"Stalin would be proud.."
I've never seen this before.
Can you say awkward?Those on social media were left cringing Friday after an ad released by the Democratic opponent to Republican Congressman Paul Gosar. It showed a batch of voters detailing why Gosar is bad for Arizona.
It wasn't until the end of the one-minute spot, that all six revealed they were Gosar's siblings -- and were supporting his opponent, David Brill.
Gosar, naturally, was not pleased. He sent out several tweets trying to rebuff their criticism, calling them "liberal Democrats who hate President Trump."
"These disgruntled Hillary [sic] suppporters are related by blood to me but like leftists everywhere, they put political ideology before family," he wrote Saturday afternoon. "Stalin would be proud.."
This is either the most devastating political ad of 2018, or just a notable milestone.
He continued in another tweet, explaining "You can’t pick your family."
"We all have crazy aunts and relatives etc and my family is no different," he wrote. "I hope they find peace in their hearts and let go all the hate. To the six angry Democrat Gosars—see you at Mom and Dad’s house!"
Many wondered how family gatherings would go after this."Thanksgiving should be interesting," one person posted on Twitter.
To be a fly on the wall of this house.
Comments
I too
am happy to put political ideology before family.
Blood is not thicker than truth.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Sorry...
Comment incorrectly placed.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Choose your friends.
You are stuck with your family.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
So anyone to the left of Hillary
Is a Stalinist with extra borscht?
Weird world.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
During the Stalin era, Russians were encouraged to
rat out relatives, or so I have been told. So, he may have meant that.
But, yes, he called his family members "liberal Democrats." AFAIK, Democrats haven't been Sixties-type liberals since Clinton was re-erected, er, re-elected. (Some typos are too much fun to correct.)
I hope they livestream
I hope they livestream Thanksgiving!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
I'd totally pay for it
This would be a reality TV classic.
Ha!
he thinks he's invited to Thanksgiving dinner. What a maroon. However, the pay per view thing has possibilities.
Heh!
I saw that a few days ago and thought that was going to leave a bruise. Yep. Holidays should be fun.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Gozar?
Wasn't that the evil entity in the first Ghostbusters movie?
dfarrah
"This chick is toast"
Ghostbusters vs. Gozer
[video:https://youtu.be/XfdiXBA7f6U]
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
Perhaps Gosar should listen to Grover Furr.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3vecJDKTBg]
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
How deeply unfortunate
That these siblings allowed their differences to be used as political fodder at the expense of their humanity.
I have spent a good number of years repairing a damaged relationship with my Sister, putting aside our differences, for the reward of being able to share our past now that both our parents are dead in a way you can not do with any other living being except your siblings.
As I get older, a meaningful relationship with my Sister becomes more important, not less.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
My favorite relative, outside nuclear family, is
a Republican. I would not lose his love for anything in the world. However, the Gozars demonstrate how well both duopoly parties have done with "divide and conquer."
I think this ad is misguided in that Gozar comes off as deserving sympathy and his opponent comes off as exploiting something very sad.
That is a danger
That it comes off as exploiting something very sad.
OTOH, what does it say about Paul Gozar that all of his siblings have turned on him?
Have you seen his policies? He's awful.
The relentless atom bomb demonization that has been
Shrieking from cable news about anything Trump related for the last 24 months, may have had just as much to do with their decision to let a team of venal political media consultants exploit their compromised critical thinking skills, as did their opposition to their brother's awful policies.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I, too, find Republican policies unacceptable. However, in my
view, that goes without saying on a board like this. (I have yet to see any defense of Republican views on this board.)
However, although I haven't checked Brill, I don't know if his views in practice, would be much better. Of course, for someone who finds Republican policies unacceptable, as you and I do, it seems all the more unfortunate that the Democrat's ad makes the Democrat seem more ruthless and exploitative, and therefore less sympathetic, than the Republican.
ETA: Given the complexity of my relationship with my only sibling, if I were on the fence, the views of siblings might not persuade me.
Republiklan policies
They have occurred, but are rare. User Free Society occasionally attempts it.
The rest of us recognize it as the "Impossible Mission" that it is.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Thank you. I don't recall seeing that poster's name before, but
I almost intentionally ignore posters names. I have sometimes found that, if I don't post the obvious, people assume either that either my head or my heart is in the wrong place, at least for the venue. And don't even get me started about Poe's (alleged) Law.
Poe's (alleged) Law
So is it true, as tales be told
We cannot tell Snark from Earnest now?
Will it ever return to as it was for these in days of yore?
Quoth the Nathan (Poe):
"Nevermore!"
[ducking]
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Clever!
Nothing seems off limits to defile for political purposes
As a result, it becomes increasingly wearisome having to remove the excrement politicos leave behind off my screen each and every time I venture into another election year.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
The Dems will resort to anything this cycle...
NOT to talk policy.
And when policy becomes verboten, the only way for a trailing candidate to attack an opponent is through character assassination, which often ends up harming the attacker more than the attacked.
2016 redux.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Brill may well have used Gozar's siblings for
plausible denialability to claim that he (Brill) had not gone negative against Gozar, only his siblings had. (Although people descry negative campaigning, it seems to work. Or so we're told.)
Although that may not be plausible deniability to all of us, that thought may have figured into the thinking of the ad's creators and the guy who decided to run the ad (meaning Brill).
Tough to claim deniability...
when you personally appear at the end of the ad stating you approve the message.
Don't know anything about him, but from a quick Googling, Brill seems like decent candidate on the issues.
Yet the only thing people will remember from Brill's Quixotic campaign (AZ-4 is +26% in registered Republicans) is how he got all of Gozar's liberal family members to gang up on him.
Just another example of how the Dems' idiotic election strategy of personal attacking opponents continues to turn even hard core Trumper creeps into sympathetic figures.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Pardon my cynicism, but quite a few Democrats
appear to be OK candidates while running, but voting is another story.
On this go round, I think Democrats in general are pinning their hopes on opposition to Trump.
That's kinda my point...
Progressive policies are popular with voters, so when a candidate decides to forgo a positive, issue oriented campaign in favor of negative personal attacks, you know somebody would rather lose than have those issues promoted.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Thank you. It was also kinda my point when I
bolded and italicized "in practice" seven or eight posts ago. I repeated it because this statement in your earlier post made me think you might have missed it: "Don't know anything about him, but from a quick Googling, Brill seems like decent candidate on the issues." Good to know you didn't miss it.
I found
an unusual amount of policy discussion in the add. He's a climate denier. He opposes universal health care and would cut the care we have further. He has no interest in developing a water policy in a state where it is vital. He supports the deportation of people who have no memory of living anywhere else.
Now, his 6 siblings may be lying or exaggerating, but you can't provide evidence to support those assertions in the length of any political advertisement.
His response? They hate Trump who is actually doing the things they accuse him of. Maybe they have children.
Silence is often viewed as consent.