Front-Group Mailer Attacks Female Candidate For Being ‘Unmarried’

Source: Think Progress

Less than two weeks ahead of Election Day in Tampa, FL, a nasty mail advertisement surfaced yesterday attacking candidate Rose Ferlita. Funded by Less Government Now, a 527 group, the mailer urges voters to vote against Ferlita because she is “Unmarried. Unsure. Unelectable.”



The mailer suggests that because Ferlita is not married, she is incapable of valuing family or holding public office. “Rose Ferlita has put her political ambition first and foremost, while her opponent is a dedicated family man with two children — Ferlita is an unmarried woman with a suspect commitment to family values,” it reads. Moreover, as Florida blog Saint Petersblog notes, “unmarried” is a “codeword” — “if you read between the lines is a subtle way of casting doubt on Ferlita’s sexual orientation.” Other mailers sent by Less Government Now going after men have focused on the candidates’ record or policy positions, not their personal lives, marital status, or sexual orientation.

Less Government Now appears to be tied to Scott Maddox, a Democratic operative who unsuccessfully ran for Agricultural Commissioner last year, and has been used to bolster tea party candidates in an attempt to split the GOP vote. Tampa has non-partisan mayoral elections, but Ferlita, a current county commissioner, is a Republican.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/11/mailer-unmarried-women/

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Uncool, and very disappointing from a Democrat.

so sick of this shit

"Less Government Now" that is obviously either a tea party group or a libertarian group and both those parties go against everything we Democrats stand for.

That's not a "real" group; they name it that so Teabaggers will listen to it.

Plain and simple. I'm sending this story to Bella DePaolo. I'd be interested to read her take on that (she's a singles advocate/mouth piece). And I disagree with the 'unmarried' equaling 'code word' re: sexuality.

Normally if you are a woman in America over the age of 30 and you have never been married 'unmarried/single' is equivalent to . . . toss her aside. She isn't mature enough to use her uterus and lose her money in a marriage. But I digress . . . And yes - shame on the Dem in this case.

Oh dear, I guess that means she can't play footsie in airport toilets. This definitely disqualifies her as a "family values" candidate.

to split the GOP.

http://www.businessinsider.com/tea-party-tampa-mayor-unmarried-2011-3


According to ThinkProgress.org, "Less Government Now appears to be tied to Scott Maddox, a Democratic operative who unsuccessfully ran for Agricultural Commissioner last year, and has been used to bolster tea party candidates in an attempt to split the GOP vote. Tampa has non-partisan mayoral elections, but Ferlita, a current county commissioner, is a Republican."



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/tea-party-tampa-mayor-unmarried-2011-3#ixzz1GaqFEntS

This is what the other side does. I have no idea about her politics, but it really doesn't help make our case when we're attacking a single woman solely on that basis. I hope this doesn't get used against Democrats in the GE.

Rove is the master of dirty politics and manipulation. If he's involved, I sure hope we can prove it.

But, down here you can't tell them apart without a scorecard.

RW corporate playbook/frame as a mirror to see how they like it? It doesn't change the slime factor.

:sarcasm:

They could go in a group.

on his wife, not living in Fond du Lac, the district he respresents, but living in Madison with his 25 yr old lobbyist mistress. Are those the kind of family values they're talking about?

A single woman has the time and focus for her constituents to make sure their needs are properly addressed. A married person, by definition, has a spouse who comes first in all considerations and a family that comes second--which carves away time from their focus on their constituents.

I'd rather have a single woman than a married man holding that public office. But over that, I'd prefer a progressive candidate over a Dem who resorts to this kind of shameful tactic.

Unacceptable. Completely unacceptable on every level.

Pure sexism, I suspect. If she *were* married with a family, then they'd doubtless be implying that she was neglecting her family by running for office.

When the Christian Terrorists see that the public, the government, and law enforcement gives them a green light to go after filthy Queers, that they will stop just at nasty homos?


(“unmarried” is a “codeword” — “if you read between the lines is a subtle way of casting doubt on Ferlita’s sexual orientation.”)


As the same people whom decry the cull of Bison, or Wild Horses say nada, nothing, zip, not a friggin' word about the hate speech directed against the GLBTQI community.....


... as this sort of crap is the reaping of what the silent public has sown..... as never fear.... this ilk will come after everyone....



EVERYONE.........


So no one need think of themselves as immune...... as if you see yourself as Teflon, you missed an important World history class when you had that bout of tonsillitis :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miULdI-qocg



(edited to add a video)