Less than two weeks away from election day, Ed Gillespie’s racist campaign is earning condemnation — even in conservative circles. On Twitter, one former Gillespie colleague called him out for “covering himself in filth” and another Republican said, “the dog whistle is a little loud.” Conservative columnist George Will called one of Gillespie’s ads “dishonest” and wrote, “If Gillespie wins, Republicans elsewhere will conclude that the derangement of their party does not hinder its prospering.”
On Friday, Gillespie’s campaign sunk even further into the filth — winning the support of white nationalist website Breitbart, which published an article praising his campaign. Earlier this month, BuzzFeed reported that Breitbart has collaborated with white nationalists and neo-Nazi sympathizers.
American Bridge spokesperson Lizzy Price made the following statement:
“With less than two weeks left in the election, some of Gillespie’s former strong supporters have turned against him. As the bigoted and misleading ad campaign continues, Gillespie will have fewer and fewer friends come Election Day.”
Washington Post: Gillespie’s ads are poisonous to Virginia and the nation
Key Point: “Once known as a pragmatist and a centrist, Mr. Gillespie increasingly has been turning in his political advertising to President Trump’s brand of divisive, scaremongering politics. It’s a poisonous strategy for the nation and for Virginia.”
George Will: A Trumpian shadow hangs over the Virginia election
Key Point: Gillespie “is gingerly tiptoeing across the treacherous terrain of Trumpian Republican politics. This involves stoking the anger of those people who seem happiest when furious, but without infuriating everyone else. […] He did the former with dishonest MS-13 ads featuring tattooed dark-skinned men (“Kill, rape, control.”) and accusing Northam of refusing to crack down on “sanctuary cities,” of which Virginia has none.”
“If Gillespie wins, Republicans elsewhere will conclude that the derangement of their party does not hinder its prospering.”
Published: Oct 27, 2017