after state and at the federal level as well.
1
The saddest part is that the " uneducated " will believe every word, and picture. Get out and vote, people. It's the only way to defeat this.
5
Republicans never disappoint. We need a political Draino. Their sleazy Willy Horton ads are aimed directly at the Long Islanders who they will financially hurt most with the congressional Republican tax plan eliminating state and local tax deductions. (S.A.LT.) In addition to the sleaze this is also masterstroke of political misdirection.
Unfortunately the ad could also show us once again that human nature and the GOP base do not disappoint. Fingers crossed however this hateful gimmick backfires thanks to Trump's twittering overdose on sleaze.
4
It's nice to know that Democrats always take the high road and never demonize their opponents.
4
It is a fact that MS-13 was responsible for 11 murders on Long Island, that we know of. It is a fact that MS-13 come from El Salvador and settle in Salvadoran communities. I don't know if their victims are Salvadoran. I can pretty much guarantee that their Salvadoran neighbors do not want them.
It is also a fact that Trump and the Republicans want stricter immigration laws and tougher law enforcement.
So yes. anybody with a conscience should vote for Martins.
Decent Long Islanders have no use for gang members or Laura Curran. So I don't think your identity politics will sway anyone
10
MS 13 doesn't care about immigration legal or illegal. They come here to commit crimes and will not be "let out" by anyone. The laws of this country see to that.
Sadly, Mr. Northam's response---so typical of the Democratic establishment---has been to say he would support legislation to ban any local jurisdictions from making themselves "sanctuaries". That's caving to the extremist message and seeming to concede its point, that there is some vague "threat" out there, abetted by the left. When you do that, you don't attract rightwing voters, you look like an unprincipled compromising hypocrite who takes weak half measures. That reinforces what those on the right (and, more significantly, many independents) think of Democrats. I don't think sanctuary cities are an issue of any importance in the Virginia election, and a Democratic candidate should say that and focus like a laser on exposing and condemning the racism behind the GOP campaign and behind today's GOP which has become fundamentally an anti-constitutional party that threatens our democracy. Use that aggressively to rally a Democratic base against an existential threat. Instead, we're doomed to see Democratic leaders continuing to try to square the circle. Republicans don't hesitate to play to their base with the most odious messages. Democrats have a message of inclusion, of community, of empowerment, of civil rights, and of opportunity -- sing it loud and rally the base.
4
Oh the irony!
The article has Trump in the title but does not appear in the body of the article itself. Is Trump personally responsible for this disgusting ad? No he had nothing to do with it.
If you are going to blame somebody for using a collective smear to score political points, then I suggest you don't do it yourself in the process. Both sides are using collective blame and fear to score political points.
3
You're reading, but you don't seem to be understanding. The title says "Trump Era", you know, as in the current era (look it up) that we find ourselves in where Trump is president. It's a fact, not an alternative fact. Take your outrage over to info wars.
The second I got that Jack Martins ad, Laura Curran got my vote. And I usually vote Republican.
152
Good for you, and us.
Good for you! Bravo
I lived in Boston at the time of prison furloughs & you are omitting some vital facts. In 1974, in Lawrence, Massachusetts Horton & two friends robbed Joseph Fournier, a 17-year-old gas station attendant,& then fatally stabbed him 19 times after he had cooperated by handing over all of the money in the cash register. Horton was convicted of murder, sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
In 1986, he was released as part of a weekend furlough program but did not return. On April 3, 1987 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Horton twice raped a woman after pistol-whipping, knifing, binding,& gagging her fiancé. He then stole the car belonging to the man he had assaulted. He was later shot & captured after a police shoot-out.
The first person to mention the Massachusetts furlough program in the 1988 presidential campaign was Al Gore. During a debate before the New York primary, Gore took issue with the furlough program. Republicans picked up on it for good reason.
The Massachusetts legislature passed a bill prohibiting furloughs for inmates convicted of murder. However, Dukakis vetoed this bill arguing it would cut the heart out of efforts at inmate rehabilitation. Despite calls for the ending the program after the Horton incident, Dukakis refused. The program ended only after the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune had run 175 stories about it, embarrassing Dukakis & winning a Pulitzer Prize. Bottom line Dukakis deserved to be criticized for supporting a terrible policy.
