This is Despicable

Vivian Paige has the story:

I got an email yesterday from the Pat Edmonson for LG campaign. Glancing only at the headline, I moved on to the next message in my too full mailbox. Seeing this post last night, though, caused me to go back and read it.

"Last week, Pat began receiving hate emails containing racist, sexist, and homophobic rhetoric. These emails were also sent to members of the Hampton Roads community. They were followed with threats against the candidate. Now, blogs have been used to perpetuate attacks against Pat."

I agree 100% with Vivian on this, "There should be no room in our politics for such behavior." Same thing, by the way - and it does NOT matter how (justifiably) angry anyone is - to threaten AIG executives and their families with physical violence.

People - including our leaders - need to state, loud and clear, that they will not tolerate this type of behavior. And, needless to say, the perpetrators of these cowardly threats need to prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If not, we will soon no longer be a society of law and order, but of violence and anarchy.

UPDATE: Jody Wagner has issued a statement:

Virginians today are concerned about the security of their job, the state of the economy, and their ability to provide quality health care for their kids. Anything that takes away from the dialogue of how we can better provide for Virginia families is inappropriate. Negative and personal attacks have no place in this race.

Good job by Jody Wagner, hopefully we'll get statements of support from the other campaigns as well.

UPDATE #2: Mike Signer has issued a statement as well:

Politics should be about ideas and the future. Fear-mongering and personal attacks have no place in politics or in Virginia. We should condemn any and all attacks that are rooted in hate and aim to intimidate.

UPDATE #3: Jon Bowerbank weighs in:

With the economy in crisis and more and more Virginians losing their jobs every day, the last thing we need in this campaign is personal and hateful attacks that impede, rather than contribute to, solving the problems we face in Virginia and in our nation. Messages of hate have no place in this campaign, this Commonwealth, and this country.