It is always hard to pick a “most disgusting political ad of the year” because, lamentably, there are so many to choose from.
But this one has got to win hands-down.
Here is an ad for Texas gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Wendy Davis, attacking her opponent, Republican Greg Abbott, who, due to a freak accident in 1984, has been wheelchair-bound since he was 26 years old:
Does it get more disgusting than that?
First there is the graphic of an empty wheelchair – presumably Abbott\’s – with a suggestion that he might have sued and received $10.7 million dollars (which he did not). Then three incidents are mentioned, with no explanation of the circumstances, so Texans are left to imagine how terrible Greg Abbott is without benefit of any facts – none of which would justify the wheelchair reference anyway.
How universal is condemnation of the “wheelchair ad”? I certainly don\’t have to tell you what Republicans and conservatives think of this garbage. And – though I\’m sure there are some who support it – so far, every Democrat-friendly talking head I\’ve seen feels pretty much the same way.
Wendy Davis should be ashamed that this ad was put out on her behalf. She should be apologizing for its astoundingly bad taste.
But. based on her campaign\’s reaction to how it has been received, apparently she is not – as clearly demonstrated by this statement from Zac Petkanas, one of her spokespeople:
“Whatthis ad highlights is that Greg Abbott sought justice and received itfor himself after a horrible accident by suing the homeowner and thetree company. Rightly so. But then he built a career by denying that very same justice tovictims and hard-working Texans across the state.”
Talk about doubling down on disgusting….
As noted above, Wendy Davis is not ashamed by this ad.
Well, I\’ll tell you something else Wendy Davis is not. She\’s not going to be the next Governor of Texas.
For which Texans should be breathing a heavy sigh of relief.