10
Reminiscent of the recent Trump dossier stories where the leftist media couldn't contain themselves telling us that it was actually a conservative who funded the initial effort that was then picked up by Hillary and the Democrats. Somehow, the beginning of the Willie Horton story is conveniently omitted whenever it comes up.
1
Early this morning (Monday) I received an email saying that the polls are open today. An error or an attempt to mislead voters? Anyone who uses this kind of dirty tricks should be (figuratively) drawn and quartered.
12
The simple truth is that the Willie Horton ads worked for George H.W. Bush, a racist campaign worked for Donald Trump, and a recent turn to racist ads has helped Ed Gillespie close the gap considerably with his Democratic opponent for Virginia governor. And as long as these approaches work, amoral campaigns will continue to use them. Don't blame the victors, it's like blaming a scorpion for stinging. The fault instead lies with the voters.
126
Exactly. With some exceptions, people get the government they deserve.
Selective memories are wonderful. A Democrat candidate, Mr. Al Gore, first brought up the Mass practice of prison furloughs even for violent felons when he was behind Mr. Dukakus in the primary. The Repubs took that criticism and expanded it.
4
So Gore used "Willie Horton" first? Or do you think the name was made up?
2
That's the type of juvenile, immature excuse Trump (and every 5 year old) makes- "he did it first!." Republicans have used these types of tactics much more frequently than democrats, playing to racial fears and mistrust. It isn't right when anyone does it, and multiple GOP candidates in multiple states are doing it now.
1
There is nothing wrong in making a strong statement against a candidate's softness on crime. Why should any community put up with criminals, gangs (many of whom are illegals) the destruction of their community and the decrease of their property value by these people. Long Island residents pay high property taxes and will not and should not put up with these criminals.
29
You have fallen for the straw man argument or else you are propagating it yourself. According to this editorial, the candidate in Long Island has not demonstrated "softness on crime," but her opponent is using fear of gang crimes to slur her name.
2
So racial profiling, racism, bigotry for profit is okay with you if it saves you money? No white criminals in your area? How about the mob? Don't see any political ads against them. Why? Of course, they're white. The hypocrisy here is overwhelming.
2
OK, so it's called being "Strong" now?
Have to keep up with my (Dog) Whistling Lingo:)
1
So why haven’t you made an endorsement in the Long Island election? Are you still considering supporting the man making these libellous mailers, or do you still need to assess his other positions before you decide?
1
Who should we fear? Yesterday there was yet another mass shooting to add to the daily average of about 50 people per day killed by firearms in America. We are told that it isn’t time to discuss firearms violence while at the same time we are presented the image of people who aren’t white and/or American as the people we should fear the most.
Most of the firearms violence in America is committed by white male Americans. Where is the campaign to deal with white male Americans as a special threat? These aren’t illegal immigrants, or terrorists they are people that you already know and they are dangerous. But, we don’t want to talk about that, we prefer to talk about the other – non-white non-American people that, because they don’t look or speak like us, we fear. It’s easier to blame those who don’t look and speak like us that to look at the statistical evidence. The bottom line is that you are more likely to be killed by a family member, fellow employee or close friend who is armed than by a complete stranger outside your socioeconomic circle.
One observation on the related drug issue: the only reason drugs are imported into America is because Americans want them and are willing to spend billions of dollars to get them. Since they are illegal you can only get them from criminals. Hence, along with the drugs come the criminals.
48
I'll stay with the Republicans!
Whites are still a majority of the population. African American males are less than 20% of the population, but they commit way more than 20% of violent crimes. Fact.
Unfortunately, this drivel is what seems to work on the dim-witted American electorate. So maybe it is time for the Democrats to stop playing by rules they wish existed and start playing by the rules that do exist. In the last election, Dems brought a pillow (not even a knife) to a gun fight, when the Republicans also had the Russians on their side. It was no match, and we are in a smothering Republican controlled government today.
I would not advocate engaging in blatant lies as the Republicans mentioned here do, but is there some way for the Democrats to fight back more actively that might prove more effective? Because what they are doing now is not working, as shown by the statistics nationwide (except for a few blue enclaves).
19
Neither this ad nor the Willie Horton ad would not be effective, would not resonate with voters, if they didn't contain a kernel of truth. Willie Horton DID commit those crimes, and would not have been able to if had remained in jail. M-13 members are NOT known to be choir boys and cub scouts. Violent crime IS on the rise across the country, and liberals typically seem to be in denial about it. Human beings have a survival instinct, and they have a right to vote to protect their own safety.
