Insight magazine has some interesting follow-up on the gay-baiting ad in Montana. It was funded entirely by the national Democrats. The relevant part of an interview with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Tovah Ravitz-Meehan is as follows:
Insight: The ad campaign was $100,000
TRM: I don’t know that. I can find out for you
Insight: I’d be interested in how much of it came from the DSCC.
TRM: I’m certain that all of it did.
The other detail from the Insight report is interesting: “Ken Miller, chairman of the Montana Republican Party, tells Insight that in fact internal party polls showed Taylor, within the margin of error, in a statistical tie with Baucus as recently as three weeks ago.” That makes more sense to me. Insight repeats the dumb and offensive idea that being called a homosexual is some sort of unforgivable slur. But what was infuriating about this kind of ad is that it doesn’t even do this. It plays on stereotypes and works by insinuation and pandering. In many ways, it’s the cowardice of the ad that makes it all the more reprehensible.
The Dish 