They don’t make politicians like Dave Wilson anymore. Mostly because the ooze under the rock from which he slithered is in short supply after being all but used up by the Tea Party.
Wilson, a conservative white Republican and anti-gay activist, was fed up with the “shenanigans” of the Houston Community College system and ran for a position on the Board of Trustees. However, since he was in a district of mostly black Democrats, Wilson decided to pull some shenanigans of his own:
KHOU reports:
Wilson, a gleeful political troublemaker, printed direct mail pieces strongly implying that he’s black. His fliers were decorated with photographs of smiling African-American faces — which he readily admits he just lifted off websites — and captioned with the words “Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson.”
One of his mailers said he was “Endorsed by Ron Wilson,” which longtime Houston voters might easily interpret as a statement of support from a former state representative of the same name who’s also African-American. Fine print beneath the headline says “Ron Wilson and Dave Wilson are cousins,” a reference to one of Wilson’s relatives living in Iowa.
Wilson bested 24-year incumbent Bruce Austin by 26 votes and Austin is, unsurprisingly, calling foul. “I don’t think it’s good,” Austin told KHOU. “I don’t think it’s good for both democracy and the whole concept of fair play. But that was not his intent, apparently.”
Caught off guard by Wilson’s underhanded tactics, Austin tried to counter his opponent’s mailers with his own, in an attempt to reveal his true identity: a “right-wing hate monger.”
But Austin should probably have expected these kind of shenanigans from Wilson, who in 2009 launched a bigoted flyer campaign against openly gay Houston mayoral candidate Annise Parker. On the wave of that good will, Wilson decided to run for office, eventually launching an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Houston in 2011.
Austin plans to ask for a recount, but his chances of overturning the results are slim. Meanwhile, with the Houston Community College system rife with corruption and scandal, Dave Wilson looks like he’s going to fit in just fine.
h/t: Huff Po
Dakotahgeo
Again and again, it is proven that right wing bigots/Republicans/TeaPods can only win by cheating, forsaking truth, and corrupting their way into office! Oh, those hanging chads and the SCOTUS come back to haunt. Consider a recall!
pierre
Sadly, you only have uneducated voters to blame for his win.
Dakotahgeo
@pierre: I was just thinking the same thing. Lemmings are lemmings, no matter what cliff they are haunting. The IQ of his constituents must be a sight to behold!
BJ McFrisky
White? Check.
Republican? Check.
Wins election? Check.
Anti-gay? Um . . . . crickets.
Les Brathwaite’s endless war on all things Republican continues, even though this is specifically a gay site. My point being, there should be a little more pride and a lot less whining. Instead of our strengths, it seems we’re dwelling on our own weaknesses, and that attitude of victimhood will only bleed out into the culture and cause us more harm than good.
Dakotahgeo
@BJ McFrisky: Do not confuse victimhood with statistics. I don’t care who is anti-gay, I just won’t let them get away with it! Outside of ‘crickets,’ just what was your point? Or does ‘crickets’ also apply in that case?!
sportyguy1983
What’s worse: 1) the politician who “pretended to be gay” (when you target a certain demographic, your ads reflect that demographic), 2) the voters that were to ignorant and didn’t do their homework before casting their vote, or 3) the pundits that are insinuating that racial minorities vote based on race.
dvlaries
That’s an impressive piece of fraud, but it still stands a length behind faking a pregnancy to gain national office:
http://www.businessinsider.com/scharlott-sarah-palin-trig-hoax-2011-9?op=1