Ed Gillespie said his family is “disgusted” by the Latino Victory Fund’s despicable Facebook ad showing children fleeing a Ford F-250 pickup truck with a “Don’t Tread on Me” license plate. Every stereotype that liberals have of Trump voters was set up in a divisive and ultimately counterproductive effort to paint Gillespie with the same brush as the “tiki brigade” in Charlottesville.

“the other side appears to genuinely hate them”

The ad was counterproductive because it generated so much disgust that it tripled contributions to Gillespie’s campaign. It also gave Gillespie a platform to be conciliatory on race issues, while exposing the left’s anti-gun agenda.

In fact, the Washington Post is reporting that Gillespie now has momentum building in a tight race.

Perspectives

“Yeah, in fact, actually online, our fundraising has tripled from people who are just disgusted by this and feel that they’re under attack, which they are,” Gillespie told TheDC. “But, again, it’s not just my supporters who are under attack here. It’s all those good, decent Virginians who may not agree with me, but understand that this is not good for the commonwealth of Virginia and that this kind of political attack and these smear campaigns are not good for the country and they’re not good for the commonwealth.”

This sort of thing is insane, and it divides the country beyond any reconciliation. Alexander Hamilton recognized the danger of impugning the motives of political opponents in Federalist No. 1:“In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution. . . . And yet . . . a torrent of angry and malignant passions will be let loose.”

It could be enough to convince those “never-Ed” voters to show up and vote for him anyway. Not because they like or trust Gillespie. But because the other side appears to genuinely hate them.

Final thoughts

The Democratic group Latino Victory Fund removed the controversial ad, which showed a pickup truck driver chasing down children of color on Tuesday, Oct. 31. We have decided to pull our ad at this time,” said Cristobal J. Alex, president of the LVF, in a statement on Twitter Tuesday evening.

Look at the words WaPo closed with: “the other side appears to genuinely hate them.” That’s exactly how many liberals, especially the activists, the political class, and bubble-encased journalists, feel. They don’t simply disagree with conservative politics; they see Second Amendment-supporting, patriotic, God-fearing, capitalist Americans as objects of hatred. The build on their worst stereotypes and declare these people their enemy, unworthy of being heard in the public square, unworthy of holding office, and unworthy of even basic civility.

They do, in fact, hate us. Every so often they give us a peek into their souls. When that happens, the left’s hate always backfires.