Compassionate Conservatism at Work: GOP Candidate Compares Welfare Recipients To Donkeys In Ad

By Marie Diamond, Think Progress; August 24, 2011 - AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/655315

Former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams is running for Congress on a staunchly anti-Obama, anti-government platform. He recently came out with a new video ad called The Donkey Whisperer [see video below] that’s raising a lot of eyebrows for conflating Democrats with welfare recipients and comparing them to donkeys.

In the video, Williams is interacting with donkeys and chastises them with words like, “All these guys want is more shelter, more feed. [...] You want a handout.” At one point Williams says, “They keep thinking that Obama is going to take care of them, Obama is going to feed them.” “These donkeys don’t live in the United States of France,” he exclaims, “they live in the United States of America!”

According to the Austin-American Statesman, “Williams is getting a lot of praise from conservatives on Twitter for his new web ad.” Williams was appointed by current presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry (R) and served as Texas Secretary of State from 2005 to 2007.

The Donkey Whisperer is prominently featured on the candidate’s website. Though Williams professes to be aiming at Democrats generally (hence the donkey metaphor), it’s clear from his rhetoric that the real subjects of his ridicule are people who want more government aid (“more shelter…more feed…a handout”). Either Williams believes all Democrats are seeking a handout, or he is actually poking fun at welfare recipients.

In the video, Williams also complains the the government is “taxing me to death” — which should evoke limited sympathy coming from a self-proclaimed successful businessman who inherited his father’s car dealership.