Ken Connor Opines on Alan Grayson's 'Taliban Dan' Ad

Ken Connor, formerly head of the Family Research Council and now with the Center for a Just Society, offered his take on a controversial commercial being run by Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson calling his Republican opponent, former House Speaker Dan Webster, Taliban Dan.

The quest for victory in politics and the power it brings often brings out the worst in people, wrote Connor, who is best remembered by Floridians for his tenure at Florida Right-to-Life and his bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1994. Central Florida congressman Alan Grayson's recent attack on his Republican opponent Daniel Webster is a case in point. Grayson locked in a tight race with a popular, highly regarded veteran of the Florida Legislature has resorted to an ends justifies the means tactic that is so outrageous, it may well cost him the election.

Intoxicated with the power of his office and apparently desperate to hold on to it, Grayson released a television ad portraying Webster as a religious fanatic and enemy of women; a homegrown Taliban Dan. Unfortunately for Mr. Grayson, anyone who knows Webster knows that he is a devout Christian who has served the people of Florida with integrity in Tallahassee, continued Connor.Not surprisingly, then, Grayson's ad has backfired big time! One look at the original footage of Mr. Webster's allegedly Taliban-like submit to me speech reveals the scurrilous nature of Grayson's attack and reinforces the view of voters in the current election cycle that members of Congress cannot be trusted to conduct the people's business with honor and integrity.

Connor argued that the ad poses a number of challenging questions that should be directed at Grayson.

Does he equate conscientious Christians with Taliban radicals? asked Connor. Does he think Christianity views women through the same lens as Islam? Does he assert that Bible-believing Christians should be disqualified from serving in public office? The ad raises a multitude of questions, not the least of which is whether Grayson possesses even an ounce of integrity.

One thing is certain: Grayson has proven that he will say and do anything to hang on to power, and he has obviously become comfortable operating from the gutter, concluded Connor. It's now left for the people of Florida to decide if Grayson's gutter politics are what they want of their elected public servants. If Daniel Webster's recent surge in campaign donations is any indication, it's looking like Mr. Grayson would be wise to start looking for another line of work.