The elections are over, and there’s a temptation to put some of the unpleasantness of the campaign season behind us, but the stunts Republicans pulled in Maryland may have a lasting impact.
We talked on Tuesday about one of this year’s more egregious stunts. Republican campaign operatives, working for Bob Ehrlich (governor) and Michael Steele (Senate candidate), hired homeless people from Philadelphia to distribute campaign materials labeled “Democratic Sample Ballot.” It featured “endorsements” from popular Maryland African-American leaders, which were fictional. It also described Ehrlich and Steele as Democrats, though both are Republicans.
The scheme was as subtle as a sledgehammer: Republicans thought they could play African-American voters in Maryland for fools. For all of Ken Mehlman’s talk about sincere outreach, the GOP looked at the black community as a group that could be suckered on Election Day.
And African Americans aren’t likely to forget it.
The misleading fliers distributed on Election Day by poor, out-of-state workers suggesting that top Republican candidates had the backing of key black Democrats do not appear to be illegal but could have a lasting impact on the Republican Party’s efforts to attract African American voters, political experts said yesterday. […]
“They have said that Democrats have taken black votes for granted, but that flier tried to take black people for fools,” said Michael Fauntroy, an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University.
Justin Rood noted that a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist tracked down one of the people bused into Maryland for this little stunt, and got a fascinating take on events.
The Inquirer’s Ronnie Polaneczky spoke to Yusuf El-Bedawi, who may be homeless, but who knows when he’s being used.
He’s just livid at being tricked into playing dirty with them on Election Day. All because he’s homeless – and therefore, apparently, considered too unprincipled to give a damn about the integrity of the voting process.
“I might not have a home,” El-Bedawi told me yesterday, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about right and wrong. No one has the right to use me that way.”
It’s worth noting that voters weren’t fooled. “People started screaming, at us, ‘Do you think we’re that stupid? What are you trying to pull?’ ” said El-Bedawi. “I said, ‘I didn’t know it was a lie! I’m from Philly!’ And they said, ‘Then go back to Philly!’ ”
El-Bedawi, of course, didn’t want to deceive anyone, so he discarded his fliers and waited for his ride back. Adding insult to injury, El-Bedawi wasn’t returned to Philly in time to vote, which leaves him disgusted and disappointed.
Read the whole thing. Ken Mehlman certainly should before the RNC thinks about its next African-American outreach effort.