It's campaign season, so I expect to see all sorts of sordid, exaggerated, and nasty political ads on TV. But then I saw D.C. House of Representatives candidate Missy Smith's baby ad. This was not the typical politician kissing a baby ad or even the hazy "Candidate X will ruin our children's future, so vote for Candidate Y" ad, but an intensely graphic ad with images of mutilated, dead babies. The voiceover for this ad is Missy Smith talking about her anger and regret over having been "exploited" into having two abortions and her mission to "end legalized child killing."
Although she is running as a Republican and Tea Party member against incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Republican party does not endorse her. Why? Most probably because she isn't a true political candidate but an anti-choice zealot who is abusing the political process to gain air time for her extremist views. Her ads (I've only seen one, but there is another) are so brutally graphic that You Tube rejected them. I'm not going to post them, but if you want to see them, you can go to her website. How did this whack job manage to get her disgusting pictures on television, during daytime and primetime viewing no less? By exploiting a law for her own crusade. Local television stations are required by law to air political campaign ads during a small window of time during election season. By calling her fanatical invectives political ads, Missy Smith was able to get them on TV.
Now whether you support a woman's fundamental right to decide what happens to her own body or you support religious zealots and paternalistic legislators making a woman's choice for her (you can guess which side of this issue I'm on), Missy Smith's approach is out of line. Although she claims to have opinions on other issues and briefly mentions them on her website, she makes it clear that "the number one duty of true patriots is to end the legalized slaughter of unborn babies." All of her campaign contributions go toward airing her anti-abortion ads. She is clearly using a loophole in campaign law to publicize her message in a manner that, in any other situation would be unacceptable.
Her ads are not only graphic but misleading. The images in the ad I saw showed fully developed babies that had been mutilated in some manner. Missy Smith says, "When people see the truth - these images of healthy and dead unborn children - they cannot escape the reality that abortion is murder." Well, these images are NOT the truth. Most abortions are performed during the first trimester, when the fetus is nowhere near fully developed. I'm not even sure the images in her ad are from abortions at any stage, as I couldn't find their source. I won't even begin to address her claim that the "abortion industry" is in cahoots with the "body parts industry" and is selling body parts of aborted babies for huge profits. I'll leave that task to her psychiatrist.
I'm sure Missy Smith won't win the Congressional seat in the D.C. race. I'm pretty sure that she doesn't expect to either. She's just using her pseudo-candidacy to take advantage of the opportunity to broadcast her reprehensible rhetoric to those unfortunate enough to be tuned in to their local TV station when her ads air. Too bad real life doesn't have a mute button.
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| cartoon by Stephanie McMillan, 2006 |
Must call my best friend in AK.
ReplyDeleteThink I sold her a bum steer, :0)
Your an ignorant moron. I hope you enjoy your little bubble of bliss that you call life, because your completely missing out on reality. This is abortion. It's not some clean, sterile procedure that you think it is, and you'd know that if you actually did some research. I hope you know that if an abortion fails in many pro-choice hospitals, they will induce labor, and leave the baby in a closet or sectioned off room of the hospital, to die of starvation or dehydration. Get out and get informed, quit being an ignorant retard running around screaming conspiracy theory, and find out for yourself.
ReplyDeleteBy the way: I can't believe a woman of forty years old would use the word "cunt". I heard that word thrown around in middle school, and maybe the early years of high-school. If your 40 using that word, I can only imagine how your kids turned out.
I won't be back to your blog, so don't bother writing a winded response. Just know your completely wrong.
To Anon,
ReplyDeleteIf you're against abortion then support sex ed, contraception ed, or adopt an unwanted child or 2, but keep your laws off my body. The anti-abortion folks are entitled to their opinions, but Missy Smith is using backhanded tactics and misleading messages to advance her agenda.
By the way, I find it ironic that someone who calls me "an ignorant moron" and a "retard" can't distinguish between "your" and "you're." And my daughter is most awesome, thank you very much.
I was driving down a busy street in my city one day when I saw a group of pro-lifers standing on both sides of the street with life-sized posters of mutilated babies. I nearly ran into the car in front of me. It was horrible and if I never see that shit again, it'll be too soon.
ReplyDelete@Anon- opinions are like assholes; everybody's got one. And you ARE one, you fucking coward. Nobody wants to hear your dumb ass opinion because you don't even have enough sense to realize that an argument has two sides. Crawl back to your polygamous ranch, kiss your husband, sister wives and 17 kids goodbye and fucking die already.
Typical right wing nut. Cunt. Worry more about some fetus versus millions of struggling Americans. I'd rather have abortion versus my tax dollars continuing to pay for unwanted pregnancy and welfare.
ReplyDeleteLike many unfortunate viewers in the DC area, I saw this atrocious ad last week while watching Operah. I'd never even heard of Missy Smith before then, but she has got to be the worst candidate I've ever seen in my life.
ReplyDeleteWhat ticks me off even further is that such an air time loophole actually exists. I'm all for free speech, but if the viewing public and the FCC are going to make a BFD over a singer's exposed tit during Superbowl halftime, than I firmly believe graphic depictions of dead babies should not be aired....especially during late afternoon hours when children are likely to be home in front of the TV (regardless of whether or not a disclaimer is posted).
@the first anonymous poster: "This is abortion. It's not some clean, sterile procedure that you think it is, and you'd know that if you actually did some research."
Where the hell are you getting this crap? Seriously, if your going to make such a claim, than at least cite the sources you've allegedly uncovered from your so-called "research."
Because I'm certain your claims of aborted fetuses "in a closet or sectioned off room of the hospital, to die of starvation or dehydration" are nothing but bogus BS made by some right wing-nut person or group who - like you - are basing their claims on conspiracy theories and hearsay....and NOT empirically supported hard evidence.
Did you ever notice that most people who are against abortion are people you wouldn't want to fuck anyway?
ReplyDeleteelffire78: You make a great point about the FCC's hypocrisy; dead babies are OK but tits are pornographic. No wonder our society is so messed up when it comes to sex and violence!
ReplyDeleteGeorge Carlin: Nice observation! And so true!
Missy Smith rocks.
ReplyDeleteAny mom who allows two of her own children to be killed by the "procedure" probably knows what she's talking about.
She probably has experienced a lot of pain over it, and she might end up saving a bunch of young women from the same (deadly) mistake.
Wake up America, abortion is killing our own kids. Let's repent, find God's mercy, and fight like hell to eliminate legalized murder of the most vulnerable.
-I'm a happy volunteer for Missy's campaign. :)