Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Personally, I am probably the single greatest opponent of negative advertising you will ever meet. I am a firm believer in sportsmanship, integrity, honesty, and character. This goes for anything from a state championship baseball game, to a pickup basketball game, to a race for political office. I cannot stand the immature mudslinging that occurs every two years, be it a local/state race, or a national race. If you deserve the position more than your opponent, you'll get more votes. It's a pretty black and white issue.

That said, I am most definitely not oblivious to the slander that occurs. It's as much a part of life as death, taxes, and gravity. It is very unlikely to change anytime soon. So, as people do with things that are frowned upon, but still "necessary", limits must be set. Things like morals and ethics come into play, and certain aspects of a candidate's life are roped off and left untouched. Recent issues that were brought up and viciously attacked (and shouldn't have been) are things like Sarah Palin's pregnant teenage daughter and Down's Syndrome-stricken son. Or, perhaps just as ridiculous, Barack Obama's skin color and ethnicity. Why in the world do either of those make any difference to us, or in any way affect the competency of the aforementioned individuals? Who cares if Governor Palin's son has Down's Syndrome? Does it make any difference if then-Senator Obama is black or white? Absolutely not.

Recently, documents that were sent out to major players in the fundraising of the Republican Party were publicized. These 70-page "summaries" contained a slide entitled "The Evil Empire" that portrayed top Democrats as certain comic-book and cartoon villains. Barack Obama was "The Joker", Nancy Pelosi was "Cruella De Vil", and Harry Reid was "Scooby-Doo".

Left-wingers and the Obama Administration of course blasted these photos, but they were also denounced as "classless" by those on the right. Michael Steele, RNC Chairman, severely reprimanded the junior aide that placed the images in the documents, but will not discipline the parties involved (an action that I do not agree with). Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also admitted the pictures were in bad taste, as did Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). The DNC is seizing the moment and absolutely ripping into those on the right, and I can't say I blame them. That kind of advertising is despicable, abhorrent, and just plain uncalled for.

However, keeping that in mind, I think the Democratic National Committee is taking advantage of a situation that just happened to spin in their favor. Assuming one playing with a full deck of cards, I would wager that the thought that every major player in elections does some variation of that in private has crossed the threshold of your brain. There is no doubt that this isn't an isolated incident. Similar tactics are most definitely used by Democrats, probably with Obama portrayed as God, Pelosi as Sacagawea (for "guiding in" a new era for Democrats), and Reid as Scooby-Doo (not even the state of Nevada likes him). You don't get donations by showing your opponents as good people, you get them by making them evil in the eyes of the people with the cash-lined pockets. It shouldn't work that way, but it does.

Even though people are super-quick to jump all over the Republicans (and by no means am I defending that behavior or condoning it), I guarantee you the other side is doing the same. Think along the lines of saying Republicans use scare tactics and fear to oppose legislation, and then Senator Reid going and saying if you don't support his jobs bill, you are advocating the abuse of women and destruction of America. Pot calling the kettle black? I think so.