2
You seem to miss the point....the lies and all that unimportant stuff.
1
Overall, violent crime has been in decline for decades. This is an objective fact, not one of the alternative facts posited on Fox News. If I proclaim Trump supporters and GOP enablers/voters are undereducated, gullible, racist, misogynist, selfish hypocrites is there is also a kernel of truth in that?
Then they should vote to ban civilian ownership of assault rifles. One commenter pointed out that the perp in Texas was shot by a neighbor of the church. What the articles should have pointed out is that the gun used to stop the assassin was a regular rifle, not a semi- or full automatic.
Can't there be a middle ground?
Obviously, Horton should NOT have been released. But he also shouldn't have been the subject of a misleading TV commercial.
5
Republicans depend on fear and gerrymandering to get their candidates elected because they would probably lose elections otherwise. They learned long ago that relying on policy and fair play got them nowhere. As soon as they adopted the tactics they now use to confuse and scare voters, they saw results. I can't remember the last Republican president that was elected on his own merits. Race baiting, gerrymandering, fear and just plain old lies work every time.
34
It's going to get worse before it gets better. Until we replace Trump with someone who has the respect of the entire country and the willingness to denounce this kind of fear-mongering tactics, we will see more and more of the same.
9
I think of the Willie Horton ad every time I remember Trump lurking behind Hillary in the second debate. I'm not sure why.
10
Almost always the GOP isn't it?
We understand that there are GOP voters who do not support this type of politics, and who vote republican because they support their economic approach, or are anti-abortion etc. But these GOP voters ARE NOT condemning these white identity policies, willing to let groups of people be hurt or lose their rights just as long as their party of choice is elected. they sit quietly while this continues.
Shame on them. It is about time for many of them to remove the American flag lapel pins and stop considering themselves to be patriotic. Supporting basic American values, regardless of political party, indicates patriotism.
33
Too be fair the strategy worked perfectly for our darling president. Of course these Republican candidates are using such distasteful imagery in their campaigns. Let's not forget that Trump still has a lot of support from his base.
There's a reason the Russians were so successful with their campaign to disrupt our most recent election. Throughout our history race-baiting and playing to the voters prejudices has always been successful. It never occurred to us that the trolls during the election were foreign because they were saying what we privately believe. No one questioned any of it because the enemy is us and our own intolerances.
Hopefully these candidates will be soundly defeated. If not then we deserve whatever happens.
14
I wish I didn't have the feeling that all the comments above were preaching to the choir. The people who should be reading the editorial and the comments about the editorial aren't.
12
Based on past success, this is what the American voters seem to prefer when making their voting decisions.
Based on wo has been elected to the highest job in the land, it works and works well.
The ads are but a reflection of American what? It sure is not Dignity and Respect. It is hate and fear.
10
Doesn't it tell voters something that Republicans have to resort to tactics like these? They engage in gerrymandering, voter suppression and fear-mongering. Democrats have to become as cunning. Some brutal honesty about what's really going on might just do the trick. Kim Guadagno, who famously took the Hoboken mayor aside to threaten her if she didn't play along with Christie corruption, really couldn't have expected to be a contender in her election. You'd think she'd have planned to at least go out on a high note.
5
Republicans put out these kind of ads because they work. Does say very much for the electorate.
6
I’m not sure why so many are fearful and let their fears dictate their vote?
Oh ya! The Republicans have been saying the sky is falling for the last nine years. The President has, well who wouldn’t be afraid. Republicans in congress have said everything is bad but have nothing to make it better. And sad to say the Democrats have not been able to get a coherent message out that people will understand. Northam is a good example of that.
5
If a Republican cannot win honestly, they resort to voter suppression, gerrymandering or slandering their opponent. What else is new?
32
So, what will be done about it? Nothing as this is now the accepted norm in political discourse. Unfortunately the outrage will be a short burst and then everything goes back to this new norm. Is it even worth getting worked up about if nothing is ever going to be done about it? Sadly the general populace does not take its responsibility seriously enough to vote and to truly hold political politicians accountable. And sad to say the same problem exists here in Canada too. Just look at the information that has come out today in the "Paradise Papers". Heck, even The Queen is incriminated; is nothing sacred any more?
