The following was just reported by the folks at ourdems.org:Have you heard this on the radio? "Christians have an important decision to make when voting for the next mayor of Fort Wayne. There are some things that as people of faith we need to consider. . . ."
The people pushing this ad seem to assume that all Christians should think the same way they do and that those supporting Mr. Kelty are the better Christians than the rest of us. "Oh goodness", where would that kind of debate take us? Would we not be better off to look at the important issues that need to be addressed to make Fort Wayne a better city, improve the lives of citizens and encourage more and better jobs? This all gets very sad and silly as one group implys to others that they are the "better" Christians.
This is the radio ad that hits the fan. The American Family Association is the name behind the ad and it is the most dishonest message we have heard this campaign season. OK, so it is one of many. It sacrifices an important group in our community using untrue labels and prejudice as a wedge issue to divide our community. It leaves out important details to make Tom Henry look evil. Go figure how any of it deals with family values.
Family values should include ALL people in a family and all families. Frankly, for people who claim to be the only ones with the right values, this ad hits those who have loved family members who are gay or lesbian right in the gut. While the rest of America grows with a positive understanding, these people remain locked into their ignorance and prejudice. Anyone who had any doubts about Matt Kelty's willingness to go negative and use wedge issues can now see what he will do in order to become mayor. What is really sad is that the people spreading this ignorance really believe it.
You can download the mp3 of The American Family Association ad. We are fortunate that not all Christians hold the shallow and non inclusive views as this group nor do they distort past actions of their political opponents.
This ad says that " . . . As a city councilman Tom Henry repeatedly authored legislation promoting the gay rights agenda - several homosexual groups are supporting Henry . . . " Well, how often is "repeatedly" and what is their agenda anyway? Is it just to be treated equally? Doesn't sound like much a problem to me. If you or I were gay, would we support Kelty? I don't think so. If we had sons, daughters, brothers, sisters or other family members who were would we support someone who looks down on them and discriminates. Every group has an agenda or two. Give it a break because no one is trying to convert anyone.
This ad says that " . . . Kelty knows the dangers our kids face in today's sex crazed world." I am sorry, but I don't think we live in a sex crazed world. If Mr Kelty does, then I really do question his perceptions of reality. That is just crazy.
This ad says that . . . "Tom Henry REFUSED to stand with pastors, churches and families concerned about the dangers of strip clubs and adult book stores." Then it goes on to share that Republican Matt Kelty supports family values - implying that Tom Henry does not. . . Well, Tom Henry is a poster child for family values and that is shown by his own extremely large and close family. This ad twists facts, uses words intended to direct the listener's interpretation and distorts reality. The line, "concerned about the dangers of . . ." is wide open and tells us nothing - it just tries to put doubt in the voter's mind. No details, no reasons, not enough information given. I assume these businesses were operating legally and to close them down would restrict and limit business in Fort Wayne. To find out if shutting them down would limit crime we might ask the Fort Wayne Police Department - not this group. I doubt very much that a good mayor would shut down businesses just because he did not personally approve of them.
18 comments:
John,
Thanks for posting this. I'm spreading the word about this garbage on my site as well.
I am infuriated and that is a good thing! Hopefully anyone with at least an ounce of brain power will be able to see right through this BS and get motivated to kick some political BUTT on election day!!!!!
Thanks for the information.
You can now read my endorsement for Tom Henry on Tinnel Vision.
"Family values should include ALL people in a family and all families... While the rest of America grows with a positive understanding, these people remain locked into their ignorance and prejudice."
You said this beautifully. It makes me sad and angry and tired to keep encountering this kind of small-minded ignorance that the relgious zealots seem so happy to flaunt.
Any attempt to try and play this off by the Kelty campaign as some independent outside group that wanted to promote their own message would not meet the smell test.
This campaign strategy/topic has been bantered about within their campaign for months and it's slowly leaked out as talking points through various individuals.
The scorched earth campaign has begun...
Well I have to say that you predicted this just yesterday.
That is not an ad that I would ever support running and I am extremely disappointed that this ad was ran.
It is a bad day for the Kelty campaign.
Mike Sylvester
Have they had a good one since the first week in May?
Jeff, I agree that this message is way over the top, and that if it came directly from Kelty's campaign, that would reflect poorly upon him as a candidate. However, I think you are unfairly assigning responsibility for this ad to Kelty's campaign. The AFA is an independent group, and it's very likely that they developed and aired this ad without input or endorsement from Kelty.
At the same time, it's not fair to let Kelty have it both ways. Because this ad makes such a strong statement, and because this group has implied that they are speaking for Kelty, Kelty must respond to this ad in some way.
Either he makes a statement that rebukes the ad, in whole or in part, or he must be seen as endorsing it.
