Swiftboating James B. Lewis: Is Repub Treasurer Candidate's Mailer Racist?

Controversy has erupted in the race for NM Treasurer, where Democrat James Lewis is running against Republican Demesia Padilla. The latest mailer by Padilla features this graphic:

(Click on image for larger version)

According to an Albuquerque Journal article,

State treasurer candidate James B. Lewis says a new campaign mailer by opponent Demesia Padilla is racially charged, while Padilla says it's not racist and is just a cartoon.

... "It's borderline ... (it) almost seemed racist. It's just bad they're going to the bottom of the barrel," said Lewis, the Democratic candidate.

... Richardson re-election campaign Chairman Dave Contarino called the caricature "racially tinged" and "trash politics."

... Lewis said a family member told him about the new Padilla mailer Wednesday evening. He described the relative as "livid."

"This image here reminds me of somebody hanging somebody, really," Lewis told the Journal Thursday. "It's in very poor taste."

You can send the Padilla campaign a message by voting in a poll at the Albuquerque Journal website that asks whether the image is objectionable or not. Scroll down on their main page to the poll on the right. If you'd like to contact the Padilla campaign, click here. Click to visit the James B. Lewis Campaign website and lend your support.

Repub Money from Swiftboating Supporters
Like almost every Repub campaign in NM this election season, Padilla's has moved into sleazy territory. In the September Journal polling in the race, Lewis led Padilla 40-26. I guess it's not surprising when two of the most generous contributors to NM Republicans this cycle were Bob Perry and Doylene Perry of Houston. As reported in the Santa Fe New Mexican,

Perry was a major contributor to the controversial Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, which in 2004 attacked Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's military record.

In fact, according to MSNBC.com, Perry was the CHIEF financial backer of the so-called Swifboat Veterans for Truth, who ran all those smear ads against Kerry during the 2004 election.

Contributions by the Perrys to state Repub candidates here include:

Republican State Treasurer candidate Demesia Padilla:
Her biggest donations were $25,000 each from Bob Perry and Doylene Perry of Houston

Republican Attorney General candidate Jim Bibb:
$25,000 from Houston businessman Bob Perry plus another $25,000 from Perry and his wife, Doylene

Republican Secretary of State Candidate Vickie Perea:
Her biggest contributors were Bob Perry and Doylene Perry of Houston, at $25,000 each

Click for the Wikipedia entry on Perry.