1
It's the extremism of lies like "Laura Curran will roll out the welcome mat for violent gangs" that drives me crazy. I'll bet my yard sign that she is not running on a platform of welcoming gangs. And how would one go about doing that, as a matter of policy? Would gang members get special tax breaks? How would we keep non-members from claiming they are in gangs in order to benefit? The whole idea is absurd, a blatant falsehood right up there with the lie that Democrats or liberals or the left are in favor of "open borders." I can't name a single candidate, anywhere on the political spectrum, who thinks we should have open borders, which I suppose means no passport control at road crossings or airports, elimination of customs, and the complete dismantling of the visa system. Has anyone proposed such a thing? Anyone?
16
Nastiness carries on the tradition of politics in America, oh yeah, and the rest of the world. If candidates who are successful in winning their legislative positions would put as much effort into their jobs, congress and local governments would get a lot more done.
3
The most disturbing aspect of this report is that this fear-mongering is not restricted to Nassau County this year. The current Democratic candidate in Suffolk County, Tim Sini, is promoting his candidacy through a commercial featuring his prosecution of the Trinitarios and MS-13 gangs, stating "We're coming to get you":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC0FDGPhLt0
Ironically enough, Ray Perini, Sini's opponent has not attempted in his commercials to appeal to these baser instincts, and is highlighting his experience instead. As a lifelong Democrat and anti-Trump activist, it is sad to see that Sini's campaign has descended to the depths of stirring up fear and hatred to gain votes. Most likely, I'll write in a reputable local attorney for the position instead.
4
When I read the headline to this editorial I was sure the Editorial Board would paint an analogy to the Willie Horton style campaign ads, yet instead suggest placing a photo of a 20 something, white male, perhaps one with military experience, as an effective campaign ad for a Democrat running for office against a rabid Republican blessing the freedom the 4th amendment provides us.
I envisioned that tactic shedding some light on who this country needs to fear most... statistically (the above mentioned "type'')... our Trump proclaimed "patriots." So said, but true.
5
Candidates need expert advice on how to counteract fear mongering, blatantly false advertising. A group should be formed to assist candidates nationwide. Offensive, misleading ads appealing to base instincts will only increase in the next two election cycles. Editorials such as this one and beefed-up nvestigative reporting to counter propaganda must be increased.
6
"We’ve declared our support for Mr. Murphy but have not made an endorsement in the Nassau County race. "
Why not?
10
Editors, the same tactic is being used by Ed Gillespie in the Virginia gubernatorial race with so much success that Gillespie is in a virtual toss-up with Ralph Northam one day before the election. Today's toxic mood has turned close elections into a matter of choice between reason and racism. American voters are filled with dread, thanks to the president's message of hate and division. It's no coincidence that the recent spate of mass shootings have Americas feeling that they are under siege in their own communities.
One year ago, Americans cast their lot with a presidential candidate who ran on sleazy and scurrilous campaign tactics and won. Thanks to Gillespie and Jack Martins, gutter politics are alive and well. Republicans running for office in these uncertain times mirror football coach George Allen's philosophy, "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing".
141
Never saw that quote attributed to Allen before. Usually it's attributed to Vince Lombardi, but it apparently originated with UCLA football coach Red Sanders
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing," is a quote from Vince Lombardi not George Allen; both who coached the Redskins. As a Virginia Democrat you are probably obsessed with George Allen, Jr., the former Governor and US Senator.
While at my local recycling center earlier this morning for my weekly deposit I overheard a conversation between the attendant and a patron, a young man with his beautiful preschool daughter in tow. The patron was showing the attendant a newspaper ad run by a local gun shop advertising AR 15 rifles for $400, the very same rifle used to mow down those poor people in Texas yesterday. The young man said he was on his way to purchase the rifle over his wife's strenuous objections because "That's the only way we can protect our families from terrorists. We've been brainwashed listening to those people who tell us not to buy guns, the police will protect us. Too late, I'm going to be ready for them. Thank God there were some guys nearby who had guns to stop him yesterday." That's where we are as a nation - fear-mongering right wing media has worked vulnerable people into a state of madness, there are millions of them, and they are arming themselves to the hilt. There is no reasoning with this, the country has been lost - to the second amendment by way of the first. It's time to leave, because it is getting rapidly worse, and cynical politicians are milking it for all it's worth. It's all over.
