The Republican party are trying to discredit Democrat candidate Colleen Lachowicz because she plays World of Warcraft. Quoting Lachowicz talking about the game, they have made a website and are distributing leaflets saying her comments “raise questions about Lachowicz’s maturity and her ability to make serious decisions.”
It’s got to that time in the American election process where the claws come out, candidates criticise their opponents upbringing, home life, religion, sexuality, preference for cake over pie, and all manner of things. They pick something they feel the majority of the voters will latch onto: in poor districts they might draw attention to their opponents wealth; in wealthy districts their opponents lack of a second home. The Maine Republican party have opted for the Democrat candidate’s hobby: World of Warcraft.
In the announcement for their attack on Lachowicz, they suggest it’s too time-consuming -“studies have found that the average World of Warcraft gamer is 28 and spends 22.7 hours per week playing” – and that the way Lachowicz talks about the game”raise questions about Lachowicz’s maturity and her ability to make serious decisions.”
The quotes are taken from a blog called the Daily Koswhere Lachowicz wrote of her hobby. Including a guide onhow to get started in Azeroth and getting her guild, Wreck List, up and running. The comments the Republican’s have chosen are things like “Traditional or trans! Yelling “Cunt” onstage always cracks me up”and “Do not send me a campaign contribution or I will have to stab you! Seriously!” and can be found on the Daily Kos’ comment threads.
They don’t carry across the context of those quotes. Whilst it is true that Lachowicz wrote”Do not send me a campaign contribution or I will have to stab you! Seriously!”, she was saying it in response to a post in which the family of one ofher guild member’s detailed how their home had burned down, leaving them with nothing. She was telling them not to use any of their remaining money on her campaign.
Likewise, with the yelling “Cunt”, she was talking about performing the Vagina Monologues and that being her favourite point.
The Maine Republicans write saying they”will make an effort to give voters all of the information about candidate Lachowicz”; it does not appear they have.
These are the leaflets they are posting through local neighbourhoods:
The text is difficult to read on this one, so click to see a larger version.
If you’d like to learn a little more about Colleen Lachowicz, this is her candidate biography.