Willie Horton Attack Ad, 1988 GHW Bush v. Michael Dukakis (D-MA)

[appalachiablue]

(CNN), there are attack ads, & then there are Willie Horton-type attack ads. It's a name given to political advertisements that blatantly stoke racial fears & stereotypes. They're a tried-&-true way to paint a political opponent as being soft on crime. And a lot of time they work. >President Trump is hoping that he gets similar results for a web video, produced for his campaign, that he tweeted out Wednesday. Many are already calling it the most racist national political ad to come out in 30 years -- since Willie Horton.

The "Willie Horton" campaign ad was produced by supporters of George H.W. Bush for his 1988 presidential campaign against Michael Dukakis. Horton, an African-American man, was a convicted murderer who raped a white woman & stabbed her partner while furloughed from prison under a Massachusetts program in place when Dukakis, the Democratic nominee, was governor.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton

The TV ad is now considered one of the most racially divisive in modern political history because it played into white fear & African-American stereotypes. In it, an off-screen narrator tells the story of Horton's crimes while pictures of Bush & Dukakis & a menacing mug shot of Horton flash across the screen. The narrator notes that Bush supports the death penalty for murderers. "Dukakis not only opposes the death penalty, he allowed first-degree murderers to have weekend passes from prison," the narrator says. The ad ends with this tag line: "Weekend prison passes, Dukakis on crime." *MORE, https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/01/politics/willie-horton-ad-1988-explainer-trnd/index.html

(VOX) Dec. 1. 'George H.W. Bush's “Willie Horton” ad defined dog-whistle politics. How “Willie Horton” went from shorthand for black depravity to shorthand for political racism.' George Bush Sr.’s “Willie Horton” ad remains the key reference point for dog-whistle politics. But the attack ad was more than just an attack on Democrats. It was widely condemned for playing on racial fears by featuring a black man’s mug shot & linking blackness with depravity. The ad was intended to drive scared white people to the polls to vote for tough-on-crime Bush, seeking protection from black criminals like Horton & black-friendly candidates like Dukakis.

It wasn’t just the Horton ad; Bush’s campaign followed that supporter-sponsored ad with one of its own. The “Revolving Door” spot showed inmates coming in & out of prison through a revolving door under Dukakis, claiming that 268 had escaped. It worked. Dukakis went on to lose the 1988 pres. election to Bush. As news of Bush Sr.’s death broke Saturday morning, “Willie Horton” began trending on Twitter, with some calling it “proto-Trumpism.” Revival of “Willie Horton” tactics. MORE, https://www.vox.com/2018/12/1/18121221/george-hw-bush-willie-horton-dog-whistle-politics

[geardaddy]

1. H.W.'s legacy

[ZeroSomeBrains]

2. Thank you

The whitewashing of his legacy needs to stop. He also did nothing on AIDS and his coverup of Iran Contra was dishonorable.

[appalachiablue]

3. For sure, of many injuries then, there are some that never heal.

https://www.thenation.com/article/george-hw-bush-world-aids-day-obit/

[geardaddy]

4. As well as jump starting the crack cocaine epidemic.

He escalated the War on Drugs to a new level.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bush-white-house-war-on-drugs_us_5c02c98be4b04fb211688aef

[FarPoint]

5. All the credit for this " Willie Horton ad"...

The credit belongs to Lee Atwater...the founding father of our current style of political misinformation.

President HW Bush was just the item to market....

[appalachiablue]

7. True, and Atwater's dog-whistle style campaigning lives on.

Last edited Mon Dec 3, 2018, 07:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Bush's campaign manager Lee Atwater said, "By the time we're finished, they're going to wonder whether Willie Horton is Dukakis' running mate."[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton

[tomhagen]

6. What a kind gentle guy....

[LakeArenal]

8. Great post.

[Honeycombe8]

9. Yeah, that was a deadly ad. And the one with Dukakis wearing that helmet. nt