We had to know that, in such a dirty election season in
Republican state treasurer candidate Demesia Padilla sent out a mailer this week that includes a caricature of her opponent, Democrat James B. Lewis, who is Black, smiling and dangling from puppet strings being pulled by Gov. Bill Richardson. The ad includes a quote from Lewis, published in the Albuquerque Tribune in 2005, stating that he thinks the treasurer should probably be appointed by the governor.
The governor’s ethics task force has proposed making the position appointed, rather than elected.
Lewis told the Albuquerque Journal this about the flier:
“It’s borderline … (it) almost seemed racist. It’s just bad they’re going to the bottom of the barrel,” he told the Journal. “… This image here reminds me of somebody hanging somebody, really.”
State Republican Party Executive Director Marta Kramer said political caricatures are “a time honored tradition.” Padilla said hers isn’t racist.
“It’s a cartoon. I just don’t see it as racial,” she told the Journal.
I’m not going to comment on whether the mailer is racist, other than to ask a couple of questions: If it showed Ben Lujan holding the strings of Anglo House members, would it be racist? If it showed Jesse Jackson holding the strings of Bill Clinton, would it be racist?
Don’t other Democrats get accused of being puppets of
The Lewis comment cited by Padilla, according to the Journal, appeared four months before he announced he would seek election. He told the Journal Thursday that he thinks the position should remain an elected one, but said he would accept a decision by voters to make it an appointed position.
The words printed on Padilla’s mailer provide some context for the caricature. She claims support from Republicans, Democrats, and independents, and flier includes quotes from Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Democrats for Demesia; and Independent Voters of New Mexico, a bipartisan political action committee committed to ending one-party domination on the state and federal level. The group has endorsed Padilla because of Democratic domination of state government, but, because of Republican control on a federal level, has endorsed Democrat Patricia Madrid’s bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M.
The Journal’s article is accompanied by a poll. You can visit the Journal’s home page to view the caricature and vote on whether you find it objectionable.
Polls show Lewis up more than 10 points on Padilla with more than 20 percent of voters undecided. Padilla claims a poll by her campaign shows that, when a method of “unbiased” educating of those being polled is employed, the race is a tie.