There Is No Depth To Which The GOP Slime Machine Will Not Sink

Brian Zick

Andrew Barr for The Hill reports that ads for GOP candidate Brian Bilbray, paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee, suggested his Dem opponent endorsed child pornography. (This link is a little hinky, and sometimes returns code instead of the page in Firefox and Netscape. Safari and Explorer seem to work fine. A mystery to me.) via Paul Kiel and Justin Rood at TPM Muckraker transcript of the ad: “Busby even praised a teacher reported to have child porn, saying she was always willing to lend a hand. That’s dangerous. Liberal Francine Busby. Poor management. Poor judgment. Dangerous.” The NRCC attributed the premise of its ad to a statement Busby made to The San Diego Union-Tribune, in response to the news, back on April 29, 2004, that a local schoolteacher was accused of trying to obtain child pornography. What Busby actually said: “He is a teacher who put in a lot of extra time. He was always willing to lend a hand. I was shocked at the investigation.” In other words, she was expressing surprise at the news. Not endorsing anything. And note the GOP ad's blatantly falsifed alteration of gender in claiming who "was always willing to lend a hand."

Please consider supporting our work.

I hope you found this article important. Before you leave, I want to ask you to consider supporting our work with a donation. In These Times needs readers like you to help sustain our mission. We don’t depend on—or want—corporate advertising or deep-pocketed billionaires to fund our journalism. We’re supported by you, the reader, so we can focus on covering the issues that matter most to the progressive movement without fear or compromise.

Our work isn’t hidden behind a paywall because of people like you who support our journalism. We want to keep it that way. If you value the work we do and the movements we cover, please consider donating to In These Times.

Illustrated cover of Gaza issue. Illustration shows an illustrated representation of Gaza, sohwing crowded buildings surrounded by a wall on three sides. Above the buildings is the sun, with light shining down. Above the sun is a white bird. Text below the city says: All Eyes on Gaza
Get 10 issues for $19.95

Subscribe to the print magazine.