If he chooses to endorse this ad, I think enough voters will see him as so out of touch with the issues that he should be campaigning on that he will have ensured his defeat.
This is a duplicate post from the LP blog:
What is unbelievable is that when the Democrat spin doctors go negative on cake and take it to national news NONE of YOU want to take responsibility for any of the negativity you have done yourselves.
BUT when someone steps up to defend Matt Kelty around issues important to that one part of his constituency who disagree with you, you can't wait to cry foul.
Will Mr. Henry tolerate THEIR perspective? Doubtful.
Get a grip. Go look at an issue or something.
Is any of this part of Mr. Kelty's platform? Has he SAID ANYWHERE that he is going to exclude anyone? Any of YOU EVER go and talk to him about this? Sheesh.
He talks about the issues. He talks about economic growth, he talks about changing government to make a more free market and level playing field. He stands on issues and vision, not on other people's "legacy" which has gotten us in this mess in the first place.
Tom Henry SAT on Council for ?20 years? and was VOTED OUT OF OFFICE for a good reason.
Phil,
You're right, maybe he had absolutely no knowledge of it.
You're also right when you suggest he should respond to the ad in some way.
We'll see what happens...
If all you do is defend yourself from what other people do, how do you get your message out?
Seriously?
Didn't Tom Henry himself say it was hard to deal with issues with all the stupid stuff going on right now?
After listening to the radio ad myself, I want to change my opinion. First, whatever your opinion of gay rights issues is, you must admit that this is an issue that many people do consider worthy of being included in discusssions of public policy. If Tom Henry does support the gay rights agenda, then it is fair to point that out, and it would be inaccurate to paint it as some unwarranted personal attack. The same goes for Henry's and Kelty's position on adult entertainment businesses.
Now I am not saying these are important issues to myself, but if they are important to someone else, then it is legitimate for them to point out where the candidates stand on these issues. Perhaps it was only my interpretation, but you seemed to be saying that AFA was demonizing Henry. After actually listening to their ad, I did not hear that.
What I did hear was this. First, AFA is far more concerned about the decisions that consenting adults make for themselves than am I or, I believe, most people in this community. Second, they give so little supporting evidence for their claims about Henry's political position on gay rights and adult entertsainment business, that it makes the entire claim worthless. Finally, they give absolutely no supporting evidence for their insinuation that the harmful effects that our sex crazed society is inflicting upon our children will be either aided by Henry or abetted by Kelty.
Basically, I find their ad to have so little substance that it is comical. For Henry to defend himself against such poorly supported claims would be beneath him. He should simply stand on his record. Kelty almost certainly would not denounce this group, but if he spoke in support of this ad, I believe it would only diminish his standing further. I think this ad should simply be ignored, and it would be a mistake for eithe rcandidate to comment on it.
Phil,
One of the largest contributors to the AFAIN PAC is John Popp- One of Matt Kelty's largest contributors. (The same guy that paid for the HUGE illegal sign in the primary election).
Kelty will do what he always does, claim he did not know anything about it.
However, he can request that they drop the commercial. Federal law prohibits such communication between PACs and Candidates, but that only applies to Federal elections (congress, Senate, etc.).
Let's see what Kelty will do.
Any bets?
It becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between the AFA and the John Birch Society or the KKK. They all claim to be Christian groups and they all preach hatred of various subsets of society. To deny the rights of any group of people is to view them as less than human. That's why they're called Human Rights. The AFA's determination to take up the mantle of judgment against others only exposes their true nature - the desire to cleanse the world of the "unfit". In this light they could rightfully be called the Al Qaeda of Christianity.
Why does everyone act so surprised? This has been the policy and tactics of the Republican Party for years!
Jeff, I addressed my comments to you because I thought that you had posted this story. Only later did I realize that it was John's story.
Thanks for not pointing out my obvious mistake.
Phil - Jeff DOES do most of the posting around here. It's easy to assume status quo when my fingers have fallen silent for some time. =)
Kevin,
You sound knowledgable on the legal aspects, so I'll assume you're right. But Kelty still could send a message to the voters without directing it to AFA. By publicly stating whether he agrees or disagrees witht his ad, he would effectivly be owning or disowning it.
Bets? The best strategy would be for Kelty not to talk about this ad at all. If he disowns it, he'll lose much of his core base. If he owns it, he'll lose much more than that. My bet though is that he'll either agree with it or claim he hasn't heard it.
Good post John, don't be so silent.
Hey, it just ocurred to me that a clever name for a blog of yours would be "The Good Post".
Jennifer,
I think the more important question is why aren't you bothered by this commercial?
If you'll read the post that I wrote on my blog, the AFA did not state facts!
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