Sam Stein reports on Rick Perry's TV ad in Iowa that includes a shot at gays in the military.
When the ad was being crafted several weeks ago, Perry's top pollster, Tony Fabrizio, called it "nuts," according to an email sent from Fabrizio to the ad's main creator, longtime GOP operative Nelson Warfield.
In a separate email to The Huffington Post, Warfield confirmed that the ad was made over Fabrizio's objections.
"Tony was against it from the get-go," Warfield wrote. "It was the source of some extended conversation in the campaign."
In the TV ad, Perry says.
"You don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school."
I've noticed that most media outlets are referring to this video as "anti-gay" -- as in "Rick Perry's anti-gay ad an issue..."
That's an example of personal opinion seeping into things and reflects an assumption that because he's against gays serving in the military, Perry is against gays -- hence, it becomes an "anti-gay ad."
There's a difference between being against a sexuality itself vs. being against a military policy regarding that sexuality. "Anti-gay" implies prejudice against the person or sexuality itself. That's a more severe judgment than warranted in this case.
