PERSONAL ATTACK ADS LAUNCHED AGAINST BILL HIXON

AIKEN, S.C. (TPS) – Shane Massey, a trial lawyer running for South Carolina Senate District 25 against businessman Bill Hixon, is attempting to pull off a pretty slick stunt in the heated GOP primary runoff scheduled for Oct. 2.

A third party group supporting Massey has launched a well-funded campaign of personal attacks against Hixon. And now Massey has challenged Hixon to sign a “clean campaign pledge” that would prevent him from defending himself.

Hixon supporters regard the ploy as a typical lawyer’s trick and a political smokescreen.

“Various websites have been used to anonymously attack me, my friends and my family,” Hixon told WRDW-TV, referring to negative postings on the anonymous blog KaolinKronicle and negative attack ads from outside groups. “All [Massey] had to do was call the PAC and tell them to leave Bill alone and run on the issues each candidates stands for.”

Hixon has run an entirely positive campaign. He says he intends to stay positive and will only sign the pledge if Massey pledges to end the assaults by third party groups.

In his response to the “pledge,” Hixon also noted that Massey’s campaign has “been in communication and/or cooperation with the out-of-state funded PAC that has mailed voters false and misleading information about me in an attempt to aid your campaign against me.”

One of those PACs appears to be working with the psuedo-news site EdgefieldDaily.com in a coordinated campaign of trumped-up personal attacks against Hixon. Massey now appears to be worried that the anonymous attack tactics could be traced back to his campaign.

With Massey’s campaign being run by the political consulting firm Tompkins, Thompson and Sullivan — the same squad behind the “Phoney Fred” website that aimed to damage GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson and numerous other dirty operations — it’s hard not to notice the similarity to the anonymous attacks now being made against Hixon.

But the idea of challenging the victim of attack ads to sign a pledge not to respond in kind is a new wrinkle. It would be similar to a boxing match where only one fighter is allowed to punch.

And Hixon was wise to respectfully decline to go along with that lopsided arrangement.
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Banner photo: Massey’s advertisement on EdgefieldDaily.com.

In-text photo: Augusta Chronicle