Virginian gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore has released a campaign commercial attacking his opponent, Tim Kaine, as unwilling to enforce the death penalty, even against Adolph Hitler. Kaine has repsonded with a commercial that says he will, in fact, enforce the death penalty according to the law, Hitler notwithstanding. Apparently, the voters are expected to care.

There is something wrong with politics and with the American people when capital punishment is such an issue that it becomes the topic of mud-slinging. What kind of person would actually vote against someone solely because he doesn’t support the death penalty? Aren’t there more important things to sway your vote, like fiscal responsibility, protection of civil rights, taxation, education, health care? Why are these things less important than killing a criminal instead of letting him rot in prison for the rest of his life?

The ads have drawn criticism for invoking Hitler’s name and trivializing the Holocaust. If I were a Virginia voter, I would personally be even more offended by Kilgore’s blatant insult to the intelligence of the people of Virginia by thinking their votes could be won just by dropping Hitler’s name–and then reminding them that Hitler “was one of the worst mass murderers in modern times,” in case they didn’t know.

If this is the best argument that Kilgore can come up with against his opponent–since he apparently can’t come up with one to support himself–his campaign is in real trouble, and rightfully so.