Anti-Gay Politicians Watch 17: Robinson intent on personal attacks against Miller

The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) published an article yesterday on the race for the 13th District. The Democratic incumbent Brad Miller is facing the infamously anti-everything Republican Vernon Robinson.

Only days ago, I put up a post directing my readers to another blogger’s investigation of illegal cash donations to the Robinson campaign. Because of that blogger’s work, the Federal Elections Commission may start looking in to some of Robinson’s campaign dealings.

The News & Observer article points out what is going to be the obvious downside to the 2006 race for the 13th District. Robinson is intent on mudslinging his opponent, despite his claims to be “sticking to the issues.”

The article talks about a Robinson mailing I blogged on a while ago (pictured right, click to enlarge). In it, Robinson all but says Miller is gay, by saying things such as “Brad Miller’s San Francisco Soulmate” added on to the statement that Miller is a “childless, middle-aged personal trial lawyer.” Robinson says that Miller’s “soulmate” is a militant, San Francisco homosexual, ignoring the fact that the man is married and has children.

Brad Miller plans to stick to “bread-and-butter issues” while Robinson is out spouting off personal attacks with no basis. At least we might see a good campaign from one side. Don’t bet on Robinson “playing nice” though; his history of negative campaigning, mudslinging and lies go back for years. In his 2004 bid for the 5th District, he called opponent Ed Broyhill a “limp-wristed millionaire.”

Gay-baiting is obviously Robinson’s best tactic, but it sure doesn’t seem to be winning him any races. In the past he has lost two bids for State Superintendant of Schools, a bid for Congress, the chairmanship of the NC Republican Party and in the last City of Winston-Salem elections he lost his City Council seat held for eight years.

Robinson seems to be trying another tactic this time though: He is insinuating Miller is a racist, sort of. In another mailer, Robinson lies to the public by saying that Miller lives in a census district without even one African-American resident. According to the N&O article:

Besides trying to attract white conservatives, Robinson hopes to siphon off 15 percent of the black vote. His campaign has sent separate mailings and left recorded telephone messages in the homes of black voters. The telephone message criticizes Miller for, among other things, living in an all-white neighborhood in the Five Points section of Raleigh.

“Brad Miller does not represent our values, because he doesn’t know anything about us,” says the announcer in the telephone recording. “According to the Census Bureau, he lives in a census district with 3,000 people. Not one of them is an African-American, not a single one.” (The 2000 Census says six African-Americans live in the area.)

Although six is a pretty small number when compared to 3000, how does Robinson do the math? 6=0… I’m confused. Six does not equal “not a single one.” And another question, where does the location of one’s home have anything to do with knowing about his or her constituency? Robinson should be able to answer that one… he doesn’t even live in the district he is seeking to win (Robinson lives in Winston-Salem, in the 5th District - which he lost in 2004).

Vernon Robinson represents the kind of politics we don’t need in our government. We don’t need people who play on other people’s fears. We don’t need people who lie about the personal lives of their opponents. We don’t need people who take the personal lives of their opponent’s wife into the public square (Miller’s wife is now being asked by the media to explain publicly why the couple is childless).

As a citizen who cares deeply about the government and as a person who feels as though Robinson is nothing more than a media-whore looking for attention on his zealot-like “issue” stances, I urge you to vote for Brad Miller in November.

Posted in Anti-Gay Politicians Watch |