Anti-Lincoln Attack Ad

As we near the end of the election season, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that the political ads that infest our airwaves will soon vanish for the moment.  If television had existed in 1860, I have no doubt that political attack ads would have been unbiquitous, and that the above video would have, judging from vitriolic partisan attacks in the newspapers of the day,  been a temperate example.

Published in: on October 29, 2010 at 5:30 am  Comments (5)  
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5 Comments

  1. On October 29, 2010 at 10:01 am Eric said:

    First of all, Lincoln did not believe we were all “equal and free”. And he was indeed “wrong on States’ rights”. His view that “no State except Texas was EVER a sovereignty” contradicted the clear statements of the Founding Fathers. Even prominent abolitionists such as Lysander Spooner opposed him on purely constitutional grounds. Lincoln worked for the Northern elite who wanted to transform this country from a voluntary Union of sovereign States to a consolidation where the States are nothing more than agents of the Federal Government. He was by far the worst President we ever had.

  2. On October 29, 2010 at 10:30 am Thos. Collins said:

    Attack ads have a long, if not honorable tradition, going all the way back to the founding of the Republic.
    See this article from Reason magazine:
    http://reason.com/blog/2010/10/29/attack-ads-circa-1800
    with attacks on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

  3. On October 29, 2010 at 12:23 pm Donald R. McClarey said:

    Quite right Thomas. The 1800 campaign was probably the most vitriolic in our nation’s history.

  4. On October 29, 2010 at 12:32 pm Donald R. McClarey said:

    “First of all, Lincoln did not believe we were all “equal and free”.”

    No, that was what Lincoln believed and that is why he opposed slavery.

    “And he was indeed “wrong on States’ rights”. His view that “no State except Texas was EVER a sovereignty” contradicted the clear statements of the Founding Fathers.”

    Incorrect. The states were never states except as part of the United States. They went directly from colonies to being part of the Union as the Declaration clearly indictates. Additionally, we have the states admitted after the 13 original colonies and Vermont, who were territories of the United States before they were admitted as states. Certainly they were never sovereign.

    “Even prominent abolitionists such as Lysander Spooner opposed him on purely constitutional grounds.”

    Spooner was an anarchist crank of little influence at the time who Dilorenzo and other contemporary Lincoln haters have seized upon.

    “Lincoln worked for the Northern elite who wanted to transform this country from a voluntary Union of sovereign States to a consolidation where the States are nothing more than agents of the Federal Government.”

    Conspiratorial rubbish.

    “He was by far the worst President we ever had.”

    No, he was either the first or the second best President we have ever had depending upon where one places George Washington.

  5. On October 31, 2010 at 7:33 am William Thien said:

    It would seem the BCRA, or bipartisan legislation co-authored by Senator Feingold meant to curb the behavior we are seeing today, has failed.
    Russ Feingold is my senator, a decent guy. Once his clain to fame was that he was supposedly a maverick. But even after calling his offices and asking him not to vote for the stimulus package, where most of the money went to the New York financial district and six months later was used to pay million dollar bonuses, Russ voted for it anyway. It would have been a stimulus check to each and every taxpayer of at the very least $7,000 had the government sent the money to the people who pay the taxes in the first place. Some would have received checks of more than $11,000 based on their income. Now that would have stimulated the economy like you wouldn’t believe. Schools could use that money. The roads need serious repair. Instead, the money mostly went to banks and other financial institutions in one or two states, money from the entire country , and was concentrated to the very people Russ often says he does not support. It makes you wonder.
    But even more concerning is the BCRA, the bipartisan legislation he basically wrote in 2002 to control campaigns. It was supposed to stop what we are enduring now. I like Russ. But if there is anyone who says one thing and something else entirely happens, it would appear it is Russ Feingold. It would appear he is one of the best at doing just that in fact.
    http://williamthien.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/campaign-finance-reform-a-plague-of-democracy/


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