So by now, you probably know about the mysterious polling going around attacking Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D):
http://jezebel.com/...
According to a report from Think Progress, a mysterious organization that has identified itself to voters only as “SSI Polling,” has been employing the ‘ol “push polling” election tactic, whereby, write TP’s Scott Keyes and Adam Peck, “a group calls up voters under the guise of conducting a poll, only to ask questions that leave the voter with a highly-misleading impression about a certain candidate.” Totally a dirty trick, but still — this is politics, and dirty tricks politics shouldn’t surprise or outrage anyone at this point in our age of political disillusionment. Everyone’s a liar, crook, cheat, etc., ad infinitum, we just pick the least liary, crookedy, cheatery cheats we can.
Except that the questions from SSI Polling were particularly shitty, according to what voters told Think Progress, ranging from “outlandish smears to thinly-veiled Republican talking points.” The SSI Polling calls seemed to target women who were registered Democrats, and, if active Democrat April Wolford’s judge of accents is trustworthy, come from out of state. The question list included the following:
“What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had
an abortion?”
“What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you a judge held
her in contempt of court at her divorce proceedings?
“What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if she had done jail time?”
“What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she was
caught running up a charge account bill?” - Jezebel, 5/1/13
Sadly, sexualized attack ads are normal in South Carolina politics:
http://www.slate.com/...
South Carolina has a long history of dealing with sexualized smear tactics. John McCain lost the 2000 primary after rumors were floated that he had illegitimately fathered a black daughter and forced his wife to raise her. Nikki Haley got to enjoy a whole host of weird, almost surely untrue accusations that she'd slept with various political consultants. Newt Gingrich, whose colorful sexual history had not yet turned off South Carolina primary voters, was accused of forcing his ex-wife to have an abortion in a fake email sent to voters.
The abortion question aimed at Colbert Busch is a particularly delightful attempt to deflect sexual shame off the adulterous man in the race and onto its proper object: Any random woman we feel is unlikely to be a virgin. In a more sensible world, such a question would be no more remarkable than, "What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had a tooth filled?" Not that there's actually a scrap of evidence that Colbert Busch has had an abortion, but it sure would be nice if it didn't matter. - Slate, 5/2/13
With Colbert Busch calling out Sanford (R) at the debate:
http://swampland.time.com/...
“When we talk about fiscal spending, and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it doesn’t mean you take that money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose.” - Time Magazine, 4/30/13
Plus Sanford's "stellar" campaign since the primary:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Recall what the disgraced former governor of South Carolina has done since winning the Republican primary in late March in an attempt to reclaim his old House seat:
He had one of his young sons meet his Argentine mistress (now his fiancée) for the first time — onstage at his victory celebration.
He admitted to trespassing at his ex-wife’s house.
He stood on a city street and pretended to debate a life-size cardboard cutout of Pelosi.
He took out a newspaper ad providing his cellphone number to voters and likening his campaign to the fight for the Alamo, getting the date of that great struggle wrong by 27 years.
In the process, Sanford’s zaniness caused the National Republican Congressional Committee to abandon him and cut off funding for his comeback campaign. On the positive side, he did pick up the endorsement of pornographer Larry Flynt. (South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who removed references to Sanford from her campaign Web site during his scandal, took pity on the candidate and agreed to appear with him at a private fundraiser Wednesday evening.)
Sanford is now poised to accomplish what was seemingly impossible: hand the seat to Democrats for the first time since 1978, when they still had a foothold in the South. - Washington Post, 5/1/13
By the way, these two clowns recently endorsed Sanford:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
National Republicans may have abandoned Mark Sanford, but Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took to Twitter Wednesday morning to vouch for the former governor.
Graham dispatched four tweets from his campaign Twitter account Wednesday ahead of next week’s 1st district special election, including one encouraging voters not to sit on the sidelines.
Graham donated to Sanford’s campaign after he won the GOP nomination, but has been quiet about the race since word surfaced that Sanford’s ex-wife had accused the former governor of trespassing on her property. - Washington Post, 5/1/13
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Another big-name Republican is throwing his weight behind former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford’s House campaign.
Sen. Tim Scott said voters face “a stark choice,” and that Sanford “merits support.”
“On all the most important issues facing our state and country, from dealing with our dangerous levels of debt, to repealing or resisting the government health-care takeover, to standing up for Charleston jobs against the NLRB, 1st District voters have a stark choice,” Scott said in a statement to The Post and Courier. “Mark Sanford is hands down better on all of those issues, and that’s why I believe he merits support.” - Washington Post, 5/1/13
Desperate times call for desperate measures. When your candidate is a huge joke like Sanford, finding shady ways to slander Colbert Busch is your last resort. But personality goes a long way in this race:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
The focus on personalities appears to have played out in favor of Colbert Busch, who political analysts say has a legitimate chance of winning the May 7 special election in a heavily Republican district.
"These latest allegations against Sanford have led a number of those voters who were on the fence to not plan to vote at all or to switch sides to Colbert Busch," said Kendra Stewart, a political scientist at the College of Charleston.
"She has an advantage among independents, and she is actually pulling some Republicans, especially Republican women," Stewart said.
A victory for Colbert Busch, 58, would make her the first Democrat to represent the state's coastal First Congressional District since the early 1980s and only the second woman in South Carolina to be elected to Congress. - Huffington post, 5/2/13
Lets not let these low, shady attacks take done Colbert Busch. We can and will win this race. The election is Tuesday, May 7th. If you'd like to get involved with or donate to the Colbert-Busch campaign, please go here:
http://colbertbuschforcongress.com/