Wendy Davis defends controversial wheelchair campaign ad, saying it attacks lawsuit-stance hypocrisy
Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis. Albert H. Teich / Shutterstock.com
Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis is attacking her Republican opponent in a so-called wheelchair ad that is raising some eyebrows.
The ad begins with an image of a wheelchair and then criticizes Davis’ gubernatorial opponent, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, for opposing tort victims despite winning a multimillion-dollar settlement after he was paralyzed from the waist down. Abbott uses a wheelchair. The New York Times and Fox News have stories on the controversy raised by the ad.
“A tree fell on Greg Abbott,” the ad narrator says. “He sued and got millions. Since then, he’s spent his career working against other victims.”
According to the New York Times, the ad “has provoked a nationwide debate over its tone and the boundaries of political attack ads. … Since it hit the air, the ad has become perhaps the most talked-about spot in the 2014 election cycle, creating a fierce pushback from those who feel it was woefully ill-advised and ventured into shameless bad taste.”
Davis, a Democratic state senator, defended the ad Monday when a reporter asked if it exploits Abbott’s disability. “This ad is about one thing. And one thing only,” Davis said. “It’s about Greg Abbott’s hypocrisy.”
Abbott shrugged off the ad in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “If she wants to attack a guy in a wheelchair, that’s her prerogative,” Abbott said. “As for me, I’m running a different type of campaign … I will focus on the future of Texas while my opponent continues to attack me.”
