Jack Conway, Rand Paul, And Religious Smears In Politics

Doug Mataconis · · 8 comments

As I noted earlier today, the Kentucky Senate race has turned nasty, largely thanks to this ad that Jack Conway started running last week:

Even pundits on the left are criticizing Conway for the ad. Ezra Klein called Conway’s ad dishonorable and ugly, which is true, but Jonathan Chait detects something more sinister:

The trouble with Conway’s ad is that it comes perilously close to saying that non-belief in Christianity is a disqualification for public office. That’s a pretty sickening premise for a Democratic campaign.

It’s a sickening premise for any campaign regardless of political party. Elizabeth Dole tried the same tactic herself two years ago when she was running a tougher-than-expected campaign against Kay Hagen in North Carolina:

In this case, the ad was widely condemned in the media, and Dole ended up going on to lose the election. Hopefully, Conway will learn the same lesson.