Cornerstone's "Willie Horton" Ad

by: William Tucker

Sun Oct 24, 2010 at 16:23:53 PM EDT

In 1998, Karl Rove’s mentor, Lee Atwater, masterminded an infamous political ad that played on racial fears and portrayed Gov. Michael Dukakis as soft on crime. The Willie Horton ad featured the menacing mug shot of Horton, an African-American convicted of assault, armed robbery, and rape while out on a prison furlough. The ad was roundly condemned as racist and Atwater eventually issued a deathbed apology to Dukakis.

Histoy repeats itself in a direct mail piece attacking Gov. John Lynch. The mailer from Cornerstone Action attacks Lynch for his support of SB 500, the prison parole reform bill Cornerstone describes as "John Lynch's sex offender release bill." The mailer features Lynch in a line-up with four sex offenders, including two African-Americans and a Latino.

Why hasn't John Stephen denounced this mailer? Where's the outrage?

Cross-posted to Miscellany Blue