I’m outraged by this Devin Nunes election ad — and Fresno voters should be, too
Devin Nunes wants you to think Black people are scary.
What other possible takeaway can there be from the Tulare Republican congressman’s latest TV spot airing in the Fresno-Visalia market?
Backed by images of violence, homeless camps and looting involving people of color, we get snippets of a speech by vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris the day after police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot Jacob Blake, a Black man who was unarmed.
“It’s no wonder people are taking to the streets — and I support them,” Harris is shown as saying with zero context and edited to mislead. The “I support them” part is repeated three times.
Here are the Democratic senator’s actual words during a Aug. 27 nationally televised address:
“We also see pain, hurt, and destruction in the aftermath of yet another Black man shot by police. Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back in broad daylight in front of his three young sons.
“People are rightfully angry and exhausted. And after the murders of Breonna (Taylor) and George (Floyd) and Ahmaud (Arbery) and so many others, it’s no wonder people are taking to the streets. And I support them.
“We must always defend peaceful protests and peaceful protesters. We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence, including the shooter who was arrested for murder.”
Harris is clearly talking about peaceful protests. She is condemning violence and looting. Doesn’t matter. Nunes wants the viewer to think the biracial Harris and those dark-skinned mobs stand in solidarity. When in fact Harris is a former district attorney with a history of being tough on crime.
The Nunes election ad came on my TV during Monday Night Football. It followed one from Democratic challenger Phil Arballo that contained all the tropes Valley politicians love to employ: candidate with family in the kitchen; candidate shaking hands in the community; candidate and farmer/rancher type in earnest conversation.
The contrast in messaging between Arballo and Nunes couldn’t have been more stark. One candidate, the heavy underdog, wants to reassure voters. The other, the heavy favorite, wants to frighten them.
That Nunes would engage in such racial fear-mongering in a year when civil rights issues are finally getting the national laundry-airing they deserve represents a new low. Which, for him, is saying something.
No violence or looting in Fresno
Besides, what do violence and looting have to do with California’s 22nd District?
Absolutely nothing. More than 3,000 protesters packed downtown Fresno on May 31 to march against police violence. No one was arrested. No nearby businesses were looted by dark-skinned mobs. But back in Nunes’ district, a MAGA Jeep driver in Visalia committed the most newsworthy act of aggression, which the authorities let slide.
If Nunes paid any attention, he’d know that. Instead, he remains fixated on his self-appointed role of international mastermind/Russia collusion denier.
That’s true even after a bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee detailed a stunning web of contacts between President Trump, his top aides and Russian government officials. It seems the only hoaxes are the ones that pass through Nunes’ lips.
Following his relatively tight scrape with Andrew Janz in 2018, Nunes is taking the whole re-election thing more seriously this time around. Besides TV and Internet spots, he’s bombarding voters with political mailers thinly guised as informational surveys. (I’m registered as no-party preference and received one for six consecutive days.)
Other constituents — not me, alas — were mailed can koozies and jigsaw puzzles. For what purpose? Who knows.
Nunes has also been spending a lot of money trying to create an image of himself as a caring politician concerned about public health. In fact, he encouraged people to “go to your local pub” in the pandemic’s early days and continues to make ludicrous assertions on his podcast.
State code enforcement inspectors are “reminiscent of Nazi gestapo,” remember?
Nunes’ underhanded tactics have no limits. Not even the region’s largest and most trusted institutions are immune.
Nunes misleads Valley Children’s
In late August, Nunes’ constituents who are also donors to Valley Children’s Hospital received a mailer with a letter from Bill Smittcamp, a member of the hospital’s board of trustees, on one side. On the other is a photo of a smiling Nunes.
Smittcamp’s title as vice president of Valley Children’s Healthcare Board of Trustees is printed in the headline, in the text and accompanying his name at the bottom. And even though the mailer wasn’t sent by Valley Children’s, doesn’t contain the hospital’s familiar logo with the smiling giraffe, undiscerning readers might make the leap that Nunes is the medical center’s preferred candidate.
The angry confusion, both from staff and donors who didn’t appreciate Nunes’ chicanery, prompted Valley Children’s to issue an official statement assuring the public the mailer didn’t come from them, and they don’t make political endorsements.
In the statement, the hospital says it knew Smittcamp was asked to send a letter “in partnership with Congressman Nunes” encouraging blood donations from people who’ve recovered from COVID-19.
However, “the letter that was ultimately distributed was not consistent — in content or format — with our original understandings.”
Which is Valley Children’s way of saying the Nunes campaign pulled a fast one on them, too.
Nunes has a long history of over-the-top statements and ridiculous hyperbole. Years ago, he condemned environmentalists as “communists” simply for caring about the flora and fauna of California that might be harmed by development and water projects. Today, his ads equate Democrats to socialists bent on state control and the GOP as the only true patriots. Complete nonsense.
Nunes is an eight-term incumbent in a district drawn for an easy Republican victory. Thanks to his national profile, he has campaign money to burn. He doesn’t need to fear-monger and mislead to win in November.
Yet he can’t help himself. Which is what happens when a politician abandons his constituents and becomes the main character in his own Tom Clancy novel.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 2:14 PM.
