Joy Padgett is scum

They say all politics is local, and this story is not only local, but I think also represents the lengths to which the Republicans are willing to go to ensure victory. Terry Anderson is running for the Ohio Senate in the district encompassing my hometown of Athens, Ohio. His opponent, Joy Padgett, has resorted to a shameful attack on Anderson, who was held hostage for nearly seven years while he was a reporter for the Associated Press in the Middle East. Padgett, also a strong supporter of the defense of marriage amendment on the Nov. 2 Ohio ballot, misused a picture of Anderson confronting one of his Hezbollah captors, implying that Anderson is soft on terrorism.

You've got to be kidding me. Padgett and everyone else who signed off on this represent the lowest of the low, signaling to Democrats and other progressives what we're up against.

For his part, Anderson read a statement in a debate with Padgett last night calling out the shameful attack. He then left, apologizing to the League of Women Voters and those in attendance. Good for him. Here are portions of the statement:

Now, my political opponent sinks so low as to use my former captor to try to get herself elected. Some things are more important than politics and more important than winning at any cost.

And

I have spent 13 years trying not to hate, trying to learn to forgive [my captors], because I am a Christian, and I am required to do so. And my opponent wants you to believe that makes me soft on terrorism. She demeans my profession. She demeans my family’s pain.

Unbelievable. Please support Terry by checking out his Web site.

Full text of Anderson's statement can be found here. A news release from the Anderson campaign about the story can be found here.

Comments

[SARAH/ROCKY]

We are not directly connected to SG "Jerry" Firman's campaign... who is running against Joy Padgett for 18th Congressional District...we ARE interested in doing all we can to see that Padgett is defeated in the primary and/or does not win the general election...even if we must back the Democrat candidate...we feel Padget is the worse of the bad...does anyone have information/background on Padgett we can use? RSVP!