Provocative Wash. political ad for state senate seat causes stir
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OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A provocative campaign flier is causing quite a stir in a state Senate race. It shows the sexy image of a high school student, and talks about consensual relationships with teachers.
But the target of the ad says it's over the top.
"I thought this was shocking and disgusting," said Jeannie Darneille, a Democrat vying for the 27th District Senate seat.
The picture shows what appears to be a high school student in short shorts.
"It was chosen because it's seductive," Darneille said. "It's chosen because it's luring somebody in to read this piece."
The piece reads, "Hard to imagine. She's a teenager and her math teacher groomed and had a sexual relationship with her for almost a year. But Jeannie Darneille says that's not criminal."
"I absolutely don't support teachers having sex with students," Darneille said.
Darneille does not deny that as a State Representative in 2009, she voted against a bill that made it a crime for teachers to have a consensual sexual relationship with female students who are 18, 19 or 20 years old.
Her opponent, fellow Democrat Jack Connelly, approved the flier with the leggy young woman.
"The vote was a bad vote that Jeannie Darneille made," Connelly said. As for the ad: "I didn't think it was as racy as people are saying."
Darneille said she believes 18, 19 and 20-year-olds are adults able to make their own decisions.
"They can be voting, they can be joining the Army, they can be getting married," she said.
Connelly counters: "The statistics show that the group that is the most vulnerable to this type of grooming and attacks are in the 18-21 year old age group."
Darneille says it's just the latest in a number of attack ads from a successful attorney who's putting up nearly a million dollars of his money -- a state record. Now the million dollar question: is this campaign flier just telling the truth, or is it so provocative that the truth gets lost?
Darneille says the photo distracts from the real issues of the campaign: the fact that she's pro-choice, Connelly is pro-life; she favors marriage equality, he favors traditional marriage.
It is unusual to see two Democrats in the general election, but they were the top two vote-getters in the primary.
Standard operating practice for Dems.
would there be an issue if the student were a male and the teacher a female? Â No, this is a double standard again stacked against men. Â Stop criminalizing men and male sexuality!
 @archon312 It absolutely should be an issue if the teacher is female and the student is male. I don't know why men do not come forward more, but I wish they would. No one deserves to be taken advantage of by someone in a position of authority over them.Â
 @Rebecca Thalacker  @archon312Â
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I pursued and eventual "got" an 18 year old girl to engage with me when I was 15. For 4 years we had a relationship.
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She didn't pursue me, I did her. So while IÂ turned 16 she was already 20, but the time I was 19 we had already moved on.
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The issues we need to separate are three fold. First we need to separate predators from consensual. That means that any person coerced or convinced by undue pressure. The next is minor versus major. Both the hard distinction (17 +346 isn't, 17+ 365 is), and the logical one (16 year old and 18 year old both going to the same high school).
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The most difficult point to measure is the minor/major part (we can generally agree what undue pressure is).If we want to send any 18 year old to prison and label them a sex offender for having consensual relations with anyone under 18 we need to have the law indicate that they CAN have consensual sex with anyone 18 or older.
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If we want to have a more "flexible" law that may allow such things, then one can argue that even at 18, a student supervised by a teacher can violate the law even though they are 18.
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Both of these instances regardless of 'grooming".
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But we cannot have it both ways. You make the law too muddy and everyone becomes a victim. This undermines real victims and fills the courts and prisons with well meaning people.
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Yes, yes.... He'd be MUCH more ethical and morally just if his ads all included the words 'work or jobs', and made veiled references to how his opponent always sided with 'the rich'.Â
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I fully admit that this ad is over the top. Likely, it will backfire on Mr Connelly. But, it's just another sensationalistic PR move by a political candidate. Not really much of a surprise there. The typical ad lines just aren't getting the impact that they're looking for anymore.Â
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BTW, I happen to agree with Ms Darneilles position on the proposed legislation.Â
Unless I read it wrong, why wouldn't the bill apply to male students?
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I agree with Darnielle, it shouldn't be criminal. Â It's best no teacher/student relationships like this be allowed. Â Spell it out ahead of time, and let them both go if they break the rule. Â Only the school should decide that rule.
