It’s the kind of thing that makes you stop and scratch your head, and then likely vote for the smeared candidate. In Omaha, Nebraska, the mayoral race has turned into a dirty and sexist affair, where an incumbent city council member who supports one candidate posted a photograph of himself smiling while holding a t-shirt where a female mayoral challenger opponent is depicted as a stripper.
The green shirts, which were produced and distributed in time for St. Patrick’s Day in a move that most are describing as boneheaded at best, and disgusting at worst.
No one has claimed responsibility for producing the shirts, but the insult is added to insult by the “sponsored by” disclaimer of “Suck My Private Sector.” As noted in the Leavenworth Street article, the picture of Councilman Chris Jerram was taken at a bar that is widely patronized by firefighters. The shirts were apparently a crude attempt to criticize Stothert’s policies.
It would be nice to say this is the only instance where Stothert’s gender was used against her. However, a recent tweet has garnered some attention due to its downright vile language. PublicCEO refuses to reprint such slander and hate.
What happened in Omaha is deplorable, and if it had occurred in California, there would have been lynch mob. In Omaha, heads should politically roll. There’s campaigning, dirty campaigning, and then this – inexcusable displays of inconsiderate and inappropriate slander.
Normally, we would publish this sort of news as an article in the section titled “It Could Be Worse.” But really, it couldn’t be worse.
Read the articles at Omaha.com and Leavenworth Street.