Maine Republicans Target WoW Playing Rival in State Senate Race

By Brian P Rubin | 05 October 2012 | 11 Comments

A post on NBC News from yesterday reports that the race for a seat in the Maine State Senate has started focusing on video games—specifically, the game-playing hobby of Democratic challenger Colleen Lachowicz. Lachowicz is currently a level 85 orc in World of Warcraft, a fact that the Republican Party in her district has jumped on in order to discredit her as a viable candidate, even going so far as to set up a whole website meant to document and defame her reputation based purely on the fact that she plays the game and on the comments she’s made in the game’s forums.

Here’s the main argument the site offers up as to why Lachowicz is unfit for the position of state senator:

“In Colleen’s online fantasy world, she gets away with crude, vicious and violent comments like the ones below. Maine needs a State Senator that lives in the real world, not in Colleen’s fantasy world.”

But NBC reached out to Lachowicz for comment, and this is what she had to say:

“I think it’s weird that I’m being targeted for playing online games. Apparently I’m in good company since there are 183 million other Americans who also enjoy online games. What’s next? Will I be ostracized for playing Angry Birds or Words with Friends? If so, guilty as charged!

What’s really weird is that the Republicans are going after my hobbies instead of talking about their record while they’ve been running Augusta for the last two years. Instead of talking about what they’re doing for Maine people, they’re making fun of me for playing video games. Did you know that more people over the age of 50 play video games than under the age of 18? As a gamer, I’m in good company with folks like Jodie Foster, Vin Diesel, Mike Myers, and Robin Williams. Maybe it’s the Republican Party that is out of touch.”

The post also quotes a WoW forum user, who offered up a defense of Lachowicz and her gaming ways:

“I don’t know that I’d agree with her political stances or that I would vote for based on her policies. That’s not what this is about. What I do know is that using the fact that she plays World of Warcraft against her in a political campaign is absurdly pathetic … I think it makes the person using it as a negative look petty and desperate.”

Above all, no matter what party you belong to, it’s hard not to sympathize with Lachowicz for simply enjoying a hobby. Would the opposition jump on her the same way if she were a big movie buff, or played a lot of basketball in her spare time? “CANDIDATE’S HOOP DREAMS INCOMPATIBLE WITH DREAMS FOR MAINE.” I mean, it’s just unfair, and definitely makes it difficult to see the attackers in a positive light, don’t you think?

What say you? Would you rather have a legislator who doesn’t ever jump into the video game world? Or someone who knows the joy of grabbing loot at the end of a successful raid?

Via NBC News

11 Comments

Posted by willthekilla5 on 05 October 12 at 8:07am

Look, im a Republican and im ok with this just cuz they are bashing a video game doesn’t mean they’re bad, but Lord knows if we have a democratic president and every thing else were going to have a socialist state as a country.
- Posted by Lawrence Sonntag on 05 October 12 at 8:34am
  
  Well you’ve certainly driven home the point that Republicans are even-handed and avoid stereotypes.
  - Posted by smr on 05 October 12 at 5:02pm
    
    I’m quite sick of people trying to dismiss many peoples’ opinions just by lumping them under the same name. “Republicans” aren’t targeting her for playing WoW, it’s one goddam idiot’s campaign.
Posted by NeoPendragon on 05 October 12 at 8:39am

if you had any idea what that word actually meant you’d know that our government has many socialist programs that have been in place since the 50s, nothing obama can do will me make us more socialist then we already are. BTW noone insinuated that because these guys are dicks that’s how all Republicans feel but these specific ones are out of touch if their attacking her on grounds that have nothing to do with her integrity as a person
Posted by Landon Robinson on 05 October 12 at 9:52am

Another reason to hate the party system. GO AMERICAN POLITICS.
Posted by Brownee on 05 October 12 at 10:12am

Suddenly Australia’s government seem slightly less stupid…
Posted by garrett on 05 October 12 at 10:31am

This shows just how stupid American politics really are
Posted by sigmapsicharlie on 05 October 12 at 1:50pm

I want to know what she said on the forums. They said she made comments on a game forum that were bad. She might be a troll and just leave shitty comments everywhere. If thats the case then I wouldn’t vote for her. Just because she happens to be a WoW player doesn’t make her every gamers/WoW players best friend. I’m sure Hitler played table top games after each war room meeting too, it doesn’t make me like him any more.
- Posted by connery0 on 06 October 12 at 12:55am
  
  let’s asume hitler played those games in his free time, would you sympathise with ppl saying he’s evil becous he played those games and therefore should never have gotten such power in his country, or would you believe the guy that says he should have never got such power becous his idea’s were messed up and imoral?
Posted by MagnusDune on 05 October 12 at 2:36pm

Wow…that opposing party must be real desperate. It’s sad that they go to a persons hobbies in order to try to bring them down….what’s next? golf? crafting? Grow the fck up people and get with the times.
Posted by FailPlayer on 08 October 12 at 7:35pm

Don’t know what’s worse; this or PETA attacking Pokemon.