Lawrence C. "Larry" McCarthy (born 1952) is an American political consultant and media advisor to Republican Party (GOP) campaigns. He is best known as a master of the attack ad, [1] having produced the infamous Willie Horton TV spot during the 1988 presidential election. [2] He serves as President of McCarthy, Marcus, Hennings, Ltd., whose clients include American Crossroads and pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future.
McCarthy was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1952 and was raised in Rockville, Maryland. He attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. before graduating from Georgetown University in 1974. [2]
Upon graduating from Georgetown, McCarthy worked on the successful 1974 re-election campaign of Liberal Republican Senator Jacob K. Javits of New York. [3] He later worked as an aide to John Heinz of Pennsylvania, serving as press secretary in the House of Representatives and political advisor to his successful 1976 Senate campaign. After several years running Heinz's Senate press office, McCarthy joined the staff of the National Republican Senatorial Committee where the Senator took the helm as Chairman for the 1980 campaign. [4] During this cycle, Republicans gained 12 seats and took control of the United States Senate for the first time since 1954.
From 1981 to 1987, McCarthy worked as a senior executive for Ailes Communications under the mentorship of longtime GOP media strategist (and current Fox News CEO) Roger Ailes. During this period he assisted winning campaigns for Republican Senators Phil Gramm, Warren Rudman, Dan Quayle, Bob Kasten, Mitch McConnell, Gordon Humphrey and Dave Durenberger, and Governors George Deukmejian and Tom Kean. [5]
During the 1988 presidential election, while Ailes served as top media advisor to Vice President George H. W. Bush, McCarthy worked for the independent expenditure group "Americans for Bush" under the auspices of the National Security Political Action Committee (NSPAC.) Amid the emerging debate over Democrat Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis' use of prison furloughs during his tenure as Governor of Massachusetts, McCarthy and Americans for Bush released a TV advertisement using the story and likeness of convicted murderer and oft-furloughed inmate Willie Horton. Known as "Weekend Passes", the ad was limited to cable airtime, but was given significant earned media by the networks and other news outlets and became a flashpoint in the campaign. Despite the controversy over the ad and its alleged racial overtones, it was credited along with the Bush-Quayle-sanctioned "Revolving Door" ad for changing the dynamic of the election and marking the downfall of the Dukakis campaign.[ citation needed ]
The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. The Republican nominee, incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts. This was the first presidential election since 1948, and the most recent to date, in which a party won a third consecutive presidential term. This also remains the most recent election in which a candidate won over 400 electoral votes.
Michael Stanley Dukakis is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the second Greek-American governor in U.S. history, after Spiro Agnew. He was nominated by the Democratic Party for president in the 1988 election, losing to the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush.
Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist for the Republican Party. He was an adviser to US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee. Atwater aroused controversy through his aggressive campaign tactics, especially the Southern strategy.
'William R. Horton is an American convicted felon who, while serving a life sentence for murder, was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program. He did not return from his furlough and ultimately committed assault, armed robbery, and rape before being captured and sentenced in Maryland, where he remains incarcerated.
In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement whose message is designed to wage a personal attack against an opposing candidate or political party in order to gain support for the attacking candidate and attract voters. Attack ads often form part of negative campaigning or smear campaigns, and in large or well-financed campaigns, may be disseminated via mass media.
The 1988 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in which, in spite of the Republican victory by George H. W. Bush in the presidential election, the Democrats gained a net of one seat in the Senate. Seven seats changed parties, with four incumbents being defeated. The Democratic majority in the Senate increased by one from 54–to–46 to 55–to–45. This is the last Senate election in which California voted for a Republican and both Texas and Maine voted for Democrats. This would also be the last Senate election until 1998 to not have at least one special election during that cycle. These are also the most recent elections from which no elected Senators are still serving.
The 1988 presidential campaign of Al Gore, U.S. Senator of Tennessee and former House Representative began on April 11, 1987. He campaigned for President of the United States as a Democratic candidate in the 1988 presidential election, against Democratic candidates Joe Biden, Dick Gephardt, Paul Simon, Jesse Jackson, and Michael Dukakis. Despite eventual defeat, Gore was one of the front-runners that year. Al Gore, at that time, represented the Southern Democrats and some of the Conservative Democrats in 1980s.
