There are thousands of people at the polls right now voting for Nikki Haley in spite of all the powerful, objective reasons not to, because they think all those bad things they’ve heard are just some unfair, partisan attempt to smear her. Listen to them; that’s what they think.
That’s because they are either not paying close attention, or they truly lack the intellectual capacity to tell the difference between indisputable facts about Nikki, and a true smear campaign.
It’s a bit late, I suppose, but just for future reference, folks, here’s what it looks like when a bunch of stuff is thrown unfairly at a candidate in the hope something will stick. I got it from Phil Noble at SC New Democrats:
Two Ard arrests on Election Day
Friends,
We’re just getting word that there’s trouble on Republican candidate for lt. governor Ken Ard’s campaign today. And it couldn’t have come at a more critical time.
After weeks of investigation, six arrest warrants have been issued for Ken Ard’s campaign manager, a Republican operative named Robert Cahaly. Cahaly will surrender himself to SLED agents Wednesday morning on charges of making illegal robocalls against several targeted Democratic state house representatives. These sleazy Republican tactics are exactly what voters hate about politics.
This comes just hours after Ken Ard’s 20-year old son, James Ard was arrested at 6 A.M. this morning for DUI.
And as of this afternoon, Ken Ard was still on the campaign trail, asking for you to elect him to be our state’s lieutenant governor — #2 in charge. We think the charges speak for themselves, but the WIS write-up is below.
This is what we’re up against.
But there’s still time. The polls don’t close until 7PM, so there’s stil time for you to stand against this kind of trash politics.
Just yesterday, Ashley Cooper (Ken Ard’s Democratic opponent) talked about putting South Carolina back in the news for all the right reasons, and now this.
It’s time for a change.
Get out there and vote before 7PM today and have your voice heard!
Thanks again,
Phil
Now, I think Phil is a fine and, well, Noble fellow, and I know he’s sincere. And I have no reason to doubt his facts (even though that link he gives goes to a page that says “The page you requested is currently unavailable.” The actual link is here.)
But it’s unfair to raise those things at this time, and to say, “This is what we’re up against,” because there is no indication here that Mr. Ard himself has done anything wrong, or even that anything wrong has been done in his behalf. And he has no time to distance himself from this guilt by association.
Surely Phil would not want to suggest that no one should vote for Vincent Sheheen because one of his campaign workers was charged with DUI (months ago, giving Vincent time to fire her and let everyone see him firing her, and for the thing to be largely forgotten). Phil would consider such an assertion to be outrageously unfair. Which, until I hear something that implicates Mr. Ard in any way, is what this is.
By contrast, almost every time we’ve looked at anything that bears on the claims that Nikki Haley makes about herself — about what a wonderful accountant she is, or how passionately she believes in transparency — what we find refutes her claims, and raises fresh alarms about her suitability. That’s the kind of thing that is not only fair and relevant, but things that anyone MUST know and understand before voting.
There’s a huge difference.
Related Posts
Son charged with DUI is not our business, but illegal robocalls against candidates IS!
Rich “State Minivan” Eckstrom– just because it wasn’t illegal to take a state vehicle on vacay to the upper Midwest, doesn’t make it right!
The Eckstrom thing is bizarre and disturbing, if it’s true. He seems scarily unstable.
I received Phil Noble’s email as well and it really put me off. If stupid acts by young people make their parents unfit for public office, there’d be a whole lot fewer candidates. I, for one, would not be running….
And the Spratt campaign is alleged to have put out signs FOR Mulvaney but with extreme anti-abortion slogans. ““Ban Abortion: Make Raped Women Have Babies,”
http://www.fitsnews.com/2010/11/01/spratts-last-desperate-stand/
Until we have term limits, this type of stuff will continue to go on. Why do most people set the ethical bar SO low when it comes to politicians?
Indeed KP! And neither would your parents!
Sorry, couldn’t resist such a setup…
And Doug:
-First, your source is Will Folks.
-Second, that sign is from Mulvaney’s 2008 legislative race, not this one.
-Third, do you honestly, truly think John Spratt would do anything like that? If you do, then you REALLY don’t give anyone a fair shake if they happen to be an incumbent…
Just so I’m not just picking on Phil… the state Democratic Party is sending out this link to a news report about the Ard boy.
Meanwhile, the party has also put out this PDF of a really disturbing NEW complaint by Kelly Payne against Rich Eckstrom…
You’re right, Brad … WIS TV news has just reported that Ard’s manager isn’t even charged, it’s six counts against Cahaly (no surprise there).
Yes, Brad, in reference to Phil’s email (which I also received), “there’s a huge difference.”
To Doug I live in District 5. I drive around the county daily in my work and have never seen such a sign. I went to a fundraiser for Spratt and came home with a Vote for Spratt sign. There were no signs like the one you describe. Maybe someone had them printed up and hid them because they are not on display in District 5, but I wonder why anyone would do that? Maybe this is a made-up rumor to smear a good man’s name. The next time you are tempted to spread untrue rumors ask yourself would any sensible person believe this. If the answer is no, then look for verification. If you cannot find such a sign, do not spread the rumor.
““Ban Abortion: Make Raped Women Have Babies,”
Not a very nice thing to say. But that is exactly what the pro-life movement would do.
@Elliott
Seriously, do you live in South Carolina and believe that no campaign operative would ever do such a thing?
I ran for school board in Richland 2 and experienced all sorts of dirty tricks / innuendo from current board members and administration.
Don’t you recall what Karl Rove and George Bush supposedly orchestrated to smear McCain in 2000?
It happens all the time.
Brad
In regard to your post on the SC New Democrats’ email about Ken Ard on election day – a few points:
First, thanks for your very kind words (I think Phil is a fine and, well, Noble fellow, and I know he’s sincere.)
Second, I appreciate your acknowledging that we had our facts right (“I have no reason to doubt his facts”.)
Third, WIS-TV bundled the two stories together about Ard’s campaign manager impending arrest and Ard’s son’s DUI arrest. We did re-publish the two WIS-TV stories – just as they were presented by WIS-TV on their web site. We did not comment on the son’s arrest – only on the alleged illegal tactics of his campaign manager. Sleazy, illegal, robo-calls (that earned his campaign manager six arrest warrants) surely ‘is what we’re up against’ as we said in the email.
WIS-TV is the largest and arguably the most respected and trusted television station in the state. I don’t see how our reproducing their news stories exactly as they produced them qualifies as a ‘partisan smear’ and thus warrants your scorn.
Thanks for your continued the interest in the SC New Democrats.
Pls post our comments on your blog.
Thanks,
Phil
@ Doug Ross–you left out South Carolina’s own Lee Atwater…