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GOP nominee runs crying to Fox because his blatantly racist campaign is backfiring

Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie may have believed that he could emulate Donald Trump, run a racist campaign in a southern state, and simply waltz into the governor’s mansion. But his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, is making it very hard for the former lobbyist. And a new ad from the Latino Victory […]

By Oliver Willis - October 31, 2017
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Ed Gillespie
Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie

Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie may have believed that he could emulate Donald Trump, run a racist campaign in a southern state, and simply waltz into the governor’s mansion.

But his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, is making it very hard for the former lobbyist.

And a new ad from the Latino Victory Fund offers a glimpse of the nightmare scenario that Gillespie has been banging the drums for over the course of his campaign.

The ad shows black, Latino, and Muslim children confronting the fallout of Gillespie’s brand of bigotry, as they run through the streets of their neighborhood to escape a pick-up truck flying a Confederate flag.

At the end of the ad, the children all wake up in their beds, as the voiceover asks, “Is this what Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by the American dream?”

Ofirah Yheskel, a spokesperson for Northam, told the Washington Post the ads are reflecting the truth: “Independent groups are denouncing Ed Gillespie because he has run the most divisive, fear mongering campaign in modern history.”

“It is not shocking that communities of color are scared of what his Trump-like policy positions mean for them,” Yheskel added.

Gillespie has also been called out by activists, who have shown up at his campaign events to call out his bigotry and the harm his ideology and policies would do to communities of color.

The former Republican Party chairman has blatantly pandered to racists, offering up ads demonizing Latino immigrants and misleading voters on the policies supported by Northam. The Washington Post editorial board said Gillespie’s work was echoing Trump’s “brand of divisive, scaremongering politics” which they described as “a poisonous strategy for the nation and for Virginia.”

Gillespie was perhaps hoping to attract the attention of fellow race-baiter Donald Trump with an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Trump’s favorite program on the right-wing propaganda outlet Fox News. Co-host Steve Doocy lamented that the Virginia election had taken an “ugly turn” with the release of the Latino Victory Fund ad.

Gillespie played right along with Doocy’s tone, labeling the release of the ad as a “sad day for Virginia.” Amazingly, Gillespie said the ad is an attack on “civil discourse” and “a new low,” ignoring his campaign’s insistence that the votes of racists and hatemongers should be courted and not rejected.

His complaints echo those of Trump, who endorsed his campaign and its embrace of white supremacist messaging, loudly whining when their racism is directly opposed and challenged and called out for what it is.

And it is no coincidence that Gillespie went to Fox News to wring his hands, a network with a long history of promoting racism, bigotry, and right-wing lies.

The race in Virginia is close, with recent polling showing a slight edge to Northam, who will need a strong turnout to repudiate the toxic, racist politics that have been empowered by Gillespie, Fox, and Trump.

Gillespie loudly whining about being called out for his embrace of hate is a sign that rolling around in the sewer with Trump is not only morally bankrupt, but could soon be strongly repudiated as a political loser – if voters turn out.

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