Tue Sep 28, 12:52 pm ET
Grayson gets pushback for ‘Taliban Dan’ attack
By Rachel Rose Hartman
Grayson gets pushback for ‘Taliban Dan’ attack | The Upshot Yahoo! News - Yahoo! News
By Rachel Rose Hartman rachel Rose Hartman – Tue Sep 28, 12:52 pm ET
Alan Grayson speaks at a town hall meeting in Oct. 2009.U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has compared Republicans to "Nazis," likened Dick Cheney to a vampire, and stated that Rush Limbaugh was "more lucid when he was a drug addict." So it's no surprise that the Florida Democrat is now lobbing insults at his current Republican challenger, Dan Webster.
But critics say that Grayson's latest ad labeling his opponent "Taliban Dan Webster" not only goes too far, but is misleading.
"Religious fanatics try to take away our freedom in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in central Florida," the ad's narrator begins. The commercial then plays a clip of Webster stating, "wives submit yourself to your own husband" and "she should submit to me, that's in the Bible."
The ad then outlines several positions it claims Webster holds on issues related to women.
Watch the ad below:
But the full text of Webster's "submit to me" comment shows a much different context.
Webster, the former state Senate majority leader, released a video of his complete comments in which he can be heard stating: "Don't pick the [Bible verses] that say, 'She should submit to me.'"
"Grayson's 'Taliban Dan' ad takes Webster's words out of context, twists meaning," reads a headline in the Orlando Sentinel, one of the congressman's hometown newspapers.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit FactCheck.org wrote of Grayson in its analysis: "He's using edited video to make his rival appear to be saying the opposite of what he really said."
[Video: Rewind: Another bizarre attack ad starring robot sheep]
Grayson spokesman Sam Drzymala told FactCheck that "the campaign interpreted Webster's remarks to mean that he believes wives should submit to their husbands."
The ad also claims Webster opposes abortion in cases of rape (something Webster has not denied), wants to "make divorce illegal," tried to prohibit alimony payments to an adulterous wife but not to an adulterous husband, and "denied abused women health care."
Freshman Grayson represents a competitive Orlando-area district, which automatically makes his re-election race a challenge for the Democratic Party.
Efforts to reach Webster on Tuesday were unsuccessful. The challenger did suggest on his Facebook page that the recent flap has boosted his campaign: "Donations from around the country are flowing in! You can donate online at the link below, and help refute Alan Grayson's lies!"
*UPDATE: Sarah Posner at Religion Dispatches raises the question of whether Webster's complete remarks really do show a different context. Posner interviewed author Kathryn Joyce, who said the following:
Saying that a woman should pray for God's guidance in submission, if she wants to, is not leniency, but rather standard evangelical language that emphasizes individuals must obey biblical mandates regardless of how others around them behave. So, Webster is saying, men must be accountable to God for their responsibility to love their wives regardless of whether she submits -- that they must pray to do right, even if she doesn't.
Webster's camp hasn't spoken directly about the submission statement, but it continues to blast the ad overall.
"Mr. Grayson seems to have a problem telling the truth and no problem misleading the public. Dan has been an amazing husband and father, and the finest man I have ever known. Mr. Grayson should be ashamed of his nasty smears against my husband," Webster's wife, Sandy, said in a statement Monday, Politico reports.
(Photo of Grayson: AP/John Raoux)
Grayson gets pushback for ‘Taliban Dan’ attack
By Rachel Rose Hartman
Grayson gets pushback for ‘Taliban Dan’ attack | The Upshot Yahoo! News - Yahoo! News
By Rachel Rose Hartman rachel Rose Hartman – Tue Sep 28, 12:52 pm ET
Alan Grayson speaks at a town hall meeting in Oct. 2009.U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has compared Republicans to "Nazis," likened Dick Cheney to a vampire, and stated that Rush Limbaugh was "more lucid when he was a drug addict." So it's no surprise that the Florida Democrat is now lobbing insults at his current Republican challenger, Dan Webster.
But critics say that Grayson's latest ad labeling his opponent "Taliban Dan Webster" not only goes too far, but is misleading.
"Religious fanatics try to take away our freedom in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in central Florida," the ad's narrator begins. The commercial then plays a clip of Webster stating, "wives submit yourself to your own husband" and "she should submit to me, that's in the Bible."
The ad then outlines several positions it claims Webster holds on issues related to women.
Watch the ad below:
But the full text of Webster's "submit to me" comment shows a much different context.
Webster, the former state Senate majority leader, released a video of his complete comments in which he can be heard stating: "Don't pick the [Bible verses] that say, 'She should submit to me.'"
"Grayson's 'Taliban Dan' ad takes Webster's words out of context, twists meaning," reads a headline in the Orlando Sentinel, one of the congressman's hometown newspapers.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit FactCheck.org wrote of Grayson in its analysis: "He's using edited video to make his rival appear to be saying the opposite of what he really said."
[Video: Rewind: Another bizarre attack ad starring robot sheep]
Grayson spokesman Sam Drzymala told FactCheck that "the campaign interpreted Webster's remarks to mean that he believes wives should submit to their husbands."
The ad also claims Webster opposes abortion in cases of rape (something Webster has not denied), wants to "make divorce illegal," tried to prohibit alimony payments to an adulterous wife but not to an adulterous husband, and "denied abused women health care."
Freshman Grayson represents a competitive Orlando-area district, which automatically makes his re-election race a challenge for the Democratic Party.
Efforts to reach Webster on Tuesday were unsuccessful. The challenger did suggest on his Facebook page that the recent flap has boosted his campaign: "Donations from around the country are flowing in! You can donate online at the link below, and help refute Alan Grayson's lies!"
*UPDATE: Sarah Posner at Religion Dispatches raises the question of whether Webster's complete remarks really do show a different context. Posner interviewed author Kathryn Joyce, who said the following:
Saying that a woman should pray for God's guidance in submission, if she wants to, is not leniency, but rather standard evangelical language that emphasizes individuals must obey biblical mandates regardless of how others around them behave. So, Webster is saying, men must be accountable to God for their responsibility to love their wives regardless of whether she submits -- that they must pray to do right, even if she doesn't.
Webster's camp hasn't spoken directly about the submission statement, but it continues to blast the ad overall.
"Mr. Grayson seems to have a problem telling the truth and no problem misleading the public. Dan has been an amazing husband and father, and the finest man I have ever known. Mr. Grayson should be ashamed of his nasty smears against my husband," Webster's wife, Sandy, said in a statement Monday, Politico reports.
(Photo of Grayson: AP/John Raoux)
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