Jon Corzine Borrows Ed Schultz's Cancer Accusations
The campaign of New Jersey governor Jon Corzine will be a useful lesson for Republicans running in 2010, to tell them what to expect when things look dire for an incumbent Democrat.
When you run against a troubled Democratic incumbent, they will try to tie you to President Bush and, for that matter, Mark Sanford. They will argue you are corrupt (while the FBI raids the homes of members of their cabinet). They will make fun of your appearance.
Finally, they will argue you are pro-breast cancer and anti-mammogram.
Chris Christie pushes back with this web video of supporters who have survived breast cancer:
I'm a political nerd. I like ideas. I like arguments of "this approach to a problem works better" or "that approach doesn't work." I don't particularly like ad hominem attacks, and I don't like seeing one side argue that the other is pro-cancer. I don't particularly like seeing personal testimonies about surviving breast cancer and describing chemotherapy in campaign ads, because they're not really about whether one idea is better than another; Jon Corzine wants us to think Christie's a heartless SOB, and Christie's ad aims to tell us he's a sympathetic, caring guy.
Will Corzine's attack work? Most of his ads haven't moved the numbers much yet, but who knows? Perhaps enough attack ads can bludgeon the electorate into submission . . .
