‘Pro-Life’ Republican Party Is Attacking a Democrat Whose Christian Faith Teaches Him to Oppose the Death Penalty
Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee’s Chief Strategist and Communications Director, Monday morning posted a tweet bragging about the GOP’s latest, and racist, attack ad, against Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine.
“Exclusive: Republicans Launch Willie Horton-Style Attack on @TimKaine,” his tweet reads, echoing the headline of an article in Roll Call.
Early Monday afternoon, that tweet disappeared, along with a similar one posted by the official account of the GOP, as MSNBC’s Joy Reid noted:
The ad itself, one of the most offensive of the 2016 season, actually attacks Sen. Kaine, who formerly was Governor Kaine, for his Catholic faith and belief against the death penalty. As Roll Call and others have noted, it is reminiscent of the infamous “Willie Horton ad,” which is in no circles, sans the Alt-Right, a compliment.
In “Republicans embrace notoriously racist political tactic,” Aaron Rupar at ThinkProgress explains the 1988 Willie Horton ad, run by a PAC supporting George H.W. Bush, was so offensive it “forced Bush to fend off allegations he was running a racist campaign. It’s also widely credited for helping Bush overcome a significant deficit to win the election. Nonetheless, shortly before his death in 1991, Lee Atwater — who, as Bush’s campaign manager, helped develop the Horton attack — apologized to Dukakis.”
He should also have apologized to America’s African-Americans.
But nothing is too low for Reince Priebus’ Republican National Committee, or for Sean Spicer.
To be clear, the “pro-life” Republican party is attacking a Democrat whose Christian faith teaches him to oppose the death penalty.
Here’s the new GOP ad, which they have yet to apologize for, much less take down, and below it the infamous Willie Horton ad:
Some responses via Twitter:
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