(08-15-2013, 01:27 AM)kandrathe Wrote: When I was young, I trained and competed with horses. One of my competitors, in order to get their horse into an adrenaline rush, would literally whip her horse (or her father would do it) before her events to get the best performance.
It was not against the rules. Legal or not there are lines I will not cross. I would get extra satisfaction in beating her with skill and training, and not having to abuse my horse (who was then one of my best friends - we had a relationship of mutual trust).
This makes sense, for something which we should be *ethically* forbidden from doing, even if it's within the rules of the particular game. It's against the "rules of life," don't be cruel to animals! But third-party advertising is not inherently unethical. The political contest would serve everyone better without it, but nothing in particular is gained by having only one side stop.
(To be clear, that's not even what the original post actually refers to. This is just Republicans throwing a snit fit and taking their ball and going home. The Dems aren't doing anything, not even through proxies. I'm with Atrios - this would hurt Hillary more than help, in any case.)
-Jester