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I'd love to leave Trumpistan if only I could sell my house
I guess this idiot--oops, I mean this Brave and Strong Protector!!-- plans to carry this weapon every place he goes. I guess he is a master marksman who, in the midst of someone firing randomly at innocent people, believes he can take down his target with precision, not injure anyone else in the process, and be completely identifiable to first responders as a "good guy," so they'll know not to shoot him. I guess he's going to sit next to his beautiful daughter in pre-school with his gun, to protect her every day. What if he has more than one child--who will protect the other one? Who will he get to go to work with his wife, to protect her from gun violence at her place of work?
Sad that even intelligent people don't realize the folly of this--that more guns will not solve this problem, and are more likely to end up hurting themselves and their families (since I'm pretty sure data shows the presence of a firearm in the home increases the likelihood of someone in that home being injured by it).
1
Sadly, the statistical chances that the assault rifle buyer will use the gun on himself or his family are much, much higher than using it to defend against a 'terrorist', or even a garden variety criminal.
Fear sells. And kills.
2
I was never a fan of the sanctuary city concept - but I grudgingly came to accept it after NY's then mayor Rudolph Giuliani explained how it was absolutely necessary from the point-of-view of law enforcement seeking to retain the cooperation of undocumented residents in police investigations of much more serious offenses.
Now, with the Trumpification of the Republican Party, the sanctuary city concept has become fit for demagoguery.
A word to the wise among supporters of the GOP: when you follow the lead of an ignorant dirt-bag, you inevitably end up eating your meals in a latrine.
Bon appetit.
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I'd bet the 2017 version of Rudy Giuliani would never make such an intelligent comment.
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Real leaders would not play on people's lowest instincts.
It is so easy to speak to fearfulness. It takes an effort to unify citizens.
But only those who address the better angels of our nature are worthy of power.
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The problem is that these tactics are often successful with many of our poorly informed voters. I think what Fox news does, with their extreme twisting of facts, selection of topics they emphasize (and others ignored or buried), and outright lies, is criminal.
The more things don't change, the more they remain the same.
The GOP discarded its moral compass decades ago. Nothing surprises me now.
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The Republican party is about power. Nothing else. They have had no moral compass since the days of Nixon's Southern Strategy.
Even in a deep blue State like New York, if you vote for a Republican, you are voting for a bigot or at least voting for a politician who is willing to use racial fears and tribalism to win his election no matter how much his efforts degrade our country and coarsen our discourse.
I can't say that the Democrats are creatures of the light who will lead us forward into the great American Utopia that all politicians promise. I am also saddened because the lack of an acceptable alternative to the Democratic Party means that democracy is essentially dead in the United States. I suppose all nations and all empires eventually degenerate and die. I'm just sorry that I have lived to see my country turn into a cesspool.
1
Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing how many Democratic voters will be swayed by these ads. Remember, Willie Horton was real, MS-13 is real.
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Rationalizing false equivalence, racism and bigotry to manipulate voters is also real.
2
"It’s now the voters’ turn to say if this is what they want in their politics.'
Well, we know what they wanted in electing Donald Trump. His influence is reaching down to every level of Republican office holding, and if the campaigns are getting nastier, it's by design.
I don't think we scan underestimate the Trump effect in campaigns. What seemed like an aberration, is now the norm in Republican strategy: say anything, do anything, walks right up to that seemingly invincible red line of campaign ethics, and not merely cross it--but jump so far you land in the sewer.
Trump has normalized lying, conspiracy theories, and general gutter sordidness in campaigns. As we've seen in anything affecting voting--corporate money in politics--it doesn't take candidates long to adjust.
Voters get the candidates they deserve, so choose wisely tomorrow. "All politics are local" but they start at the top, so expect more smear campaigns coming soon to a city or st ate near you-- copycatted from the big man in the White House
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What is the Republican party waiting for? Why don't they go all the way and say what they really want? Just print up mailers that say, "White Power! Vote Republican! They could eliminate all the production costs and save on printing through economies of scale. The same mailer would work for all candidates. Only one TV commercial would have to be made. The economic efficiencies would warm the heart of any fiscal conservative. They could even give out free confederate flags at rallies with the all the money they save.
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They were already giving out free Russian flags last election, so no stretch really.
2
This is how the party of Lincoln rolls. One more day of disgusting Kim Guadagno commercials enriching the coffers of the local television networks.
