Downticket Republican candidates threaten libel suits over TV spots tying them to Trump

If you want to discourage the notion that you have anything in common with Donald Trump then you should probably avoid the whole “suing for defamation” approach. That’s kind of like screaming “I HAVE THE BEST TEMPERAMENT!”

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Well, now I feel that much better about voting for Coffman’s opponent.

I do love Colorado’s mail ballot system with ballot drop-offs opening more than two weeks before election day. Too bad more states don’t do it. Why on earth would anyone want to make voting difficult? [/sarcasm]

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I think these particular congresscritters think that the suits will publicize their dislike for Trump, something that actually seems plausible. The Huffington Post, the source of the story, is even a little sympathetic:

[quote]Trump is so terrible, these Republicans are essentially arguing, that tying them to him amounts to defamation.

All five Republicans have, at some point, said they don’t support Trump. And all five have a bit of a case: The DCCC ads do use some creativity to tie them to Trump.


***[T]he ads all leave an impression that the candidate they’re targeting supports Trump, even when the candidate himself has said otherwise. Whether that’s misleading enough for legal action is someone else’s call.

The commercials all use different means to make the same point: In Jolly’s case, the ad asks voters to “imagine” Trump as president with Jolly supporting him, providing some roughly manipulated pictures of the two together to help fill in the blanks. ***

The ad targeting Katko uses footage from May of the candidate saying he "absolutely will support” the GOP’s eventual nominee. But Katko’s lawyer says he “has never and does not currently” support Trump. He calls the ad “blatantly false.”

The other cases are similar.[/quote]

I don’t see the usual potential for backfire here: the reporting is likely to emphasize the reps’ desire to distance themselves from Trump, which is the message they want.

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Isn’t that better than opposing the exemption?

It’s cute how the rats all scuttle away from the sinking ship they boarded

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