Attack on family pet brings political strife to new low
Recent national politics coming out of the Republican primary have been, for the most part, tame. However, smaller-scale politics had a shock on Monday when a Democratic campaign manager in Russellville, Ark., Jake Burris, was a victim of terrorism. The family cat, Gato, was found brutally murdered on the front porch with the word “liberal” written across its body in black spray-paint. Burris manages Ken Aden’s campaign for Arkansas’ 3rd congressional district against Republican incumbent Steve Womack.
There are no leads yet on who was behind this crime, but Womack’s campaign vehemently denied it and in a press release stated their disgust for the perpetrator. It isn’t a secret that the two politicians don’t agree with each other. Their campaigns have both been filled with strong arguments and heated debates with the other, but this is the first instance of violence.
Arkansas’ 3rd congressional district has had a Republican leader since the 1966 election, so the Democratic Party was already fighting an uphill battle with the popular vote. This new development in the campaign is a sad one for the family and for the campaign. This level of violence is both unwarranted and a deplorable result of the increasing conflict between Democrats and Republicans.
This story received national coverage through multiple social networking and media network stories. It’s no question that this is a gross crime against Aden’s campaign, Burris and Burris’ family, and it begs a startling question: Will this kind of action have any ripple effect? The next months lead to both national and local elections, where both parties will be raising the stakes and employing increasingly aggressive tactics. One can only hope this kind of response to a political campaign doesn’t become a trend.