So, your dad is running for election as a judge. And you think he’s not going to make a good judge. That’s okay; I bet LOADS of candidates don’t have 100% support from their families.
So you want to campaign against him; maybe support the other candidate. That’s okay, too. Just because you’re related to someone doesn’t mean you have to think they’re cut out for an elected office.
But if you’re gonna take out an ad saying “Don’t vote for my dad,” and then you use the ad to point out that he’s been a lousy dad and a lousy grandfather on top of his poor legal career, don’tdon’tdon’tDON’T try to tell anyone that it’s not about the parenting thing and don’t let your husband tell the press “This father-daughter thing is interesting, but that’s not the story.”
I’m referring to John Mantooth and his daughter Jan Schill. He’s running for office in Oklahoma. She’s put up a website (donotvoteformydad.com) and the full-page ad she’s taken out in the local paper:
The guy may be a world-class schmoe for all I know; I know enough about divorces to know I will never know the truth about a marriage except maybe my own. But I do know this: if it ISN’T about the family stuff, you shouldn’t be putting family stuff in your ad.
Because if you *do* put it in the ad, guess what? It’s about the family stuff.
Note: on her website, she has links to paperwork from at least one of Dad’s divorces. Not that it’s about his skills as a parent! Oh, no!
Mom, Interrupted 
On a completely distant related note…that’s how I always felt about Kathi Lee Gifford and Frank – all she ever did was gush about her kids (Cody this and Cassidy that) and moon over Frank. Blah Blah Blah….Then when the crap hits the fan about his infidelity, she wants privacy??!!?? Can’t have it both ways…
I guess my point is – don’t open the door – if you don’t ever want to have to deal with private issues in a public setting, don’t give anyone that opportunity.
So I first heard about this because a friend of mine from Jr High posted something about it on Facebook.. she has supposedly known the daughter for 20 years. Her comment was that the guy was a horrible and abusive and running on a “morality” and “family values” platform… so I think in part the ad/website is not necessarily trying to get into the family stuff.. but wanting to say he’s a hypocrite (note, I know NONE of these people and don’t really have an opinion either way)
The funny thing is… I don’t see anything on the website about him being horrible or abusive. In fact, maybe I missed it but the only antidote I saw was… dang I was going to copy and paste it here but I can’t find it, maybe they took it down.
Anyway, in a nut shell it was a story about the guy dropping off a crappy basket at his son-in-laws office that had old, worm filled chocolate that was supposed to be a Christmas gift for his daughter… which I admit won’t win him a father of the year award but doesn’t really consititue abuse (and honestly that they included that story just made the couple in question look like money grubbers to me).
I feel pretty bad for the whole family… seems very disfunctional to me.
I’m perfectly willing to accept the guy IS a lousy father and grandfather. I just take issue with the part where the daughter makes two thirds of her ad about just that, and then tells the press, “It’s not personal.”
It *is* personal, if you put those comments in your ad. Given what you’ve said, it would have made more sense to me if she said, “He’s running on a family values platform, but this is how he lives those ‘family values,'” and then didn’t try to tell everyone it’s not about his parenting skills.
Because it is, and maybe it should be.