As if the campaigns of attorney general candidates Phill Kline and Paul Morrison weren’t bad enough, now outside groups have launched their own negative advertising. Great.
A group called “Kansans for Consumer Privacy Protection” — which appears to be connected to the ProKanDo abortion rights political action committee — sent out mailings claiming that “Snoop Dog Kline” wants to invade our privacy. The Republican State Leadership Committee — a Washington, D.C.-based group that apparently is funded by corporate special interests — ran TV ads claiming that Morrison is soft on crime. No doubt more shadowy, third-party groups will join in before Election Day.
But the candidates have shown themselves more than capable of slinging mud. They don’t need outside help.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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26 Comments
If I didn’t hate Kline so much, i would tell Morrison to take a hike because of the negative campaigning.
I’m proud of Kathleen for her positive campaign.
Ambition drove many men to become false; to have one thought locked in the breast, another ready on the tongue…..Sallust
Or, don’t slither and speak with a forked tongue!
Reminds me of the attack ads by Charles Koch’s “Citizens for the Education of the Republic” some years ago.
Where is a good place for polling numbers on Kansas elections? No one cares about us. :(
surcam – try Channel 12’s website
Garth Mc Ginn TV ads won’t be seen in Wichita – the tv ads on his web page are going to the surrounding counties — reminiscent of the Glickman ads of the 70’s / 80’s — no mud slinging — take a look and forward to your Wichita friends who will be voting.
http://www.daretwocare.us/press.html
Oh Ken-Your passion for McGinn is admirable. For your sake, I hope he gets better than 35% of the votes.
As far as the AG race is concerned there will be not winners, just a whole state of losers.
How is it that we can’t find anyone with integrity, honesty and common sense? Is there no one who is willing to take the high road?
Of course not. Read the open thread comments and see just how sad and mean some people can be.
Perhaps the offices of Attorney General and Judges need not be elected but appointed with limited terms.
Elections of someone means that people safeguarding our law has to choose a party and take stances on issues which is contraindicated for the view of law from a non-partisan way.
hotlick – I think McGinn will get about 40%
Hot Lick
It’s more about TT’s weak record on damn near everything. He came into Congress on the coat tails of Newt’s Contract with America. Which he and the Republicans quickly abandoned for a “Contract with Special Interests and Corporations.” You cannot name one thing that TT has taken a leadership role on — he has been a sheep to DeLay and the now betrayed right wing Christian conservatives. He was thrown a bone by his party by making him akin to the assistant to the assistant to the Majority Whip.
Mc Ginn may be new, but has to be better than the do nothing Congress, both parties(Our energy policy is what? Our immigration policy is what?) that are waging war on the middle class — and those of the middle class that have been responsible for making America what it once was. GM is not the far left liberal you think or want to portray him as — he is a moderate – scary type for both the far left or far right.
Kansas would be better off in the coming Democratic Congress with Democrat McGinn than with a do nothing Republican far right winger fraud of a christian conservative.
Take that –
Ken – I agree. But when I am book-making I go with my best guesses.
For those that are interested –The number of voters of the Unaffiliated party has just surpassed the number of voters of the Democratic party in the state of Kansas.
I got home yesterday to the “Snoop Dog” hit piece. Garbage. Got home tonight to the Republican State Leadership Committee hit piece against Morrison. More garbage. Have been seeing all sorts of TV ads – yet more garbage.
One thing I have noticed is how good a job they do making the pictures look very sinister – Kline, Morrison, Brown. All three look real ugly in the pictures as presented.
My suggestion on the companion thread was that I would love to see BOTH AG candidates tell me why I should vote for them – not why the other guy is a jerk.
Kinard got 31% to Tiahrt’s 66% in 2004 and it seems to me that Kinard ran a lot more aggressive campaign than McGinn has. So, I am betting that the 40% might be a little optimistic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._House_election,_2004
McGuinn doesn’t have a chance. He might have had a chance if he had developed a grassroots effort last winter, with neighborhood walkers and mailings. He’s a Kansas native. Tiahrt isn’t. That’s an inherent advantage that wasn’t cultivated. He’s not beholden to out-of-state special interests. Tiarht is. See
opensecrets.org
which posts congressmen’s Federal Election Commission campaign funding data. Tiarht’s largest single campaign donor is Koch Industries. BUT, after this, the biggest donations are all from out-of-state entities. See
http://opensecrets.org/races/contrib.asp?ID=KS04&cycle=2006&special=N
Tiarht gets more money from PACs than individual contributors. Nearly all of his PAC contributions are out-of-state.
Why is this? In the Big Game, there are a lot of congressmen who are “cheap buys” for big corporate interests. Many of these are NOT interested in small federal government, but rather they want large to huge government contracts, and federally-subsidized contracts, ranging from Iraq reconstruction to voting machines. They need water carriers. Tiahrt arguably isn’t a talented statesman, he’s arguably a bought-and-paid-for House vote for Kansas-irrelevant “corporate welfare”. If he exercised independent judgment, do you think he’d keep receiving these out-of-state PAC dollars?
