Exclusive: Republicans Launch Willie Horton-Style Attack on Kaine

[DonViejo]

Source: Roll Call

RNC releases video ahead of Tuesday's vice presidential debate

Posted Oct 3, 2016 10:25 AM
Niels Lesniewski
@Niels Lesniewski

The day before Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine takes the debate stage in his home state, Republicans are attacking his record on the death penalty.

In a new web ad that recalls the Willie Horton attack on 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, the Republican National Committee is highlighting two of Kaine's clients when he was a defense attorney.

Richard Lee Whitley was convicted of murdering a 63 year-old neighbor in Fairfax County, while Lem Tuggle was found guilty of raping, sodomizing and murdering a 52-year old woman from Smyth County.

While numerous executions took place on Kaine's watch as Virginia governor, he had come up as a defense attorney working to keep people convicted of capital offenses from facing the death penalty.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/exlusive-republicans-launch-willie-horton-attack-time-kaine

[C_U_L8R]

1. Just more spitballs from Trump

No one is so stupid to believe a defense attorney is the same
as the person they represent.... except Trump supporters.

[DorothyG]

16. Ugh. I don't imagine anyone wants courts where the prosecution goes unchallenged.

His job was to FORCE the state to prove it's case. How is that not a good thing?

[DorothyG]

17. Sorry, I'm still learning my way around here.

I meant to post to the original article.

[JackRiddler]

23. This is not Trump.

It is a Republican PAC engaging in standard Republican politics. That is important to remember.

[Gothmog]

2. That is a truly disgusting commercial

[underpants]

3. Attacking his faith?

Good luck with that

[LenaBaby61]

4. I hope Kaine & Co. run some ads about Pence. There's a LOT...

Of there there.

Anti-abortion.
Horrible Governor signing horrible legislation.
He's Anti-woman.
Anti-minority.
Anti-LGBT.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Denies climate change, denies evolution, denies tobacco causes lung cancer, denies condoms . . . .nt

[George II]

10. And he believes, or believed, in "conversion therapy" to turn gays straight.

[elmac]

5. Repubs are the party of dirty tricks

and we will see a lot more before this election is over. We just need to go after them with the same fervor, which is easy with such a two faced fascist organization.

[s-cubed]

7. A zGoogle search shows support for death penalty continues to decline. nt

[George II]

8. This is nowhere CLOSE to the Willie Horton situation. That was a case where....

....Horton was let out of jail and then murdered again.

Unless I missed it, in neither of these two cases was the person let out of jail, they just weren't executed.

So, is the RNC calling for blood now?

[DonViejo]

9. RNC official boasts of launching ‘Willie Horton-style’ attack ad — and the internet tears him apart

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/10/rnc-official-boasts-of-launching-willie-horton-style-attack-ad-and-the-internet-tears-him-apart/

[mountain grammy]

11. He was a DEFENSE attorney

you fucking morons.. Geez, I can't wait until this election is over. We really need to fix our education system.

[displacedtexan]

12. The most popular class in the HS I taught in was "You & The Law"

It was a one-semester elective in the Social Studies Dept., and every kid in school tried to fit it into his/her class schedule before graduation. The man who developed and taught it was brilliant, and even teachers would sit in during planning periods.
Classes like this one should be required, not just the dry, boring Government class most schools offer.

[mountain grammy]

15. Yes, exacty!

[csziggy]

13. Yes, Kaine was doing his JOB - but the Republicans could never understand that concept

His job was to do the best he could for his clients - which meant to prevent them from being murdered by the government. The "right to life" GOP is incapable of understanding this.

On the other hand as governor, Kaine DID allow many death penalties to go through. The one they bring up should never have been allowed to be sentenced to death since he was unable to understand what it meant.

I hope Pence tries to slime Kaine at the debate - I bet Tim Kaine's Jesuit training will let him shame Pence with being bloodthirsty and turn the slime back in Pence's face.

[mountain grammy]

14. I hope so too. Pence deserves it.

[scarletwoman]

22. The repugs really hate the Constitution. They're all for flag-waving and chanting "USA!", but

the fact is, they hold the Enlightenment principles of our founding documents in utter contempt, and would gladly do away with them -- as soon as enough of the country has been dumbed down enough to not resist.

[still_one]

18. let's talk about pence refusing to pardon a proven innocent man,

[Proud Liberal Dem]

19. Wasn't this sort of attack tried on Clinton

and failed?

Are they really suggesting that people should be denied legal representation when they need/want it (or that criminal defense attorneys should blanket refuse to represent people if their crimes are really bad)?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

20. When all else fails, ReThugs do what they do best: Exploit racism! Fuckers!

[Thinkingabout]

21. I would hope Kaine did a very fine job as defense attorney, I hope there continues to be defense

Attorneys, without representation in courts this would be a sad nation.