Redstate

By Chad Dotson Posted in Elections — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Okay, I know that's an impossibly long title. Anyway:

One of the interesting sidenotes to the Virginia gubernatorial race is that Jerry Kilgore, the Republican candidate, is from the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Very few statewide candidates in Virginia hail from the southwest region of the Commonwealth, so his candidacy (and his 2001 victory in the statewide Attorney General race) is big news back home.

Late last week, the Democratic candidate, Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine released yet another attack on Kilgore. This is something that I've been thinking about all weekend, especially after it was addressed in this post by Norman at One Man's Trash last week (I posted here).

Lo and behold, this morning, the Washington Times ran this piece about the budding controversy, so I guess I'm forced to comment:

Read on....

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore says Democratic candidate Timothy M. Kaine is making fun of his rich drawl in a radio ad running across Virginia.

Mr. Kaine, who is lieutenant governor, notes in the ad that Mr. Kilgore, the former attorney general, did not use his own voice on his own ad.

"If I have something to say, I'm not afraid to say it myself," Mr. Kaine says in the ad. "But Jerry Kilgore has been making things up about me and letting slick radio announcers do his dirty work."

The Kilgore campaign said they think the ad is a veiled reference to the Gate City, Va., native's accent.

Mr. Kaine "implicitly denigrates the way millions of Virginians talk," said Kilgore spokesman Tim Murtaugh. "The message is clear: If you have an accent of any kind, Tim Kaine will make fun of you," Mr. Murtaugh said.

As I said, this is something that has bothered me for a while. Until recently, it had really only been Kaine's supporters around the Virginia political blogosphere who had been hammering Jerry Kilgore for the way he talks. There's an implicit bigotry to it, and it really gets under my skin. Now, Tim Kaine himself is mocking Kilgore's accent.

And it's not just me who hears Kaine mocking that Virginia accent. No less an authority than Larry Sabato, Political Genius (TM), agrees:

One of the state's top political analysts, Larry J. Sabato of the University of Virginia, said the Kaine commercial is an apparent attempt to demean Kilgore, particularly to suburban voters who dominate Virginia politics.

"This relates to the Southwest Virginia accent," said Sabato. "It shouldn't be a handicap, but it is. There is a prejudice about it. The implication of the accent, as it hits the ear of supposedly sophisticated suburbanites, is that it belongs to a country hick."

No one is going to confuse Sabato for a partisan hack, or for a Republican shill.

I'm going to reveal something about myself right now: I have a pretty good southern accent myself. When I attended law school at Georgetown, I heard comments about the way I talked all the time, from professors, from administrators, from fellow students, many of whom who had attended elite northeastern undergraduate institutions. (Of course, when I returned home, everyone told me I was talking like a Yankee.)

Anyway, there was an unstated, but obvious, undertone to those comments about my accent that made me realize that people really do think someone with a southern accent isn't as intelligent as those sophisticates from the urban areas. Soft bigotry of low expectations and all that, you know. Frankly, it smacked of elitism, and so I bristled each time I heard such a comment. Now, I didn't let it bother me outwardly; rather, I resolved to prove that I belonged. I think I accomplished that.

This morning, Tim Kaine is being condemned by some members of Virginia's congressional delegation for his campaign's latest elitist radio ad attacking Kilgore. Here's a statement released by Rep. Bob Goodlatte today:

Tim Kaine's latest effort to divide Virginians by region is nothing short of disgusting. When a candidate for office openly derides the way a good portion of our citizens speak, it says an awful lot about the character of the man running the ad.

When I travel around the 6th District, I meet people from all walks of life who often have very different accents. While they may not all sound alike, there is no mistaking that they are all Virginians. Tim Kaine has apparently missed this point.

It is disappointing, but not surprising, to see Tim Kaine use regional characteristics to pit one segment of the state against another. Virginians deserve better and I humbly suggest that Mr. Kaine do the right thing and offer an immediate apology.

Congressman Virgil Goode also released a statement:

I am shocked to see that a man who wants to be Governor of all Virginians has decided to employ a strategy intended to mock millions of our hard-working citizens.

With this campaign strategy, Tim Kaine revealed that not only does he fail to understand rural Virginians, but he also thinks we're embarrassing to have around. That's not the way to win the votes of rural Virginians.

I'm proud to be from rural Virginia and I only wish Tim Kaine respected rural Virginia. We need Jerry Kilgore who understands rural Virginia and not Tim Kaine. Let Tim Kaine stay in Richmond!

Finally, Congressman Eric Cantor weighed in:

"I have watched with intense disappointment the exceedingly vicious tone of the Kaine campaign, but nothing has so appalled me as the most recent Kaine radio ads, which quite obviously are designed to ridicule Jerry Kilgore's accent and to appeal to regional elitism.

"There is never a place in Virginia politics for regional elitism. Mr. Kaine must stop insulting the Commonwealth with his cheap campaign stunts. He should pull his negative ads, stop his elitist attacks and get control of his campaign.

"There can be no doubt that Kaine's purpose is to appeal to regional prejudice. The facts are straight forward. Kaine's campaign has been ridiculing Jerry Kilgore's mountain accent for months all over the state. Kaine's close allies have websites attacking the way Jerry talks and now Kaine runs this paid advertisement.

"Virginia is a diverse and vibrant state. We have mountain accents, Richmond accents, Southside accents -- all types of good and proper accents that define our Commonwealth and make it the place I'm proud to call home. While we may all sound different, look different and have different beliefs, we speak with one voice and one desire to make Virginia the best place on the earth to live and raise a family. It is my hope that the next Governor of Virginia will govern for all Virginians, not just the ones that talk a certain way.

"Mr. Kaine is running away from his record as the mayor of Richmond, favoring instead a ride on the coattails of Governor Warner. However, these latest ads are contradictory from Mark Warner's unifying 'One Virginia' message. Mr. Kaine's thinly-veiled attacks appeal to prejudice are divisive and have no place in Virginia.

"Late last week, Larry Sabato weighed in making it very clear that Kaine's purpose is to ridicule, not enlighten.

"Kaine's actions remove any doubt about his motive. He is simultaneously running one attack ad criticizing Jerry Kilgore for using an announcer in his radio ads, and running a second ad that uses a slick announcer to attack Jerry Kilgore. Tim Kaine should pull his negative ads, stop his elitist attacks, and get control of his campaign."

Indeed. As I said, this is something that is important to me, given that I've been on the receiving end of it. I think these attacks are blatantly prejudiced and clearly elitist. Kaine should be ashamed.

For what it's worth, Tim Kaine actually hails from the Show-Me state. So I'm ready to make a deal with the Democratic candidate. If Kaine apologizes, I promise never to make fun of his Missouri accent. :)