The need for campaign finance reform and the ending of this reprehensible assault on our senses is required if we ever want to rid ourselves of corrupt politicians lying and cheating to attain power.
Martins is part of the corrupt GOP machine. The Town in which I reside has not elected a Democrat to lead it in about a century. The Bolsheviks did not last as long. One party rule has brought us graft and cronyism.
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It's entertaining to see so many well-heeled liberals who choose to live in Republican bastions. I suppose there's something to be said for the freedom to snipe for the sole reason of allowing an outlet for spleen when your walls are so well-guarded by the rational.
And it's a canard that I started the well-subscribed fund in Kevin's town to allow him to move to the Upper West Side.
1
Please don't drag Lincoln into this swamp.
1
One of my brothers lives on the Upper West Side. A devout liberal, and former editor at this paper.
Funny that you choose to reside in high tax New Jersey. While my Town is a one party banana republic, my County is not, and should elect a Democrat to run things tomorrow. My Congressional district has been represented by two Democrat females for the past two decades more or less.
Republicans always fall back on racism and fear in close races. That party has no shame or morality. Next they use guns and if that's not enough they fall back to abortion. The sad part is none of these are really an issue in most elections and certainly not in most offices.
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Um, if "fear" or concern for one's personal safety is really "not an issue", how is it that these "non issues" so often win elections? And do people not have a right to be concerned about their own safety, btw?
1
Meet your next American guns and bullets massacre of your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and fellow citizens....brought to you by the Guns Over People party, the National Terrorist Association and unrestricted, psychopathic gun 'free-dumb' and gun anarchy.
Sutherland Springs, Texas
Las Vegas
Orlando
San Bernardino
Sandy Hook
(Coming soon to your town, your shopping mall, your sidewalk, your public square, your movie theater and your concert hall !)
Republicans around the country are working hard to ensure that the next crop of dead American is coming to a theater near you.
D for public safety; R to drop dead from 2nd Amendment Derangement Syndrome)
Vote ..... (before you get shot by the next Guns Over People madman)
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You forgot the South side of Chicago.
1
Fear-mongering and thuggery. Will voters allow themselves to be manipulated by such tactics? I hope not.
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Many voters were influenced by such tactics before - even as long ago as the 2016 presidential election - so I'd expect more of the same.
38
Sorry, but the REAL "thuggery" is on the streets and in the high schools in working class neighborhoods across the US. Convenience store clerks working the night shift and victims of car jackings, muggings, and home invasions are the real experts on thuggery, but their experiences are discounted and their voices shut out of the discussion.
1
Yes they will, Ann. This kind of thing works. It worked for George the First and it will work here. It's why they do it. It's not a majority of voters, but there is definitely a nontrivial minority who are racist and paranoid. Enough to swing a close election. It is by carefully farming these knuckleheads that the Republicans have gained control of the country.
3
One needs to remember, fairly, that this is Nassau County that we’re talking about. Have they been able to elect a Republican county leader yet who hasn’t wound up in the pokey? It’s almost as bad as Atlantic City Democratic mayors for chain-gangs.
But, then, maybe Martins accurately senses the winds blowing across America and the North Shore. Have you noticed that we’re seeing fewer and fewer tattoos? To my generation, tattoos, along with piercings and the popularity of Bernie Sanders, are among the oddest things we’ve been forced to witness in our lives. But I’ve been seeing fewer of them on young women whom I’ve been counseling for a generation that before they hit 50 they’ll be playing soccer with those happy-faces or dragons festooning their left bosoms.
Tats on cons and gang members, however, seem to be as popular as ever. Tends to set them apart from the herd, and most Americans like the herd. They feel less threatened by the herd and more so by cons and gang members. Who’d’a’thunk-it?
So … maybe Martins knows how to push buttons better than Curran. That argues for better chances that he’ll be elected.
On the evidence, though, I wouldn’t bet on his ability to stay out of the pokey.
23
Gotta say, though, that the mailer is hilarious in its outrageousness. Reminds me of the time when Republican "dirty tricksters" under Nixon broadcast all over the South that African Americans needed to be sure to vote, but gave Election Day as the Tuesday AFTER the real date.
You just gotta love Amurka and our elections.
46
Yes, you gotta love race-baiting, Republican, reactionaries, who use fear to attain power and then waste my tax dollars on cronyism and corruption.
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It would be ridiculous if so many uninformed citizens didn't believe it.
5