'Willie Horton' Ad Creator Takes on Obama

[Hissyspit]

Source: Los Angeles Times

'Willie Horton' ad creator takes on Obama
June 9, 2008

On a website he calls ExposeObama.com, Floyd G. Brown, the producer of the "Willie Horton" ad that helped defeat Michael Dukakis in 1988, is preparing an encore.

Brown is raising money for a series of ads that he says will show Barack Obama to be out of touch on an issue of fundamental concern to voters: violent crime. One spot already on the Internet attacks the presumptive Democratic nominee for opposing a bill while he was an Illinois legislator that would have extended the death penalty to gang-related murders.

"When the time came to get tough, Obama chose to be weak. . . . Can a man so weak in the war on gangs be trusted in the war on terror?" the video asks. Though crime has taken a back seat in the presidential race to the war in Iraq and the economy, some Republicans think that Obama is vulnerable on this issue and hope to inject it into the campaign. Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, have some sharply different views on crime, but the job of president has little to do with day-to-day law enforcement.

Brown and GOP strategists say such ads stimulate a debate on crime and punishment and may provide a window into the morality of a candidate.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/09/willie_horton_ad_creator_takes_on_obama

[gratuitous]

1. Bad news for my former classmate

People are a little more savvy than they were in 1988, and being the lazy journalist's friend isn't quite the free ride it used to be. But good luck with being a hateful liar Floyd; some of us still remember you from back in the day.

[RDANGELO]

3. We are going to find out.

There will be videos showing slums and scores of black people committing crimes and being arrested. This is where people like us can play a big part by getting out the word that this is racism and division.

[central scrutinizer]

28. Exactly - gang is the new Republican code word

First it was "states rights" in the 1950's
Then it was "law and order" after Detroit and Newark
Then it was "welfare queen"
Then it was "quota"
Just very thinly veiled racism

[NYC Liberal]

18. Not to mention the INTERNET.

Remember, back in 1988 the MSM was the only way most people got their news. Whatever they said, went.

Now we have the internet and this bullshit is debunked pretty much on the spot.

[roguevalley]

33. So this one note racist is out to make more money? Fuck him.

[Tuttle]

36. you went to school with Floyd? cool...

A friend of mine was in kindergarten with David Berkowitz and she still has a picture of the class.

Tut-tut

[ellacott]

2. This is the response from the Obama campaign

"Floyd Brown and the garbage he puts on TV represent everything the American people hate about politics, and we look forward to John McCain denouncing this shameful effort to boost his candidacy using Willie Horton ads. The truth is, Barack Obama supports the death penalty for certain heinous crimes, and he led the effort to reform the death penalty system to ensure that it's administered fairly and that convictions stand in court. Since most gang-related murders already qualified for the death penalty in Illinois, the legislation in the ad wasn't designed to be tough on crime, but to score political points, and it was vetoed by a Republican governor. If Floyd Brown and his right-wing allies want to talk about who keep us safer in the world, they can start by asking John McCain why he refuses to end a war in Iraq that has only strengthened the recruiting arm of al Qaeda."
http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/04/obama_campaign_responds_to_vic.html

[mcollier]

4. Total Non-Sense...

Stay above the fray. No Obama is in touch with the challenges facing Americans. Don't get it twisted!

[goclark]

23. I love the communication team for Obama

They know rapid response and clarity.

[HughBeaumont]

37. WHACK!

Swift and without mercy. Like it should be.

I'm looking forward to the beatdowns we're going to give the Repuke Slime Machine at every turn.

[Mad_Dem_X]

39. Bam!

Love the quick response from Obama's team. That's the way to do it; cut down those lies as soon as they come out!

[LeftHander]

5. Grand Old Punisher's....

The GOP has long legislated more state sponsored death and more imprisonment while avoiding the socio-economic issues that foster crime. They have successfully created the fastest growing industry in America...Prisons. These corporate for profit prisons need inmates to flesh out the bottom-line. The result is a higher percentage of Americans behinds bars the ever in history.

This ad campaign will fall flat with all but the hardest of core arm-chair "hangin' judges".

[ryanmuegge]

6. Violent crime is so 1996. This is particularly true in a world of $150/barrel oil.

[Jim__]

7. such ads ... may provide a window into the morality of a candidate.

Right. How could any moral person be against the expanded use of the death penalty? :crazy:

[Frances]

9. Morality?

Which candidate dumped his faithful wife after she was in an auto accident so he could marry a much younger, much richer woman?

John McCain and Newt Gingrich: two birds of a feather.

[LTR]

8. This ad is less effective, since the death penalty is more divisive

Personally, I don't see the point in the death penalty in most cases. That's the easy way out.

