By JIM GRANSBERY
of The Billings Gazette staff
State Sen. Mike Taylor, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, will withdraw from the race this afternoon, saying a Montana Democratic Party television ad has destroyed his campaign.
Taylor, who has scheduled a press conference in Helena for 2 p.m., said the ad, which he said insinuated that he was a gay hairdresser, had pushed his poll numbers through the floor.
Unconfirmed rumors have Taylor being replaced by former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, who is now chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Although the ad was placed by the Democratic Party, Taylor blamed Sen. Max Baucus for it.
"We have zero left to fight with," Alan Mikkelsen, Taylor's campaign manager, said Thursday morning. "The ad has destroyed the campaign. We have no money left and we don't want to stoop to the same level."
Taylor, a state senator from Proctor, was the GOP candidate opposing Baucus, D-Mont., who is running for a fifth term in the Senate. A recent poll by the Lee Newspapers of Montana showed Baucus with a commanding lead of 54 percent to Taylor's 35. Green party candidate Robert Kelleher of Butte had 1 percent and Libertarian Stan Jones of Bozeman had none. Ten percent were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus/minus 4 percentage points.
Earlier this week, Taylor took strong umbrage with the ad funded by the Montana Democratic Party, which he described as "character assassination." The ad began running last Friday on Montana television stations.
"What bothers me," Taylor said, "is they are using a picture to assassinate my character. Why use that picture? Are they saying someone from my field in not qualified to be senator?"
What incensed Taylor was the film clip accompanying the ad. Taylor had a twice weekly segment in the early 1980s on a Denver television station. The clip shows Taylor applying lotions to the face of a man siting in the barber chair and discussing techniques. The ad shows Taylor, then slender, sporting a full beard. He is wearing a tight-fitting, three piece suit, with a big-collared open shirt ala John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever." Taylor's top two or three shirt buttons are unbuttoned, exposing some bare chest and a number of gold chains.
"I cannot believe they would stoop to that level," Taylor said.
State Sen. Ken Toole, D-Helena, and program director for the Montana Human Rights Network, said Thursday morning the ad "is an overt and obvious appeal to the homophobic (voter) that is playing to that stereotypic imagery."
Toole, who has fought for homosexual rights for years in the Montana Legislature, said he had complained to the state Democratic Party.
Toole said the Democratic response was that the image was not intended to imply that Taylor was gay.
"It is hard to believe their advertising firm did not see it," Toole said. "Bottom line is it is obvious and it ought to be pulled.
"Once you play these cards, inject this crap into a campaign - race, gay - nobody controls it," Toole said.
Dan DuBray, a former Montana television journalist who did campaign ads for former U.S. Rep. Ron Marlenee, R-Mont., said Thursday the ad was as subtle as "a 2x4 across the forehead. The video was clearly designed to send a subliminal message about Mike Taylor's sexuality."
"It is bizarre," DuBray said. "I can't believe the senator would embrace this type of ad. The process is out of control. This is far below the floor of any TV ads in the past."
The Democratic Party's $100,000 television ad campaign accused Taylor of abusing student loan programs. Taylor signed settlements with the U.S. Department of Education and the Colorado Student Loan Program and paid $27,250 to cover audit allegations. Both sides agreed that the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing by either party. The audit and settlement involved a hair design school in Colorado.
Taylor owned and operated a chain of hair care salons and beauty products sales that he has since sold.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
Just what the fuck is going on in MOnatan, anyway?
One thing's for sure. The man on the left is gay.
No comments:
Post a Comment