My title is a direct quote from Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Ted Strickland. The people to whom he’s referring are his Republican opponent, Kenneth Blackwell and Blackwell’s “supporters” and the reason he’s so angry has to do with the outrageous mudslinging they’ve directed toward him over the past few weeks:
With polls showing him so far behind that he could drag the entire Republican ticket down to defeat, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell launched an attack last week that took political discourse in Ohio to unplumbed depths.
In the last of four debates, Blackwell accused his Democratic rival for governor, Rep. Ted Strickland, of covering up for a campaign staff member who exposed himself to children and supporting the platform of NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association.
Jerome Corsi, who co-authored a book with Blackwell and co-wrote the “Swift boat” book that helped sink John Kerry’s presidential candidacy, was cranking out daily columns about sexual rumors “swirling in the Buckeye State” and lambasting Ohio reporters for not pursuing the story.
Sean Hannity, the conservative commentator who is a co-host on Fox News’ “Hannity and Colmes Show,” conducted an interview with Bill Cunningham, a Cincinnati radio host who has campaigned for Blackwell, in which Cunningham accused Strickland of traveling to Italy with his “boy toy” campaign staffer. […]
[Scott] Pullins [another Blackwell supporter] has repeatedly questioned Strickland’s sexuality in interviews and on his political blog. Recently, he took his attacks to a new level, publishing lurid allegations about Strickland without any evidence.
Pullins said as much in a disclaimer he included: “WARNING: As I stated above, these are entirely rumors at this point with no substantiation whatsoever!”
Strickland expressed disgust Tuesday when asked about the postings.
“This guy is an attorney? Unbelievable,” he said. “And then he puts out that warning, I guess because he thinks it gives him some kind of legal cover.
“These people are moral midgets. It’s just incredible.” […]
“I’m not a novice,” [Strickland] said. “I’ve been through a lot of really rough campaigns as a congressman, but it seems as if the fringe element has invaded the mainstream in this election.”
For the record, Strickland has been married for 18 years and denies he’s gay, though, as he says, that’s “no one’s business in the first place.” But truth has little meaning or use by the sorts of people who are working tirelessly to defeat his candidacy. The Sean Hannity’s and Jerome Corsi’s of the world don’t traffic in truth. They and their ilk made their reputations for their willingness to say anything, anything at all, to discredit and smear Democrats, liberals and progressives. In their Bible, the Ten Commandments have an opt out clause when it comes to lying, so long as the lies are directed at the left.
As I predicted months ago, this Fall would be the ugliest election campaign season on record. And that really wasn’t a difficult prognostication on my part. With what we’ve seen in Tennessee with the racist attack ads being run against Harold Ford, with the High Stakes ad from the RNC (which essentially implied Osama bin Ladin and the Democrats share the same goals), and now these scurrilous claims by Republicans in Ohio, it’s becoming clear that the GOP this year has nothing to run on other than slander, lies and innuendo.
Well, they sure can’t run on their record, can they?
