Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Deeds uses video to swipe at McDonnell
Video shot by a Deeds staffer shows a Democratic backer of McDonnell imitating Deeds' choppy speaking style.
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RICHMOND -- With four weeks to go in the Virginia governor's race, the campaigns are creating heated tempers and bruised feelings as they gather for a sprint to the finish line.
Democrat Creigh Deeds' campaign cried foul Monday after distributing a video in which a prominent supporter of Republican Bob McDonnell is seen mocking Deeds' nervous speaking style. Northern Virginia businesswoman Sheila Johnson apologized for her remarks, but McDonnell's campaign dismissed calls by Deeds' campaign to denounce them.
McDonnell's campaign instead lashed back at Deeds for sponsoring a radio advertisement charging that McDonnell would be willing to let employers drop mammograms and cancer screenings from health insurance plans.
The tone of the campaign has grown increasingly caustic in recent weeks, punctuated by a barrage of television ads financed by the two campaigns and national political organizations. But Monday marked the first time that a candidate's personal mannerisms became fodder for campaign crossfire.
The unflattering critique of Deeds came from Johnson, a co-founder of Black Entertainment Television who has been a major contributor to Gov. Tim Kaine and Democrats. She endorsed McDonnell earlier this year.
In a video posted on the Internet, including YouTube, by a Democratic blogger, Johnson is seen at a Sept. 25 McDonnell event praising the Republican candidate as an effective communicator. She then said of Deeds, "The other people I talk to, especially his op-op-op-o-opponent, di-di-did this all through my interview with him.
"He could not articulate what needed to be done," Johnson said.
The footage was shot by a Deeds staffer, and campaign aides said it was provided to Ben Tribbett, who operates the widely read political blog Not Larry Sabato.
Johnson on Monday issued a statement apologizing for her remarks, while still questioning Deeds' ability to communicate effectively.
"Two weeks ago I made reference to Creigh Deeds' inability to clearly communicate effective solutions to the serious problems facing Virginia," Johnson said. "I shouldn't have done it in the manner in which I did and for that I apologize for any offense he, or others, may have taken."
Deeds, a state senator from Bath County, has a choppy speaking style and is prone to stumbling over his words. He generally has been good-humored about criticism of his unpolished style. But his campaign aides said Johnson's mocking went too far.
"When it gets into this sort of personal attack, I think that's when, in the minds of many voters, it crosses the line and it's disappointing," said Deeds adviser Mo Elleithee in a conference call with reporters.
Elleithee criticized McDonnell's campaign for not apologizing, saying Johnson's comments "were offensive to so many people." Advocacy organizations for people with speech impediments issued statements criticizing Johnson.
Asked whether Deeds has a speech impairment, Elleithee said, " He sometimes stumbles over words. He's spoken that way his entire life. He's never sought medical attention for it."
Although Johnson apologized, McDonnell campaign spokesman Tucker Martin turned the criticism back on the Democrat.
"Creigh Deeds has never had a problem voicing his false attacks about Bob McDonnell," Martin said. "What he has had difficulty expressing is any positive vision for Virginia's future. Democratic businesswoman Sheila Johnson was noting that fact."
McDonnell's campaign also blasted Deeds over a radio ad that implies the former attorney general would let employers evade mandates to provide insurance coverage for mammograms and cancer screenings.
"No one should try to win a political campaign by preying on the fears that every woman has about breast cancer," said Betsy Beamer, a breast cancer survivor who served in former Republican Gov. George Allen's cabinet.
The Deeds ad depicts two sisters chatting about an employer's job benefits.
Deeds' campaign bases the claim on McDonnell's failure to sign on to a 2006 letter from the National Association of Attorneys General opposing federal legislation that would allow businesses to provide insurance that does not include state-mandated coverage for procedures such as cancer screenings. Forty-one state attorneys general signed the letter.
Attorney General Bill Mims, who was McDonnell's chief deputy at the time, said the office received the letter just a week before the deadline to sign it and missed the deadline. He said McDonnell opposed the federal legislation because it would have trumped state law. McDonnell's campaign said the Republican also supported state legislation providing women's cancer care as part of state-provided health insurance coverage.
"To use the fact that that letter was not signed on to as the basis for the charge in that ad is ... is ... I'm at a loss for words," Mims said.