Sigmund Aronson "Sig" Rogich is an Icelandic/American businessman and is president of The Rogich Communications Group, a business facilitator, public relations, and crisis management firm. He is also a former US Ambassador to Iceland.
"Revolving Door" was a famous negative television commercial made for Republican nominee George H. W. Bush's campaign during the 1988 United States presidential election. Along with the Willie Horton commercial, it is considered to have been a major factor in Bush's defeat of Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis. The ad was produced by political consultant Roger Ailes with help from Bush campaign manager Lee Atwater, and first aired on October 5, 1988. "Revolving door syndrome" is a term used in criminology to refer to recidivism; however, in the ad, the implication is that prison sentences were of an inconsequential length.
Massachusetts liberal is a phrase in American politics which is generally used as a derogatory political epithet by Republicans against Democrats who are from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was most significantly used in the 1988 presidential race by Vice President George H. W. Bush against Governor Michael Dukakis, and again in the 2004 race by then-President George W. Bush against Senator John Kerry. The Democratic candidates lost both races. In the Republican 2012 presidential primary election Newt Gingrich used the phrase "Massachusetts moderate," based on the liberal pejorative, repeatedly against Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts, whose main residence was a mansion in the state. Romney went on to win the nomination, but lost the presidential election.
Floyd Gregory Brown is an American author, speaker, and media commentator. He is formerly the CEO of USA Radio Network. Brown founded the conservative website Western Journalism in 2008. Brown in his early career worked as a political consultant and conducted opposition research for political campaigns. Brown is noteworthy for founding Citizens United in 1988 and for his introduction of the "Willie Horton" television ad during the Bush-Dukakis presidential race.
Thomas J. Josefiak is an American lawyer who was Chief Counsel of Republican National Committee (RNC) and Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) during the 1988 U.S. presidential election. Josefiak is currently a partner with the law firm of HoltzmanVogelJosefiak PLLC in Washington, D.C.
The 1988 United States elections were held on November 8 and elected the members of the 101st United States Congress. The Republican Party retained the presidency, while the Democratic Party retained control of Congress.
The 1988 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen won re-election to a fourth term, defeating Republican U.S. Representative Beau Boulter. Bentsen easily won the Democratic nomination for another term, while Boulter came through a run-off in the Republican primary defeating Wes Gilbreath. After winning renomination, Bentsen was chosen by Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis as his vice-presidential running mate and therefore ran for both the Senate and the vice-presidency at the same time. Although the presidential ticket lost the general election and did not carry Texas, Bentsen was always the favorite for the Senate election and won with 59.2% of the vote, compared to 40% for Boulter.
The 1988 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Voters chose 16 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1988 United States presidential election in Oklahoma took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Oklahoma voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1988 election. Incumbent Vice President George W. Bush won the 1988 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and chose Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as his running mate. The selection of Quayle surprised many of Bush's closest advisers, who had expected Bush to pick a more well-known running mate. However, Bush adviser Roger Ailes helped convince Bush that Quayle would be able to effectively attack the Democratic presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis. Bush also liked Quayle's youth and felt that Quayle would make for a loyal vice president. The Bush–Quayle ticket ultimately defeated the Dukakis–Bentsen ticket in the 1988 election.
The 1988 presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush, the 43rd vice president of the United States under President Ronald Reagan, began when he announced he was running for the Republican Party's nomination in the 1988 U.S. presidential election on October 13, 1987. Bush won the 1988 election against Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis on November 8, 1988. He was subsequently inaugurated as president on January 20, 1989.
The 1988 presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis began when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States on March 16, 1987, in a speech in Boston. After winning the nomination, he was formally selected as the Democratic Party's nominee at the party's convention in Atlanta, Georgia on July 21, 1988. He lost the 1988 election to his Republican opponent George H. W. Bush, who was the sitting Vice President at the time. Dukakis won 10 states and the District of Columbia, receiving a total of 111 electoral votes compared to Bush's 426. Dukakis received 45% of the popular vote to Bush's 53%. Many commentators blamed Dukakis' loss on the embarrassing photograph of him in a tank taken on September 13, 1988, which subsequently formed the basis of a successful Republican attack ad. Much of the blame was also laid on Dukakis' campaign, which was criticized for being poorly managed despite being well funded. He would have been the first Greek American President.