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Madia not the first politician to have his image altered
News coverage of a political attack ad featuring darkened images of Minnesota congressional candidate Ashwin Madia prompted a viewer to cite a similar controversy in Virginia this election season. In that state's 5th Congressional District incumbent Republican Virgil Goode began airing a TV ad against Democratic opponent Tom Perriello that prompted supporters and other observers to cry foul. An older photo of Perriello with a beard was converted to black and white, and partially shaded with horizontal bars. His eyes also appear much darker in the ad than in the original source photo, or in reality. Because the voice-over in Goode's spot tells viewers Perriello is "wrong for Virginia" critics maintained the point of the imagery was to imply the challenger is not a true native of that district. In an editorial railing against the doctored image in the ad, the Roanoke Times noted it "shows a still image of the candidate shaded so darkly that he could be Middle Eastern -- or perhaps Hispanic." On the contrary, the newspaper described Perriello as "plain vanilla white, born and raised in the 5th District." Perriello, a Yale law school grad, grew a beard while working as an attorney for various international justice foundations in Africa, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Madia case in Minnesota Two independent analysts told KARE 11 earlier this week they believed photos of 3rd District Minnesota Congressional candidate Ashwin Madia were darkened, in an ad produced by the National Republican Congressional Committee. The NRCC says it stands by the ad, but the side-by-side comparisons between the source photos and the images as they were altered for the "Running to Raise Taxes" spot prompted an outcry from Madia's supporters and others. Madia, the son of Indian immigrants, is running in a tight three-way race with Republican State Representative Erik Paulsen and Independence Party candidate David Dillon. State Senator Satveer Chaudhary of Fridley sharply criticized the NRCC ad in a statement released to the media on Thursday. "When a darkened effect is put on an ethnic minority's face," Chaudhary wrote, "The outcome is far different than any other negative ad, and they know it." He suggested it's part of a pattern nationally to paint certain candidates as different than average Americans. "These ads portray Madia as a dark, sinister intruder at best," Chaudhary said, "And at worst a terrorist." "It's the race card." Minnesota connection Goode made headlines after the 2006 election, when Minnesota's Keith Ellison made it known he would use Quran for his swearing-in ceremony. His decision caused a controversy for some conservatives, who flooded Ellison's office with angry and hateful messages. At the time Goode was quoted in a letter posted online as saying, "The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district." "And if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." Goode, a one-time Democrat who switched parties, has made cracking down on illegal immigration one of his key issues. But Rep Ellison, the first Muslim ever elected to Congress, is not an immigrant. Ellison was born and raised in Detroit and moved to the Twin Cities 21 years ago to go to law school. The actual copy of the Quran that Ellison used to take the oath of office in January of 2007 had once been owned by Thomas Jefferson.
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