'Zombie Obama': A GOP group's 'disgusting' email

Tapping into the Halloween spirit, a local Virginia Republican committee sent out this Obama illustration only to offend Democrats and Republicans alike.

(Image credit: screenshot, myvidster.com)

last updated 8 January 2015

The image: A Halloween-themed mailer from Virginia's Loudon County Republican Committee sparked bipartisan outrage this week for its gruesome rendering of President Obama as a zombie with a bullet hole in his head. (See the image at right and below.) The email, which invited supporters to the county GOP's Halloween parade, also featured undead versions of Democratic voters and Nancy Pelosi, with the tagline, "We are going to vanquish the zombies with clear thinking conservative principles and a truckload of Republican candy." The mailer has been condemned by the chairman of Virginia's Republican Party, and Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell branded it as "disgusting." The county committee has since apologized for the "Zombie Obama" image, calling it a "light-hearted attempt to inject satire humor into the Halloween holiday."

The reaction: "Have these people no sense?" says Andrew Belonsky at Death and Taxes. It's in the worst of taste, both morally and politically, to depict any politician with a gunshot wound, particularly after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was nearly killed by a bullet earlier this year. This is "too gruesome for words." I guess "I'm nearly impossible to offend," says David Wiegel at Slate. The blog that first posted this image crashed "under the weight of traffic from liberals who want to be pissed off at something," but I just don't see what the big deal is. Regardless, this "zombie madness contributes heavily to my dislike for Halloween," says Noah Rothman at Ology. "Thank God it's November." See for yourself: