Kitchens Negative Attacks

Used to before the election, desperate campaigns would circulate a scandal sheet with false or scurrilous allegations against their opponents. They'd end up on cars or in your yard or handed out right before the election. The Jim Kitchens Campaign has done the online version (which they are free to do). I won't bother linking it, but in their news release the Kitchens campaign says "We have said from day one that this race should be about the issues, about a person’s record and not about personal attacks." Except none of the Kitchens false allegations are about Jim Smith's record. None. They don't show where he ruled incorrectly in a single case. They are all personal attacks. Desperation.

The Kitchens campaign did have the courage to sign their name to the attacks. So they also deserve the credit for their negativity.

Today the Neshoba County Democrat endorsed Jim Smith. The endorsement says in part:

Smith has run a strictly positive campaign and worked to earn every vote, visiting every cabin and camper at the Neshoba County Fair....Kitchens' campaign has festered with negativity and attacks against Smith.

The endorsement also says:

Chief Justice Jim Smith has a proven record of fairness on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Under his leadership, the Court has cleared all its backlogs and is current for the first time in decades. He administers the Court with professionalism and respect for the dignity of the law that is sorely needed in Mississippi's legal profession today...Smith is known in his community as an intelligent jurist and a humble man of faith...Mississippi will benefit from the re-election of an honest and fair man of integrity like Jim Smith.

Honor. Fairness. Professionalism. Dignity. Not negative attacks.

(Truth is, RespondMississippi enjoys watching campaigns get rough and tumble. We like the attack ads and the quips and the partisan rhetoric. We want more, not less. We don't believe the press does its job at exposing records, and so the opposition campaigns must do it instead. And Smith may need to respond to Kitchens aggressively. But let it be known the first shots were fired by Kitchens.)