Of course, Tiahrt is himself from out-of-state. Is he a cheap carpetbagger? I think you may find out when he leaves office. Does he return to Sedgwick County, or does he take his family to D.C. or do they retire to a Sunbelt state? I just don’t think he views himself as a Kansan, even an adopted son. It’s too bad that Garth McGuinn didn’t take advantage of his Kansas nativity.
It’s also pathetic that the local media didn’t demand debates. Those of you watching CSPAN can see that the democratic-republican process of facing one’s opponent in public debate is alive and well in much of the country. That it isn’t happening here is really sad.
I have the dish antenna, and never watch local programming so have not seen a single Kansas campaign ad; ditto with radio; I got XM radio and listen only to channel 12 and Air America.
Voted early today in Ellsworth county. The new voting machine there takes a standard ballot and marks it for you. Yes, you do use a touchscreen. The only thing the system replaces is a pencil. Then you put it in the ballot box like you always did. What progress.
I think an optical scanner does count the ballots; about 70 a minute, according to a courthouse employee. 372 people in the county voted before I did.
Steve – the reason I go with 40 is the general down the GOP is in. That is why I with McGinn had the resources; I think he could take Tankerless out.
Last time the Independents all went with Todd; Kinard ran an ineffectual campaign. Add that to a generally good year for the GOP and no “top spot” for the Democrats and Todd had an easy run.
This year – Foley etc nationally, Boeing having largely abandoned Wichita, Sebelius and Morrison running strong. Add a strong campaign and Tankerless goes down.
So, last time Todd could afford to debate. This year he knows he cannot.
Being pretty close to Bryan Brown, I think I can speak for his beautiful wife. While she is proud that her husband stood up for life and was arrested a few times, she does not care for the negative commercial seeking to cast him as a common criminal. She knows he is no Rosa Parks, but neither is he H.Rapp Brown. He is akin to those brave Kansans who violated the fugitive slave act a century and a half ago. Or perhaps those who tossed tea into Boston Harbor. Or the author who wrote from Walden Pond. Or even Margo Sanger herself. Or Tom Hadyn. None of these people could even take the trash out of Paul Morrison’s office ’cause he would never hire anyone who engaged in civil disobedience. YA VOLT MEINE FUEHER! There is no law but man’s law, right Paul? Well then, Mr. Lawdog, you better give up your alleged worship of the Saviour..newsflash, he engaged in civil disobedence. And your reverance for the apostles…same newsflash. And any joy you might get hearing of our Founding Fathers, or the French Resistance, or the New Left. (THe latter is since you are a Democrat now…or at least so you want Democrats t think.) And any love you might have for JPII. Solidarity and the Gadsk shipyards and all. (Never mind that last one, anyone so palsy with Tiller must have nothing but disdain for JPII. Gospel of life and all. Stuff like that motivated the criminal Brown, you know.)Morrison is either a total pro-abort or pretty much ignorant of the history of the West or, more likely, both.
Ignatius, turn off the computer and slowly back away.
It’s medication time at the home.
Thank you,
The Nursing Staff
Meanwhile, on the national front …
Ohio GOP Smears Al Franken In Press Release With Doctored Photo, Fabricated Quote
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/10/26/gop-smears-al-franken-with-doctored-photo/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkprogress.org%2F2006%2F10%2F26%2Ffranken-ohio-photo%2F&frame=true
And more …
Campaign tactics veer toward smearNegative ads get positively surreal
The result has been a carnival of ugly, especially on the GOP side, where operatives are trying to counter what polls show is a hostile political environment by casting opponents as fatally flawed characters. The National Republican Campaign Committee is spending more than 90 percent of its advertising budget on negative ads, according to GOP operatives, and the rest of the party seems to be following suit. A few examples of the “character issues” taking center stage two weeks before Election Day:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15435421/
If negative ads, like the ones in Ben’s link, are signs of desperation, then how can one explain the comments of Karl Rove on NPR yesterday that notwithstanding the “national” polls showing a potential Dem takeover of at least the House, and perhaps a pick up of some seats in the Senate, that he had “the math”, and the GOP would retain control of both houses of Congress.
Mr. Rove’s comments were given some credence last night on one of the MSNBC programs on in the background as I was working on something else. The commentator suggested that Mr. Rove had access to over 60 daily polls, and could well be in a position to see things as to individual races that national polls would miss. He (commentator) also said this access to the private polling was due to the money advantage of the GOP, as the Dems had decided to utilize their funds for GOTV, bypassing expensive polls.
While the commentator’s comments on the dollar advantage and the use of the same for polling makes some sense to me, is Karl the only one who gets to see the results of them? Surely, if “the math” is as supportive as he says, shouldn’t he share this with the candidates, sparing us (the public) from the negative ads?
My two cents, FWIW.
I sure hope Rove is right.I wonder if a “negative” ad isn’t, sometimes, it the eye of the beholder. Like the lobbyist. Some step way over the line and some just tell voters about the bad things on the opposition candidate.Also, negative ads work. For that, we must blame us, the voter.
CapnAmerika,Typical liberal tactic. I cannot refute you so you must be nuts. Stalin liked it, too.
Sorry to have made too much sense for a liberal to process.
Here, I will try to communicate on a level you will understand: Government without end, amen.