Op ed by “Willie Horton” ad author in East Valley Trib

by David Safier

Absolutely, papers should present arguments on all sides in their op ed space. But they shouldn't give their pages over to pure political hit men.

That's what the East Valley Trib did Saturday, when it ran an op ed about signs of mental illness in Obama. I refuse to link to the op ed. You're welcome to find it yourself.

The hit piece, better suited to viral Obama-hating emails than a newspaper, is penned by Floyd Brown. He created the famous Willie Horton ad when Dukakis ran against Bush I. He founded Citizens United which put out "Hillary: The Movie." That led to the recent Supreme Court decision freeing corporations to spend whatever they want on political campaigns. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he wrote "Obama, Unmasked." He created an internet ad about Obama: "Was He Muslim?"

Brown is a political hit man. Let him write his own books and ads. That's his right. But don't give him the credibility that comes with putting him on the opinion page of a newspaper.

So far as I can tell, the Trib is the only paper in the country that ran the column. Of course, you can find it on the usual right wing websites.

The Trib, whose reporting I have praised on numerous occasions, should be ashamed.