NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER: Borrowed Family
Ben Quayle, the 33-year-old lawyer and son of former VP Dan Quayle who is running for the House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), has sent out campaign mailers featuring a photo of him with two little girls who are not his daughters – he and wife Tiffany are childless – and the headline “A new generation.” The Arizona Capitol Times explains:
Underneath one image, the text reads, in part: “Tiffany and I live in this district and we are going to raise our family here.” …
It’s not until you flip the mailer over to read that Quayle and his wife live in Phoenix with their dog, Louie. No mention of kids.
The second mailer, a pro-life piece that explains his staunch opposition to abortion and support of traditional marriage, contains the same image of the girls. But this time, there’s no disclaimer about Quayle not yet having kids of his own. …
The girls are actually Quayle’s nieces, said spokeswoman Megan Rose, which she added is further evidence that Quayle was not intending to mislead voters about his family status. …
To be sure, having kids is not a requirement of office. And there are plenty of candidates out there who have children yet are probably unfit to serve. But it’s reasonable that time-crunched voters could scan these mailers and walk away with the impression that Quayle has more life experience than he actually does.
State Rep. Kevin Yoder (R), who used the same tactic in his campaign, beat out eight other Republicans to contest Democrat Stephene Moore for the House seat held by her husband Rep. Dennis Moore's (D-KS), who is retiring.
It remains to be seen whether a borrowed family will work out as well for Quayle as it has for Yoder, but The Stiletto thinks it’s sorta creepy, like keeping the photo that came with the picture frame.
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