Well, that was fast. We're, what, 7 days into 2012, and we've already got attack number two on the kids of one of the Republican presidential candidates. I'd like to think the Ron Paul supporters who crafted a video using Jon Huntsman's adopted daughters to attack the former ambassador to China simply missed the horror when Fox News' Alan Colmes criticized how Rick Santorum handled the death of his baby this week. But sadly, I'm more inclined to believe the diehards at NHLiberty4Paul wouldn't have cared if they did.
Their ad, which shows images of Huntsman with 12-year-old Gracie Mei and 5-year-old Asha Bharati, attempts to use the kids -- adopted from China and India -- as evidence the candidate is a China-loving anti-American. Instead it shows a country of political operatives with a despicable lack of shame.
While Ron Paul's campaign has quickly attempted to distance itself, and there exists the possibility it was made not by a Paul supporter but someone trying to bring the Libertarian down, the fact remains that 2012 is fast becoming the year of slash and burn politics. The new MO is "grab anything you can, spread some tar on it, light it on fire, and let it burn." And by anything, I truly mean anything. They're picking on dead babies, folks. And 5-year-old girls.
Let me repeat that. Dead babies. And 5-year-old girls. They hardly get more defenseless, folks. This shouldn't be hard to grasp: the boundary for attacks stops when we all begin to lose a piece of our humanity.
There is a time for talk of children. Huntsman's elder daughters -- all adults -- have brought criticism on themselves with their silly spoof on Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back." Sarah Palin's decision to bring her kids onto the dais at the Republican National Convention was hers and hers alone.
But the fact is, we don't even need to talk about politician's kids. The adult candidates who are actually running in this race for president provide us with plenty of fodder every day. From Santorum's idiotic ramblings about gays to Rick Perry's bigoted ads, the GOP slate is doing a fine job of making themselves look bad.
Take a look at the ad meant to make us think Jon Huntsman is too friendly with China (if you can stomach it), and tell us, does it cross the line?
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Did that just make you more sympathetic to Huntsman?
Image via YouTube