Want them to suffer? Lock 'em in a box and throw away the key. The death penalty is an easy way out.

This ad will go nowhere if rebutted correctly.

And I see Floyd is at it again, particularly since many gang members tend to be ethnic or racial minorities.

[pnorman]

10. Those sleazy tactics are being REJECTED by the American public.

They're growing weary of being led by the nose, to vote against their own best interests. AND we now have a candidate who will stand up to that shit, and FIGHT BACK!

pnorman
On edit: I made this posting without reading posting #2. Here's an excerpt from it: (From Obama's HQ) "Floyd Brown and the garbage he puts on TV represent everything the American people hate about politics, and we look forward to John McCain denouncing this shameful effort to boost his candidacy using Willie Horton ads....."

[madmusic]

11. Where's the dirt on Floyd Brown?

Anyone want to help dig it up?

[momrois]

22. Here's a start

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/04/25/floyd_brown/

[LynnTheDem]

12. The death penalty isn't "tough". It's barbaric.

But America prefers to remain in company with the likes of Saudi Arabia, China...

[XemaSab]

20. Iran, Pakistan...

:P

[Tempest]

13. Crime doesn't even register on voter's minds

It doesn't show up in any poll.

http://pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm

[CatholicEdHead]

14. Neither did illegal immigration in the 06 cycle early on

There is lots of time to push this "issue".

[Tempest]

19. Umm... Yes it did

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1295.xml?ReleaseID=882
www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_researchd74c
http://pollingreport.com/immigration.htm

[Zodiak]

32. Neither does taxes

And I see the pukes are trying to raise the "tax issue" again as if people care about that when they cannot afford gas or food.

If the pukes run on the fact that their opponents are soft on crime and are "tax & spend" liberals, they will find that the American people have changed. Their tax crusades and their tough on crime crusades have destroyed this country, and Americans will not forget that in the voting booth.

[madmusic]

15. Brown is described as an "ultra-conservative"

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Floyd_G._Brown

But Brown may have found the crack in the liberal foundation. There may be enough liberal neocons when it comes to crime to tip the election.

[slackmaster]

16. I've got a front row seat

:popcorn:

[sinkingfeeling]

17. How many voters today say 'crime' is the most important issue in America? Hell, probably a large

majority are considering turning to crime to fill the gas tank!

[stillcool]

35. the only crime I'm concerned with..

is the crimes going on day in, day out in the government.

[xxqqqzme]

21. '...Brown and GOP strategists

say such ads stimulate a debate on crime and punishment and may provide a window into the morality of a candidate.....'

brown & his ilk want no debate, just the excuse.

I think it is a better window on the morality of the maker.

[TheProphet5]

24. BRING IT ON!

[dflprincess]

25. Is the Illinois where Obama opposed extending the death penalty

the same Illinois where the REPUBLICAN governor stopped executions because of concerns about how many innocent people might be on death row?

[Naipes]

26. Here We Go...

It's just beginning folks... This is going to get really ugly.

I can see it now, there will pictures of Obama playing cards with Bin Laden... video tapes of Obama at "secret muslim prayer meetings..." etc. etc. Nothing you see in the next few months should surprise anyone.

[babylonsister]

27. I'm glad Obama's team is gearing up to take these asshats on...

they know this was going to happen, and they're preparing for the fight.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=144347&mesg_id=144347

[classysassy]

29. Hello Mr Brown

I hope you sleep well at night.

[galledgoblin]

30. McCain's campaign recognizes they need to pull out all the stops

to even make a dent in Obama's momentum.

no tactic is too dirty!
nothing and no one is off limits!
no ethical boundaries cannot be crossed!
and nothing will help them in the end.

[Triana]

31. I sent this to the campaign via the 'contact us' thingy...

...don't know that it makes any difference or not, if anyone has time to read all the email they must get, or if they already knew about this (likely) - but I sent it anyway.

[Maine-ah]

34. I'm betting bucks that Obama's team is already all over it.

[noonwitch]

38. Floyd Brown is going to hell for besmirching the name of my favorite baseball player

Willie Horton was a great Detroit Tiger, he continues to be a good guy, and he was always my favorite.

I don't like it that a big deal was made over a scumbag who happened to have the same name.

[mitchum]

40. I think Floyd's armband is just a little too tight...

it seems to be cutting off the blood flow to his brain
What a scumbag

[suffragette]

41. Well, crime has taken a back seat

Otherwise, we'd clearly see the worst perpetrators of crime in this country, particularly, Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, etc, being tried at the Hague.

As to Brown now chiming in. It's becoming pretty clear that they will be using every major operative they have to push the smears and slime. We just have to keep pushing back every time.