Gabby Giffords’ Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) is in the news again.
They produced an rabidly anti-gun ad on behalf of Giffords’ former aide Ron Barber, who now serves as Congressman in Giffords’ district. The new ad getting plenty of airtime targets retired Air Force Col. Martha McSally, Barber’s Republican opponent, in Arizona’s 2nd district. Barber ran after Gabby was wounded in an assassination attempt.
First off, Barber must be panicked looking at internal polling data. Running an anti-gun ad in Arizona? In a district where Gabby Giffords campaigned as a strongly pro-gun candidate? Barber must have been vacationing in Colorado recently, or his staff is among those 10% of Americans who allegedly are coming to work high from smoking marijuana.
“War on Women”
The Arizona Republic describes the :30 second television ad as “vile”. In fact, their headline on the story reads “Vile ad bounces off McSally, sticks to Gabby Giffords“. In the story, the newspaper wrote: “The ad waves the bloody shirt. Takes the tragic killing of two innocents and drops it at McSally’s feet, as if she were responsible. A murder indictment implied.”
That’s a pretty damning indictment from a mainstream media outlet. It’s dangerously close to journalistic malpractice to attack a gun control proponent in such a manner. Next thing you know they’ll be reporting the sheer heresy that Barack Obama wasn’t born in America or that global warming is a farce.
Here’s Giffords’ ad.
Martha McSally has demanded the ad be pulled. She gave the Arizona Republic this statement:
“As someone who’s experienced being stalked, I know what it feels like to worry constantly about when and where your stalker will appear next and what he’ll do,” McSally said in a written statement. “I’ve had threats made against me and wasn’t even safe in my own home or my car where my stalker broke in and held me in a hostage-like situation. I’m not alone in having to defend myself against a stalker. Countless women go through the same suffering and intimidation, and for an outside group to tie me to the tragic occurrence of a stalker killing his victim, is not only personally offensive, it’s degrading to all women and victims who have experienced this pain.”
We and the Arizona Republic agree: this clumsy and “vile” effort to smear a female retired Air Force colonel isn’t the sort of publicity Giffords’ group is seeking. We would go even further and say it probably won’t help ARS win billionaire friends and more importantly, their checkbooks.
It doesn’t stop there though.
Giffords’ group isn’t backing off, as they seem to be subscribing to the axiom: Any media publicity is good publicity. (That certainly worked well for BP following their Deepwater Horizon accident, didn’t it?)
The Americans for Responsible Solutions’ executive director and Giffords’ pal Hayley Zachary grabbed the shovel and continued digging on Giffords’ behalf: “We’re confused about what the McSally campaign’s complaint about our ad is. Has her position changed?”
Really Hayley?
Hey “Vicki”: If you, your husband and your daughter were *so* concerned about this crazed ex-boyfriend of your daughter, why didn’t you arm yourselves and learn how to be safe?
Certainly each of us who is prudent recognizes that we alone have the greatest responsibility to our own safety, not a stranger.
As GunsSaveLife has written more than once: “Sam Colt **would** have made them equal”.
Sam