Well, it’s that time of the year again.
If it’s mid-October, it’s negative campaign ad season.
Of course, the biggest contest this year is the battle for three open seats on the PA Supreme Court. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the videos pertain to that race.
As Dave Davies of WHYY reports, these spots are from the independent group Pennsylvanians for Judicial Reform. The organization created three separate ads to target each Republican.
Superior Court Judge Judy Olson is portrayed as “out of touch”.
It goes after her opposition to abortion, questions whether she would protect workers and asserts she is “financed by some of the most radical tea party groups in Pennsylvania.”
Commonwealth Court Anne Covey on the other hand is painted as incompetent and dishonest.
“Supreme Court candidate Anne Covey has a problem,” the narrator states before listing incidents in which she allegedly lied.
“Pennsylvania needs judges whose honesty is unquestioned,” the narrator states. “Not Anne Covey.”
The harshest ad, however, is saved for Adams County Court Judge Michael George.
Every cycle the most negative commercials are usually reserved for judicial and AG races. That’s because the official may have some case where they defended someone who did something horrific. Another frequently used example is a judge that granted furloughs to a prisoner who committed a crime on leave.
This phenomenon probably began with the infamous Willie Horton commercial from the 1988 presidential election.
The goal is not so much to criticize the candidate involved but to mention as many unsavory things as possible while their picture is displayed on the screen. The hope is that viewers implicitly blame the official for the heinous acts.
Judge George receives an especially harsh treatment from the ad, which finishes by asking if PA can afford putting him on the Supreme Court.
Judging by the tone of these videos, and the importance of gaining a majority on the Commonwealth’s highest court, expect more of these in the near future.
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8 Responses
A Pig? Really unreal. gulagPittsburgh your comments are offensive. Someone get the losers IP address and see if matches anyone on the porngate list. Also I’d be interested to know what SC canidate he’s being paid by. I’d bet 98 dollars he works for the campaign most afraid of Donahues candidacy. That’s what they’re good for.
i had hoped for something more concrete from my fellow commentators than castigating a judge as a ‘ liar , bigot and/or pig’. perhaps some facts, or evidence ?
So how much further is Gleason going to be allowed to drive the Republican Party into the ground? He’s lost every statewide row office, including allowing the Democrats to grab the Atty Gen’s office for the first time ever. On his watch, the 8-year cycle was also snapped for the first time in history. So we have Wolf and Kane and we are now the laughing stock of the entire country. Toomey is going fall next year for certain if Gleason is running the show.
The George ad has no merit, he sentenced someone to 3 above the minimum and a 30 year maximin. It was a life sentence for him. The second allegation stems from an instance where both the DA and the victim said to grant the furlough. That man’s prison sentence was for 6 months. For a man that has been on the bench for 14 years and these frivolous accusation are all they can come up with, that tells you something about the kind of judge he is.
Donohue is a liar, a bigot, and a pig. Her rulings are based on her bias
The George ad is convincing and will definitely hurt him. I also heard he recently made an unfavorable ruling against police, which is also spreading and will hurt him. Olson’s ad is weak and they appear to be just grasping. Covey should have never been to this stage to begin with, plus she has no chance. Should be interesting. My guess – Olson, Wecht, and Donahue — 3 safest picks on the board.
WECHT,DONOHUE,OLSON
When will Dougherty lose his PBA recommendation for having union PACs attacking the three Republicans (which was the reason why PBA wouldn’t give Covey a recommendation in the first place)?