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On that front, Democrats might well hoist a giant banner reading, "Mission Accomplished." While many of the desperate attacks and distortions Democrats have employed down the campaign's home stretch have been fairly predictable and uniform (Secret Foreign Money! Social Security privatization! Extremist Tea Partiers!), some attacks have distinguished themselves for their sleaziness and dishonesty. As a public service, we've evaluated some of the most venomous paid advertising from this cycle in search of rock bottom. It was a grueling task, so we eased our burden by eliminating all outside group material -- focusing solely on advertising generated by individual campaigns, state parties, and the national Democratic committees.
Without further ado, Townhall presents the top ten most despicable Democratic attack ads of 2010:
10. In New Jersey's Third Congressional District, when Democrats aren't busying themselves by propping up phony Tea Party candidates, they're dreaming up ads like this gem. The spot attacks Republican Jon Runyan's
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Factcheck.org dismisses this line of attack as "taxing the truth."
9. Democrats could have had a little fun with Republican Kristi Noem's driving record in South Dakota's Congressional race. It seems Noem has a bit of a lead foot. Instead, they took a break from unethically bribing Native Americans to vote and created this laughably melodramatic advertisement. Apparently Noem, a mother of three, is a menace to the children:
8. Minnesotans tend to be an affable bunch, hence the genesis of the term "Minnesota Nice." Democrats must have misplaced that memo when they decided to include a scripted expletive in an attack ad against Michelle Bachmann:
7. Did you know Sharron Angle is more sympathetic to sex offenders than the children? Neither did we, until we saw this atrocious spot from Harry Reid's campaign:
Dear Navada Democrats, do you know who else engaged in reckless extremism by opposing that law? Um...Dina Titus.
6. In Massachusetts' 10th District, Democrats are rehashing a 19 year old accusation against Republican Jeff Perry. Democrats overlook the facts that (a) Perry isn't accused of any actual wrongdoing, (b) the person who perpetrated the assaults in question went to prison, and (c) this line of attack went nowhere in 2002 and during the Republican primary, which Perry won in a landslide. Try, try again:
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Side note: Perry's Democratic opponent might not benefit from a campaign focusing on holding sexual abusers accountable.
5. Bill Brady wants to kill puppies. Seriously.
4. Totally not insane Congressman Alan Grayson makes his first of two appearances on this list. In this ad, he accuses Republican Daniel Webster of unpatriotically "refusing the call to service" because he "doesn't love this country." Not only is the ad blatantly and grotesquely false, it raises the inevitable question of why Grayson never saw fit to heed the same call to service. Dreadful:
3. The only non-air entry on our list features a flyer sent out to south Floridians by the state's Democratic Party. The mailer hits Col. Allen West for some past financial complications -- illegally publishing his social security number in the process:
The piece featured a photo of an IRS document showing the tax lien — and while West’s address was blacked out, his Social Security number and his wife’s Employment Identification Number were clearly visible.
“Ron Klein has clearly crossed a line. I'm not yet sure the potential damage that might come to my wife and me, and it makes me sick to think of what could happen to my daughters. My entire family is at risk of identity theft,” West said in a statement about the mailer.
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Democrats offered a non-apology apology, natch.
2. Aqua. Buddha.
Even Jack Conway's fellow Democrats and MSM talking heads couldn't abide this rubbish. Rand Paul, for the win...
1. We meet again, entirely stable Congressman Alan Grayson. Congratulations! You're responsible for the single most revolting campaign ad of 2010 -- by a wide margin. This will likely be the only contest you win any time soon, so savor the moment:
Townhall's own (fake) anti-Grayson ad gives the soon-to-be-former Congressman a taste of his own medicine. Also, if Democrats are really seeking out candidates with a misogyny problem, might we suggest traveling to OH-06?
Parting Thoughts: Since there are still eight days remaining in campaign '10, we reserve the right to update this list as we see fit. Did we pick the right ads? Were they prioritized in order? Did we overlook any obvious possible entries? Let us know in the comment section...
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