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Ken Blackwell really has to be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
If the campaign literature I picked up recently in a largely black neighborhood is any indication, he's given up really trying to say anything of value that distinguishes him, and is trying to get blacks to vote for him merely on the basis of race.
First, an outsided postcard with a picture of a black girl on one side. Yes, that's right: not a picture of him, a picture of a black girl. The message on the side with the girl's picture says:
Did You Know?
Black People died so Black People could VOTE! Ken Blackwell is against racial profiling! Ken Blackwell supports contracts for minorities & women! Ken Blackwell is a Christian Ken Blackwell supports Historical Black Colleges and Universities Ken Blackwell grew up in the projects Ken Blackwell is a member of the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity Ken Blackwell received the Martin Luther King Jr. Dreamkeeper Award
Voteless People...are Hopeless People
I gather the whole point of that side of the card was to a) get out the black vote; b) play off black stereotypes ("he grew up in the projects"); and c) try to convince people that Ken Blackwell is against things Ted Strickland is for and vice versa. But of course they never mention small details like the fact that Strickland is a Christian too (assuming you even care).
The other side of the card is Strickland slams, all either of questionable truth ("has NOT hired Blacks to work in his office in 12 years!") or vague slams designed to play to the "God squad" ("voted against Faith-Based Organizations," "has a record of voting to run GOD and FAITH out of the public sector," "voted against the right to PRAY in school and in public places").
Then there's a flyer that actually has a picture of Blackwell on one side and, on the other side, a vague list of things he supposedly cares about, his supposed record and what he will supposedly work for. It is all so vague and mushy that it can't help but sound good ("Job Creation," "Improving Ohio's Economy," "Healthcare," "Strengthening Families," "Safety and Security," "Limiting Taxes," "Improving Education Opportunities," "Neighborhood Development." Oh and yeah, he stands for "Faith and Values in the Public Square." Just a wee bit of a hint of his true theocratic nature in this one.
Don't you just love it when a politician promises he's going to help make this and that and the other great thing happen, and then at the same time he's going to limit taxes? Yeah right. And there is, of course, nothing on there about his expertise at stealing elections.
I am white. But I like to think that if I were black, this would not make me vote for Blackwell any more than I intend to anyway. I mean, I'm not voting for Strickland because he's white, either. I would hope that no one would be fooled by this kind of literature into thinking Blackwell was some sort of champion of African American causes.
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