Controversial ad links Granholm and Dems to Hitler
A newspaper ad targeted at African Americans and linking Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other Democrats to Adolf Hitler drew immediate and intense criticism from its targets and its potential beneficiary today.
Chris DeWitt, spokesman for the Granholm for Governor campaign, called the tactic ?outrageous? and ?repugnant.?
A spokesman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos also said the ad was ?despicable,? and said a statement denouncing it would be forthcoming.
Granholm and other Democrats highlighted in the ad appearing in the Michigan Chronicle this week have been staunch defenders of opportunity for African Americans, DeWitt said.
The newspaper ad features the story of Jesse Owens, an African American and gold medal winner at the 1936 Munich Olympics who became a supporter of the Republican candidate for president that year. The ad features photographs of Hitler, Owens and prominent Democrats like former Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
Adolph Mongo, a Detroit-based political consultant and critic of Granholm, supported the message of the ad Thursday, which he said is about the lack of respect black voters receive from Democrats.
?Nobody is saying that Granholm and Hitler are the same person; it?s just telling a story,? he said.
The ad, paid for by a PAC run by Mongo?s stepdaughter and employee Nataki Harbin, urges black voters to ?Say No to Governor Granholm in November.?
Mongo said it does not mean, however, that blacks should say yes to Republican Dick DeVos.
DeVos campaign manager Greg McNeilly said this morning there is no connection between Mongo or the PAC which paid for it and the DeVos campaign.