Senate
Even the most casual of television viewers have probably noticed the glut of negative ads related to the Senate race between Chris Murphy and Linda McMahon. It might seem like civility is a thing of the past, but that’s not necessarily true.
The Connecticut Mirror interviewed Susan Herbst, author of “Rude Democracy” and president of the University of Connecticut for some historical context.
While the Senate ads criticizing the character of the candidates might seem rude, they pale in comparison to one event Herbst called “rock-bottom.”
According to the Connecticut Mirror:
And as the politics of sectionalism in the 1850s drove the United States toward the Civil War, South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks viciously beat Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner with a cane on the Senate floor after the latter referred to Brooks' relative, Sen. Andrew Butler, as a pimp trying to introduce the whore of slavery to Kansas.
Fifth District
Andrew Roraback is the target of a national organization’s ire. The Register Citizen reports that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $134,000 on negative ads targeting Roraback. The group has spent more than $2 million throughout the country in this election.
Recently the DCCC commissioned a poll showing Elizabeth Esty in the lead. A poll commissioned by Roraback’s campaign showed the Republican leading.
