Ad echoes Atwater, Helms
Published October 22, 2004
Lee Atwater may be dead, but his spirit lingers on. The mastermind behind the television advertisement that used racism to garner votes for the Republicans in 1988 would be proud of an ad airing in Oklahoma. The infamous Willie Horton ad implied African-Americans were criminals threatening white Americans, who needed to vote Republican to be protected. The ad in Oklahoma suggests that people of color are the only recipients of welfare payments.
The Associated Press covered the controversy.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Blacks, Hispanics and American Indians accused Republicans of race-baiting in Oklahoma's Senate race Wednesday in a television ad that shows images of Hispanics and dark hands receiving welfare payments.
The ad, which attacks Democratic candidate Brad Carson's voting record on immigration, was described as malicious and xenophobic by spokespersons for various minority groups who called on Republican candidate Tom Coburn to disavow it.
"Is this going to be another century of discrimination?" said David Puente of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Oklahoma City.
. . .The GOP ad, paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, says Carson pledged to fight for Oklahoma jobs but voted to make it easier for illegal immigrants to "cross our borders and take our jobs" and to allow immigrants to get welfare.
But Coburn is not the only Republican who has used an ad that encourages bigotry to his advantage. The Houston Chronicle recalls another successful use of the tactic.
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Houston, a leader in the Congressional Black Caucus, said Republicans were "so desperate to win that they will use images of black people and brown people that are very clearly intended to appeal to the lowest instincts of people."
Democrats likened the ad to a famous 1990 spot for Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., that showed white hands crumpling up a piece of paper as a narrator criticized affirmative action. The Helms ad, which asserted that qualified white applicants were losing jobs because of racial hiring quotas, was incendiary but effective. Helms won a narrow victory over Harvey Gantt, a black Democrat.
The GOP has refused to repudiate the ad. Meanwhile, the contest between Carson and Coburn has tightened. It is now neck and neck. Former President George Bush will be among those campaigning for Coburn.
Reasonably related
~ Tom Coburn's mouth may have written a check his arse can't pay, as they say down South. His remark that "You have a bunch of crapheads in Oklahoma City," appears to be backfiring. Democrats are using it on billboards in, you guessed it, Oklahoma City.
~ Learn more about the Willie Horton ad.
- Ad echoes Atwater, Helms
- Published: October 22, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Politics
- Writer: Mac Diva
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Comments on this articleComments
My mistake...Dukakis did NOT sign the legislation...he only supported it! And let it continue on his watch!
The "Willie Horton ad was racist" lie has been used by the Democrats for 16 years.
All that ad did was point out that Dukakis was soft on crime, and innocents were victimized because of it. The example they used happened to be a black man. This should not be surprising to those who note that the demographic group most likely to commit violent crimes, per capita, are black men.
The "Helms ad was racist" cry of the Left is another lie. Affirmative Action policies DO take jobs away from qualifies white people, and give them to selected minorities. Affirmative Action is nothing more than federal government-sanctioned racial discrimination in hiring (amongst other things).
Fortunately, history has recognized and recorded the racist motivations behind both the Atwater and Helms advertisements. The Tom Coburn ad is also being recognized for what it is. Analyses of the use of the Southern Strategy of using the former Confederacy to maintain the inequities caused by slavery and segregation are the mainstream of historical thought today.
[edited]
Diva - point out one word in my comment that is racist..just one word!
I say leave her comment there RJ...
let everyone see what kind of woman this is....this story is like ALL the other radical, left wing, liberal BULLSHIT that she spews.
this is always Diva's method of attack and just about everyone knows it.
On another thread she accused me of sending her viruses. That's a hell of a way to stop a thread!!!
rj -
you are very weak.
curt:
There are supposedly standards here at BlogCritics.org. (They are sometimes even enforced!)
Calling other posters names and lying about other posters are supposed to be grounds for an [edit]. Yet they haven't been in this case.
Apparently, the rules are pretty much moot again. Sigh... :(
[edited]
Furthermore, I reiterate my point about examples of the kind of person who most supports bigotry. That person is often someone who is threatened by equality. He knows he lacks ability. He wants to continue a status quo in which being white and male results in rewards, regardless of how incompent the person is. In a society where racism and sexism were not prevalent, he would not be able to mask being a loser.
The GOP's Southern Strategy and its concomitant actions, such as biased political ads, continue to be documented and analyzed. The Cobun ad will have its place among the evidence.
mac diva,
rj's double standard is not surprising. hypocrisy is the telltale sign of a chickenhawk - those who promote and support war (but have never served themselves), as long it's someone ELSE who has to fight and die in said war.
[edited]
I still think there may be an October Surprise from the Bushites. Could it be in the form of a Willie Horton ad of some sort? Considering how quickly Muslims have become unpopular to millions of Americans, according to the polls, I think an ad campaign demonizing Muslims, and liberals for supporting them, is a possibility. But, times have changed some since 1988. Do they dare?
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/21274)
The Willie Horton ad never implied anything about minorities. It implied that Michael Dukakis was soft on crime, and he was!
When Dukakis was governor of MA, he signed legislation that let that murderous PIG out of jail for the weekend and he murdered again!!!
It implied that WIllie Horton was a murderer that had no business getting out of jail and that Dukakis was the one that let him out! That was the implication!