Earlier this week, a right-leaning PAC thought it would be a good idea to use the beheading of journalist James Foley as material for an attack ad. Well, after a firestorm of criticism from both sides of the aisle and Foley’s family, the ads have been pulled.
Secure America Now, an ostensibly nonpartisan advocacy group on national security issues, rolled out an ad in New Hampshire attacking Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s record on border security. Similar ads also ran attacking Mark Pryor in Arkansas, Mark Udall in Colorado, Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, and Gary Peters in Michigan. The ad began with an image of Foley just seconds before he was beheaded by Islamic State thugs.
When Foley’s parents, John and Diane Foley, saw the ad at their home in Rochester, New Hampshire, they were appalled at being forced to relive their son’s execution again. In an emotional interview with New England Cable News, they demanded that the ad be yanked from the air in New Hampshire. John Foley called the ad “deplorable”–a colossal understatement. Diane Foley said she was very disturbed that anyone would “use the brutality of our son’s death for political purposes,” and called for Secure America Now to “have the sensitivity and compassion” to pull the ad. Rochester mayor T. J. Jean echoed the Foleys’ sentiments, saying that it was “appalling” for Secure America Now to use Foley’s death for political gain.
In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, the ad was also condemned by both candidates in the race, Shaheen and Republican challenger Scott Brown. Shaheen said the ad “dishonors the memory of a respected journalist and New Hampshire native.” Brown–whom the ad was ostensibly supporting–called it “completely inappropriate and disgraceful.” You know you’ve created an epic fail of an ad when the candidate it supposedly supports feels the need to denounce it.
Initially, Secure America Now refused to back down. The group’s president, Allen Roth, claimed that since the image had been “used millions of times” and was in the public domain, there was no harm in using it. Incredibly, he claimed that the outrage over the ad was a political stunt. If you’re wondering how anyone could actually say such a callous thing, consider who’s on the board of directors–Mike Huckabee and John Bolton. Granted, they had no role in creating the ads, but the fact that those two–especially Bolton–are on the board of this outfit says a lot about its character.
Within a few hours, however, all of the ads had been pulled from both the airwaves and YouTube. In a statement, Roth apologized for “any pain we inadvertently caused” to Foley’s family and friends. It says a lot about the character of Secure America Now, though, that anyone could have even thought using Foley’s image was a good idea in the first place.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC at Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
