Sleazy phone calls to South Carolina voters falsely imply female candidate has had an abortion, “done jail time”

Left: Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D). Right: Mark Sanford (R). (Credit: ABC News) Via.

Because it’s not already hard enough to run for political office as a woman in this country, conservative groups in South Carolina are playing dirty politics leading up to the  congressional special election next week. According to ThinkProgress,  the group, identifying themselves only as “SSI polling”, are calling voters and asking a series of “leading” questions about Democratic candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch. Apparently,

“One of the most popular tactics is known as “push polling,” whereby a group calls up voters under the guise of conducting a poll, only to ask questions that leave the voter with a highly-misleading impression about a certain candidate.”

One of the questions presented in this round of push polling was:

“What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?”

Well… I don’t live in South Carolina’s first congressional district but I’d love to share what I would think about any candidate who has had an abortion. It’s quite simple really. I would think that she made a decision about her body that has absolutely nothing to do with me, or her effectiveness as a leader.

Why? Because it’s not my business what she does with her uterus, nor is the business of any of her other constituents and opponents. The fact that Colbert Busch’s opposition is assuming that abortion is something that smears a person’s character and is using it to discredit her aside, the anti-choice folks organizing “SSI Polling” could seriously use an advanced lesson in “Minding Your Own Fucking Business”. Upon completion of which they can advance to “How to Run an Ethical Campaign”. *rolls eyes*

And just a friendly reminder in case folks forget: If you don’t support abortion, don’t get one, shut the fuck up, and have a seat.