Go for the jugular:
After crying foul for weeks over the severity of Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie’s attack ads, Virginia Democrats have responded with a harsh mailer of their own that connects Gillespie and President Donald Trump to the string of white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville.
In the mail ad that surfaced Tuesday, images of Trump and Gillespie are superimposed above a photo of torch-wielding white nationalists and a message saying Virginians have an opportunity to “stand up to hate” in the election that’s now less than two weeks away.
The back of the mailer — which features a photo of the entire Democratic ticket, made up of gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam, lieutenant governor nominee Justin Fairfax and incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring — says that on Nov. 7, voters can “stand up to Trump, Gillespie and hate.”
The Gillespie campaign, which in its own ads has painted Northam as soft on the MS-13 street gang and sex offenders, responded to the ad with outrage, accusing Democrats of exploiting a tragedy and calling for the mailers to stop.
And of course, Gillespie started crying like a baby:
“To now see Ralph Northam and the Democratic ticket exploit imagery from that tragic weekend to try to score political points is both outrageous and beneath the dignity of the offices they seek,” Gillespie campaign manager Chris Leavitt said in a statement. “This is an ugly political attack that has no place in our Commonwealth’s political discourse. Ralph Northam should be ashamed to have approved such a hateful mail piece.”
Northam campaign spokesman David Turner countered that the mailer was fair because Gillespie did not explicitly condemn the president’s response to the Charlottesville unrest. Democrats pummeled Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, for not joining members of his own party, including Virginia U.S. Reps. Barbara Comstock and Scott W. Taylor, in directly criticizing Trump’s reaction.
“For 73 days, Ed Gillespie has refused to call out Donald Trump’s response to Charlottesville for what it was: disheartening and wrong,” said Turner. “When the Charlottesville community wanted leadership to help them heal, he failed. Ed Gillespie should be willing to call out Donald Trump when he’s wrong and because he won’t, he gives voters a clear choice on Nov. 7.”
Virginia politicians often pride themselves for the “Virginia Way”, a concept that stresses civil discourse and setting aside partisan divide for the public good and for most of the campaign, observers noted the genteel tone of the contest.
But in September, Gillespie began airing ads that aimed to link MS-13 gang violence to Northam, while using images of Latinos in a way Latino groups call racist and inflammatory. And another ad suggests Northam wanted to restore gun rights to violent felons. Both parties are also trading barbs over mailers targeting against Latina candidates.
Gillespie and the GOP have been running some of the most racist campaigns I’ve ever witnessed and Gillespie absolutely deserves this type of scrutiny. By the way, I posted in another diary that Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D. VA) called Gillespie’s racist dog-whistling attack of Restoration Rights. Click here to read it and spread the word.
By the way, Gillespie has touted getting endorsements from law officials, well here’s a blow to his campaign:
Today, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, which represents thousands of federal, state and local law enforcement and municipal employees in Virginia, announced its endorsement of Ralph Northam to be the next governor of Virginia.
In response to receiving the endorsement of the International Brotherhood Of Police Officers, Northam issued the following statement:
“As a veteran and a doctor, I know the importance of keeping Virginians safe and healthy. That’s why I’ve fought so hard to make sure that our public safety officers have the resources they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability. These men and women who work selflessly every day for the safety of their neighbors and communities have my highest respect. As Governor, I’ll fight to make sure their needs are met, so they can continue doing the important work of serving the Commonwealth
Let’s defeat hatred and Trumpism in Virginia this year. Click below to donate and get involved with Northam, the whole Democratic Ticket, and the state party so we can usher in a big blue wave:
Ralph Northam for Governor
Courtney Lynch
Tim Kaine for U.S. Senate
Justin Fairfax for Lt. Governor
Mark Herring for Attorney General
Virginia Democratic Party