Outrage for Outrage's Sake

The presidential election season hasn't quite begun in earnest, but I am getting prepared for it now the way the May 21sters were preparing for, you know, May 21st...only I'm not going to collect $18 million dollars a year from the people who are foolish enough to read or listen to me.

I am warning now, however, that the presidential political season will be particularly difficult to watch for people who hate ugliness and mudslinging.  This presidential season will be the most nasty, mean-spirited campaign seasons of all time.  There will be name calling.  There will be finger pointing.  There will be accusations of scandals, and the over-used anything "gate" attached to those scandals.  Strippers, illegitimate children, and black preachers with sermons taken out of context, will fall out of the woodwork.  And there will be race bating.

Some of you who have been around for a few years and have seen Willie Horton, seen what happened to the president in the last election--Hilliary essentially calling the president a coon because he actually won the South Carolina Primary, or GOP rank and file using "community organizing" and the president's middle name as code words for "really black"-- and ask how could an election season get much worse.

Yea, well, it already has.  A group called Turn Right USA has published an Internet ad (shown above simply because I can't describe in any manner that would do it any justice)  that essentially accuses Janice Hahn, a Democrat running for a California Congressional seat in an upcoming special election, of being in the pocket of street gangs.  The ad is so vile its funny.

And as of about 10 minutes ago the group has refused to apologize for the ad.  "We decided we would launch with a controversial ad that would piss a lot of people off," says Ladd Ehlinger, Jr., the creator of the ad, "If I get dinged a little, then so be it."
Fair enough.  I expect that.  I can't be outraged at people who reduce entire races of people to caricatures.  There will always be people to do that and that's obviously what the group was attempting to do.  But can we at least get an apology from the fellows who acted like the gang members in the ad?   There has to be better work out there for actors somewhere.

When the election season begins in earnest, don't say I didn't warn you.  Turn Right USA has just made the first move.