NEW YORK CITY: Joe Lhota Accused Of Race-Baiting With Anti-De Blasio Ad

Via Politicker:

Republic mayoral candidate Joe Lhota’s latest television ad warns New York City will plunge into violence if Bill de Blasio is elected mayor. In the most negative attack of the election season, the ad features chilling images of crime scenes and corpses lying on the ground, and slams Mr. de Blasio’s allegedly “recklessly dangerous agenda on crime,” warning the Democrat will “take New York backwards.” The 30-second spot, which began airing on broadcast stations today, according to the campaign, includes video of the recent motorcycle gang attack on a father on the West Side Highway and a barrage of images of an overturned cop car, cops in riot gear, graffiti and a scared woman peering out from behind a subway pole–all set to menacing music.

Lhota is slamming critics of the ad.

Enraged by suggestions that his latest campaign ad is divisive and potentially race-baiting, Joe Lhota slammed his front-running opponent in the mayor’s race, Bill de Blasio for comparing his commercial to the infamous “Willie Horton” ad. “I think this is about Bill de Blasio and his inability to have a vision at all,” Mr. Lhota groused to reporters at a campaign stop in Boro Park today. “What you should do is go look at the Willie Horton ad and then ask yourself why they would make such a ludicrous comparison.”

The ad, of course, is a desperation move as De Blasio is leading by more than 40 points. The election is in two weeks.