Posted on 06/06/2014 3:43:44 AM PDT by iowamark
It appears that the barnyard theme in the U.S. Senate race will continue into the general election. Braley found himself in hot water on Wednesday after releasing an ad that referred to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst as a “chick.” It actually got worse for Braley on Thursday when Democrat State Senator Steve Sodders said that the common practice of castrating hogs is equated to “mutilating animals” at a Braley press conference.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey quickly released a statement on the issue.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today issued the following statement after Bruce Braley’s campaign attacked Joni Ernst and referred to hog castration as “mutilating animals.” The Des Moines Register reports, “Braley surrogate calls hog castration ‘mutilating animals’”:
“Bruce Braley and his campaign continue to show that he is out of touch and doesn’t understand, respect or appreciate hard working Iowa farmers. First he insults Sen. Grassley in front of a group of Texas trial lawyers, now he is attacking farmers for a procedure that is a necessary and humane. Livestock farmers work hard, put in long hours and take great pride in caring for their animals. To say these farmers are mutilating their animals is an insult.”
Below is the reaction to Braley referring to Ernst as a “chick” in his latest ad.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT BRUCE BRALEY’S SEXIST ATTACKS
DES MOINES REGISTER: “Democrat Bruce Braley has created a stir for comparing his GOP rival to a chick. Braley, a U.S. Senate candidate, released a negative ad on Wednesday, the day after Republican Joni Ernst won the five-way race for her party’s nomination. In the 30-second TV ad, called “Peep,” Braley shows footage of a chick and criticizes Ernst.” (Jennifer Jacobs, Chick Slam Draws Criticism, The Des Moines Register, 06/05/14)
RADIO IOWA: “University of Iowa political science professor Tim Hagle sent a tweet when he first saw the ad. ‘I think the voice over says Joni Ernst didn’t say a peep and then they show the chick and my first thought because I’m at this point kind of attuned to these sorts of things was, ‘Whoa, referring to a female opponent as a chick could be a problem,’’ Hagle says. ‘And certainly if it was a Republican doing this to a Democratic opponent it would be.’” (O. Kay Henderson, Braley Criticized For “Chick” Imagery In Ad Against Ernst, Radio Iowa, 06/05/14)
TIME: “There’s a danger in calling a woman a ‘chick’ in politics. Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa Democrat vying to fill retiring Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat, found that out the hard way on Wednesday. Braley came out swinging within hours of State Sen. Joni Ernst’s GOP surprisingly decisive primary victory to be his opponent. Braley released a 30-second television ad called “Peep,” in which footage of a baby chicken is shown. (Jay Newton-Small, Iowa Democratic Senate Candidate Accused of Sexist “Chick” Ad, Time, 06/05/14)
USA TODAY: “Bruce Braley has shown time and time again just how tone deaf, elitist and offensive he is,” said Brook Hougesen, press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.” (Catalina Camia, Bruce Braley’s ‘chick’ ad criticized as sexist, USA Today, 06/05/14)
BUSINESS INSIDER: “The campaign of Bruce Braley, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Iowa, released a new ad Wednesday comparing Republican nominee Joni Ernst to a baby chick. Republicans responded to the commercial by pouncing on it as a not-so-subtle indication of sexism. … ‘We’ve all heard the one about pigs squealing, but when Joni Ernst had the chance to something in Iowa, we didn’t hear a peep,’ a narrator says in Braley’s ad, cutting to a photo of a baby chick.” (Brett Logiurato, Male Democratic Senate Candidate Compares Female Opponent To A ‘Chick’, Business Insider, 06/05/14)
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: “A chick might be seen as a subtle sexist dig and if you’re still rolling your eyes, think about all the ‘subtle’ sexism the Left finds in every anti-Hillary Clinton argument, or the “subtle” racism supposedly found in every anti-President Obama argument. Now consider the source of this ad: Braley. This is the same candidate accused of insulting farmers back in April, the same candidate running in an agricultural state who misspelled common farm terms and the same candidate who used a photo of an English farm on his website.” (Ashe Schow, Male Democratic Senate Candidate Uses A ‘Chick’ In Ad Against Female Opponent, The Washington Examiner, 06/05/14)
@ProfHagle: Imagine if a GOP candidate had used a “chick” in an ad against a female opponent. MT @TeamBraley: … http://youtu.be/b3lwSSTEvNU #IAsen
@TIMEPolitics: Bruce Braley misses with sexist ad likening Joni Ernst to a chick | http://ti.me/1mXJEl9 (via @JNSmall)
To paraphrase ol’ Ma Richards of Texas fame..
“Poor democrats, they can’t hep it”
So the ad was released within hours of her victory? I wonder what the other 4 ads were, perhaps equally as tone deaf? Because he had to have these ads made ahead of time as a contingency.
I despise feminist outrage.
She wasn’t called a chick. The theme was that not a ‘peep’ was heard from Ernst about cutting pork from the state budget, carrying over her own livestock theme.
It was a clever add, probably TOO clever. And blatantly hypocritical coming from a Democrat free-spender.
I watched the ad, a “chick”, baby chicken, was used to show that Joni Ernst didn’t say a “peep”. Get it, chick ... peep ... this has them rolling in the aisles. Second, what made the ad even more phony, is that you had a democrat complaining that Joni Ernst didn’t vote for spending cut or to reduce the size of government. Why would a Democrat complain about that? Democrats support bigger government in every way on every day.
Hold the Democrats to their own standards.
Nope, don’t go down the outrage road. Use their “weapon” of calling their adversary stupid against them. Don’t call them stupid but just make fun of their point as stupid and childish. There is nothing that gets under their thin skin as being made light of. Barry is the perfect example of how they start to implode when you use their own game against them.
I’m with others that Joni needs not ignore them, just use sarcasm always to define their attacks. Just look to Texas and just how effective the “Abortion Barbie” moniker is absolutely killing the Wendy Davis campaign. Always use their words and actions against them but make it a passing mention while staying on your message. make it look like you are just swatting flies.
She should call him “cute” and say “bless his heart” and move on.
Disagree. Alinksy was evil, but he was effective. Use Alinsky tactics. Hold them to their own standards, every damned time.
I do however agree with mockery. We can employ both. Some of us will feign outrage, others shall mock.
The ultimate Southern putdown.
When a Vet does it, it is called Neutering. What a farmer does is animal husbandry and what the Democrat has is hoof in mouth disease.
Braley simply needs to stay out of the barnyard. He clearly does not belong with farmers.
I’d been thinking Braley (a turd from the ol’ Dungheap) was a shoo-in. But, maybe this and the new Rasmussen poll are cause for hope.
Time will tell.
They can handle outrage, especially if it is feign because it lets them think they are getting to you. What I have found is they cannot in any way handle mockery and will self implode because they have not been programmed to deal with it. What works best is if you mock them in the tone of mocking a child.
I sure hope those voters vote against Braley but I’m really skeptical.
I am looking forward to seeing the ad with a Scrawny Leghorn Rooster wearing a “Democrat Super Hero Cape” trying to crow about his superiority over that little chick featured in his ad. Then announce Joni’s next appearance featuring “Roast Capon”
Keep in mind “Not all chicks grow up to be real roosters”, and “not all roosters have anything to Crow About”....
Bruce Braley “The Little Rooster that Couldn’t”
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