Pelosi was Republicans’ favorite boogeyman. What happens now?
Plus: These billboards about abortion and guns in Georgia were rejected
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at…
Pelosi was Republicans’ favorite boogeyman. What happens now?
These billboards about abortion and guns in Georgia were rejected
For the second time in two years, a first-edition U.S. Constitution is going up for auction
No disrespect to Heidi Klum, but I think this costume wins Halloween 2022
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Pelosi was Republicans’ favorite boogeyman. What happens now?
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been a staple of Republican attack ads for years, and that didn’t immediately change online following the attempted murder of her husband Paul last Friday at the couple’s San Francisco home.
The number of digital ads on Meta’s platforms mentioning Pelosi slightly rose from about 800 during the three days up to and of the attack compared to about 820 the three days after, according to Facebook Ad Library. About $50 million has been spent on attack ads that mention Pelosi so far in the campaign cycle, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, and on the day of the attack, nearly $1.3 million in ads featuring Pelosi ran.
Most of the digitals ads that ran link Pelosi and President Joe Biden to local Democratic candidates or call for her to be fired and retired.
A handful include language that accuses her of destroying the country, including from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the No. 3 House Republican, and Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Scott Richardson, an Arkansas state representative, has an ad that highlights his NRA endorsement and shows him pointing a gun at copy that includes Pelosi’s name.
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told “Fox News Sunday” she thought it wasn’t fair to link rhetoric about firing Pelosi to violence. Republicans including former Vice President Mike Pence and Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz have condemned the attack, but many haven’t mentioned it and a few even made jokes about it.
Pelosi has long been a target of attack ads nationwide. There were nearly 19,000 negative references to her in ads from Senate candidates in 2020, more than any other politician, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. Their 2018 study found Pelosi was the most targeted congressional leader of the previous three cycles.
“The attack on Paul Pelosi shows the real and violent consequences of conspiracy theories and the millions of dollars Republicans have spent targeting Speaker Pelosi,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) told the Los Angeles Times. “Elected officials sign up to be in the public eye, but that doesn’t mean we signed up for death threats, harassment and violence — and it certainly doesn’t mean that for our loved ones.”
These billboards about abortion and guns in Georgia were rejected
A billboard campaign to get out the vote by the progressive advocacy group People for the American Way, or PFAW, has gone up in Georgia, but work from two artists were rejected by billboard companies.
One design from artist Deborah Kass shows five conservative Supreme Court Justices and the text “You’re Killing Me, Vote.” Two pieces from artist Cleon Peterson show red, white, and black illustrations depicting his message that “MAGA Republicans” want to control women’s bodies and ensure white supremacists have guns.
“I don’t know much about billboard companies to be honest,” Kass told me. “I do know billboard companies have no problem posting billboards with images of dead fetuses and guns, but given my message, I’m not surprised it’s been censored.”
Peterson said although the images in his billboard designs might seem extreme or sensational, “the policy is way worse than the images.”
“I try to confront the issues that I see in as specific and direct terms as I can without being euphemistic or using symbols that don’t actually speak to the urgency,” he said.
He said he hasn’t done political billboards before, but wanted to in part because of political violence.
“The violence that we’re seeing in our daily lives is happening from one side,” he said, mentioning Jan. 6, the kidnapping attempt on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and the armed amateur poll watchers accused of intimidating voters in Arizona. “It’s undeniable and I think people for so long have tried to not speak about it because they do that whataboutism.”
“It’s got to stop,” he said.
PFAW said the rejected images will be displayed on mobile billboard trucks in Atlanta. Their Georgia Art Project campaign also includes artwork from artists Carrie Mae Weems, Shepard Fairey, and others, as well as radio and digital ads.
“This is art censorship,” PFAW president Ben Jealous said in a statement. “Billboard companies may not want you to see them, but the courageous pieces created by Kass and Peterson offer an undeniable visual of what’s at stake this election and who’s accountable for those actions that are leading America backwards.”
For the second time in two years, a first-edition U.S. Constitution is going up for auction
Of the 13 known surviving copies of a first-edition printing of the U.S. Constitution, just two are in private hands. One sold last year for $43.2 million to hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin and is now on display at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The other goes on sale on Dec. 13 at Sotheby’s.