Not a dog whistle, ‘a damn bullhorn’: Gov. Parson’s allies inject race into crime debate

Allies of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson are using an ugly tactic in their campaign against Democrat Nicole Galloway.

Uniting Missouri PAC recently unveiled a website critical of Galloway’s views on crime. “Anti-police. Pro-crime. Wrong for Missouri,” the website says.

Just as stand-alone claims, the statements are wrong. But the pictures the PAC uses to make the point should offend Missourians: Virtually all the photos, other than Galloway, are of Black people.

They include Cori Bush, the Democratic nominee for the Missouri’s 1st District U.S. House seat; Rasheen Aldridge, a member of the Missouri House; and Clem Smith, a former state lawmaker and acting chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Even unidentified photos on the website mostly show Black people, including one depicting an apparent confrontation with police.

“This isn’t a dog whistle to white supremacists — it’s a damn bullhorn,” said a tweet from Lindsey Simmons, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House from Missouri’s 4th District. “That is the most racist thing I have ever seen in my life,” said Democratic state Rep. Barbara Anne Washington, who is running for a seat in the Missouri Senate.

The website also cites Planned Parenthood and Indivisible, a progressive group, as two organizations supporting Galloway. Neither citation includes a photograph.

John Hancock, the head of Uniting Missouri, disavowed any racist intent.

“The individuals and organizations listed ... have two things in common,” he said in an email. “They are supporting Nicole Galloway for governor, and they hold documented anti-law enforcement views.”

But not everyone who supports police accountability and reasonable funding for police is Black. The PAC could have easily found similar statements from white Missourians opposed to excessive force and needless brutality.

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson has called for police reform. So has John Chasnoff, who is part of an organization called the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression. Missouri state Rep. Ron Hicks, a Republican, says he wants to introduce a police accountability bill next year. All are white.

Even Gov. Mike Parson wants officers held accountable. “People that don’t do it right, law enforcement officers that don’t conduct themselves professionally, then I don’t have any mercy for them,” he said earlier this year. He said police shouldn’t use chokeholds.

Is that a “documented anti-law enforcement” view? Let’s hope the answer is no.

The PAC’s exclusive use of African-American images in negative campaign ads and messaging is, sadly, an increasingly common tactic. In the Kansas 3rd Congressional District race, a new mailer shows Democratic incumbent Sharice Davids and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who immigrated to the U.S. from Somalia.

“Sharice Davids Stands with Anti-Police Radicals,” the postcard says. Again, the claim is misleading, and using the photograph is just wrong.

The mailer was produced by the Kansas Republican Party, which did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

The nation needs an informed discussion about ways to make the police more accountable to the people they serve. That should not be a racial issue, and we condemn any political ads that suggest it is.