The politics of personal destruction, according to Terrence Wall

During his brief U.S. Senate campaign, Republican Terrence Wall has been plagued by questions surrounding his personal income taxes (or lack thereof), and he has responded to questions and coverage of that issue by the media by calling the questions the “politics of personal destruction.” What’s really curious – though I’d argue it’s downright hypocritical – is the fact that while Terrence Wall has called questions about his personal income taxes the “politics of personal destruction,” Wall apparently has no qualms about engaging in the very same “politics of personal destruction” in his first TV ad against Sen. Russ Feingold, an ad that has been debunked by the Associated Press as “misleading.”

While Terrence Wall has been busy complaining about the attacks against, him, he’s demonstrated he clearly has an affinity for talking out of both sides of his mouth, as evidenced by his campaign’s continued mudslinging and personal attacks on Senator Feingold. In a recent interview with the Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth (WVCY) television program ‘In Focus,’ Wall claimed the two things that separate him most from Senator Russ Feingold are Wall’s “Honesty” and “Integrity,” and later in the interview, Wall had the unmitigated gall to say that he’s “concerned about the value system” of Senator Feingold. Wall continued, saying, “I mean [he doesn’t] seem to have a fundamental foundation of values… principles…”

Wall’s mudslinging and personal attacks aren’t going unnoticed, as the Green Bay Press Gazette has lamented the negative start to Wall’s U.S. Senate campaign, noting,

The challenger’s strategy of taking on the incumbent early in the game could win highly prized name recognition, said David Littig, political science professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. But at what cost to voters, who will have to endure the mudslinging from now until the Nov. 2 election?

Unfortunately, there is no letting up in the Senate race.

It’s worth noting this comes from the same editorial board that endorsed George W. Bush for reelection in 2004, and it’s the same editorial board that endorse Tim Michels’ 2004 U.S. Senate campaign against Sen. Feingold. If Terrence Wall’s mudslinging and personal attacks have already turned off folks who should be his allies, then 2010 promises to be a bad year for Terrence Wall, whose hypocrisy and personal attacks against Sen. Feingold seem to be turning off friends and foes alike.