Earlier today we reported that a grieving father is furious with the National Republican Congressional Committee for putting his murdered daughter in a political ad attacking Dem candidate Brad Ellsworth -- who's challenging GOP Rep. John Hostettler -- as soft on crime. Now a video of local news WFIE-TV interviewing the angry father -- and showing a bit of the ad -- has landed in our in-box. The callousness of the NRCC -- which is totally unrepentant about the fact that they're exacerbating the grief of a bereft parent -- just defies belief.
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/sep/08/in_08_grieving_father_slamming_gop_on_newscastAn Evansville man says his murdered daughter was used as a pawn in the 8th District race for Congress. At issue is a TV advertisement paid for by Republicans attacking Democrat Brad Ellsworth's record on crime.
The grieving father, Jimmy Jenkins, says it's an attack on him too. Jenkins says, "The family, we all loved her so much. We all cut a piece of her hair off."
Even 16 months after her death, Jenkins breaks down when he talks about his daughter Tara. In April 2005, she was at her friend Sheena Sandage's First Avenue apartment with two male friends when Sandage's ex-boyfriend, Travis Moore, kicked in the door and eventually started shooting, killing the two women, one of the men and then himself.
When Jenkins was asked if this was something he could get past, He says, "No, it's worse every day, and then I turn on the TV, and I've got politicians using this for political gain, which upsets me every time I hear it."
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=5379827&nav=3w6o