Crossposted at My Left Wing
This is my first diary. I am from Louisiana, and we have a hotly contested mayoral race in Alexandria, Louisiana. This mayor’s race is somewhat important, for Democrats have not faired well in statewide elections, and we need to build our bench of candidates for statewide and US Congressional seats.
Alexandria is the population center of US Congressional District 5, presently held by Rodney Alexander, the former Democrat who became a Republican in 2004. Alexander is also involved in the Foley scandal. Here is a map of District 5:
But I am not here to discuss District 5; I am here to discuss one of the most execrable commercials to air in Louisiana. Delores Brewer, Republican candidate for Mayor of Alexandria, faces Jacques Roy, a Democrat, in the runoff. Brewer has no chance of winning, as she and her party were only able to garner 29% of the vote in the open primary on 30 September. Here are the results of the primary:
2,523 21% Delores Brewer, R Runoff
1,155 10% “Joe” Fuller, D Defeated
109 1% Alice “Red” Hammond, D Defeated
2,506 21% Roosevelt L. Johnson, D Defeated
3,986 33% Jacques M. Roy, D Runoff
957 8% John Sams, R Defeated
921 8% Charles Fredrick Smith, Jr., D Defeated
Because Delores Brewer, who enjoys playing the victim, is desperate, she decided to air the following ad on WDSU, our local NBC affiliate. Here is the advertisement:
Brewer, cast as a saint with halo against a yellow background similar to the gilded surfaces of Byzantine icons, discusses her rape experience. This is the first time she has ever discussed it publically. She then proceeds to relate how she was “also unfairly attacked” by Jacques Roy in the primary, implying that he is similar to the famous Garden District Rapist, who was convicted in 1993. Not only is this the most reprehensible campaign tactic I have ever witnessed; it is entirely baseless. For she claims Jacques Roy’s attacks on her are an attack on the community, just as the Garden District Rapist’s rapes were a blow to New Orleans and its surrounding communities in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Although Brewer denies any attempt to conflate her rapist with Jacques Roy, I believe the ad effectively establishes an equivalence between these two men. Here is the unconvincing explanation of the ad’s meaning she provided to our local newspaper, The Town Talk:
Brewer said Friday that she and her campaign strategist, Roy Fletcher, crafted the ad to equate being strong enough to get over being raped to being strong enough to get over Roy’s campaign attacks on her.
“The same determination and strength it took to get over being raped is the same determination and strength I’ve had to draw upon when [Jacques Roy] he questioned my integrity,” Brewer said.
Roy is “not a rapist,” Brewer said. “I don’t think anybody would read that into the ad.”
I and many other do believe she is comparing Jacques Roy to her rapist.
This is simply unacceptable. A desperate candidate aims to manipulate the public into viewing her opponent, her Democratic opponent, as a rapist. Republicans such as Ann Coulter constantly complain about liberals using “victims” in order to quell debate on important issues. Here the Louisiana Republicans are doing the very same thing, although they are not as respectful as the most recent person to cut an ad for a Democratic cause: Michael J. Fox. For at least Michael J. Fox does not compare Senator Jim Talent or Lt. Gov. Michael Steele of Maryland to his disease. Instead, he notes how their respective votes and policy positions foreclose the possibility that scientist’s may actually find a cure. Dolores Brewer, on the other hand, compares her opponent’s campaign to rape. And she hopes this comparison will deter him from asking difficult questions about her policy positions.
Another reason I react so adversely to this campaign ad is its implication that all women who are raped lose their integrity. And even worse, the subtitle of “Republican” appears when she claims she has “rebuilt” her life. So women who are raped lose their integrity, and those who do manage to recover are only Republicans? The levels of misinformation and manipulation in this ad are astounding.
Dolores Brewer must be held accountable for this despicable ad. She aired it on an NBC affiliate. But who can be contacted? The NOW? Rape advocacy organizations? Who? Please provide any advice you may have.