Hatemongering is Hard Work

Via the inimitable Talk To Me Congress, Square State, and other associated white-hats, a repugnant piece of campaign literature gets exposed for the gutless, heartless homophobe-baiting slime that it is. Republican state house representative Kevin Lundberg put out a piece of mail that claimed:

…The truth is, homosexuals die young. The statistics show that their activities are about as dangerous as taking drugs. Their “lifestyle” far too often includes activities that I don’t even dare to describe or list. The top six U.S. male serial killers were all gay. Homosexual men have an average of 68 partners per year (a little less for women), they prefer to live alone, and of the 2-3% of homosexuals that do choose marriage (where legal) most relationships are not monogamous and end in divorce. …

That’s the spirit, that’s the American way. When you have no facts, just make up the worst kind of filth you can come up with. Works like a charm. The links above lead to some proper debunking of this paranoid poison.

Meanwhile, his site (which doesn’t include any mention of his party affiliation on its front page), spews this kind of two-faced propaganda:

I believe individual people, not governments, make the wisest choices on how to distribute their wealth; private businesses, not government agencies, create the best kind of jobs; freedom is the true measure of the American dream; and fewer laws which are vigorously enforced, not volumes of new laws, more accurately reflect the values for which our forefathers fought and died.

My vote is for your ability to determine your own destiny.

Unless you’re a fag. In which case, we own you.

With the fundamentalist candidates probably in a panic over what appear to be almost universally bad polls for their party, this kind of scathing vituperation is going to flood the mailboxes of the susceptible in the electorate, telling them to hate and fear things and people that have nothing to do with the real problems that threaten them. All in a crispy red, white, and blue coating.

Every time this kind of reprehensible campaign tactic surfaces, it should be waved high as a sign, a black flag saying, “Here is a candidate who hates people; he will sell out his own constituents and lie to his own constituents to win; he’s a cheater and the worst kind of bully.”

People should ask Lundberg and others like him, if he hates gay people, who else does he hate? Single parents? People who drink? People who sleep around? Negroes? Who else is on his list, because it would be nice to know before sending him back to the capitol. Are you poor? Do you need medical benefits? Because if you’re not in Lundberg’s family, in Lundberg’s country club, or in Lundberg’s campaign rolodex, you don’t matter one bit to him. What about your kid? Do you think a guy like this *really* cares about your kid, if your kid isn’t just like his kid?

In addition to being morally loathesome and openly deceitful, this kind of campaigning is cowardly and an insult to the people you’re asking to vote for you. If the voters saw *that* for what it is — even if they do have prejudices that can be played upon — I can’t imagine they’d like it very much.

Lundberg, in showing his hand, is just like all these Rove-era conservatives. They are parasites that feed on power and excrete lies. They can’t hide behind the American flag forever because the way they want to tear people apart is, quite simply, unamerican.

Argh. I feel a letter to the editor coming on. How about you?

UPDATE (via AmericaBlog): Don’t forget the Mexicans. They’re all terrorists. The National Republican Senate Committee (note the word national there) should be reminded of this racist message every time they talk about “inclusiveness.”

Explore posts in the same categories: Color Commentary, Kabuki, Misdirection