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As for Connelly's mudslinging, sounds like he's really desperate. Â Hope he loses bigtime.
The TSA molests little children everyday, but that's okay because they're (supposedly) keeping us safe from (child) terrorists.
@Jamie They are keeping us safe from terrorists, so it is okay. Thank you for pointing that out.
I know one sleazy Spokane professor nearly 60 and married who is voting against this; it would be a great embarrassment to his small fundamentalist Christian University.
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My objection is because of his blatant hypocrisy exploiting the school, family, wife, students and pretend faith; the University is to blame because it remains silent to avoid the specter of controversy and hypocrisy itself. I have known very successful relationships/marriages that have started in the classroom but anything good can be exploited.
"Darneille says the photo distracts from the real issues of the campaign: the fact that she's pro-choice, Connelly is pro-life; she favors marriage equality, he favors traditional marriage."
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From the sides he takes, sounds more like a republiCON that just filed in name as a dem !
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Right from the karl (turd blossom)Â rove book !
@sargerator More name calling. I knew you couldn't do it sarge.
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Jack holds notions that represent 19th century perspectives of womanhood that hold the female mind inferior possibly at par with the child mind and incapable of rational thought. With that in mind it is only natural to conclude that women need "extra" protections forced on them by wise men. The same men that have decided that they know what is best for women with regard to fertility and pregnancy.Â
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Jack may identify himself as a Democrat but he represents the Victorian ideals of manhood; self-assurance, condescending to others, and detached from reality.Â
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You are a real class act, Jack.
As usual, people can't understand the legal difference between "unethical" and "criminal". Morons, everywhere.  Should a teacher have an affair with their 18 year old student? Of course not, and they should lose their job too. But that doesn't make it a criminal act, they shouldn't go to jail for it, and we don't need to waste public resources prosecuting them for a consensual adult relationship. Fire them and take their license, that's appropriate. The KATU forum only sees in black and white. Many shades of grey folks, and not everything that you disagree with needs to be legislated against. I thought conservatives liked less gov't rules and interference? Now watch as I'm accused of supporting teachers that diddle their students, just like Darneille. Idiots...
Why anyone relies on ANY of these "political ads" to decide their vote on anything is w-a-y beyond me..! Â Â Nothing but garbage; no positive statements about what their candidate will do for us... just negative pot-shots at the opposition... Campaigns these days seem to be nothing more than mud (or worse)-slinging contests...
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Glad I've already sent my ballot in..! Â Â
 @margay1 Thus far in the election season, I've yet to have one mailer make it past my front door from the mailbox. Garbage can/recycle bin. TV ads don't make it past the first :05 of the ad.Â
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With the advent of the internet, I do my own research. About the only thing political ads do is inform me as to what the focus groups have found to be 'action' words this season. This year, in case no one has noticed, the words are 'work, jobs and economy'.Â
 @margay1 I agree.  I said pretty much the same thing not too long ago.  I don't think any politician these days can be positive.  Just throw enough dirt at the opposition to keep negative attention on them and let the dust blur your own stance.
 @margay1 And that's exactly where I put those political ad mailings - in the garbage (well, recycling).
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Did they not just have a march about the way women dress and just because of the way they dress does not mean they want to be raped? I agree with the march and nothing wrong with this ad.
I have a feeling only 1% of all people would think its alright for a teacher and student to be able to date and have consensual sex.
@portlandborn83 At some point the morals police have to lay off. An adult is an adult. I can see professional standards and individual employment rules but to criminalize all behavior we find not to our liking is way over the top.
@portlandborn83 Would that be for extra credit" LOL
This seems like more of a rule that schools should be responsible for choosing to enforce or not. And it should not be age or gender based. In my opinion, it is not ethical for a teacher and student to be in a relationship if they are in the same class.
 @Dirtman I'd have clicked the Like button if the period of your great sentence had been right after the word 'relationship'!  Dang it. ]:-|
Just more propoganda from the politics entertainment network.