More Of This Please!

Only the next time can we put this ad out BEFORE the Republicans put theirs out? Damn I'm tired of playing defense...

Shots Fired!

Excellent attack ad on GOP hypocrisy over the Stimulus Bill. One thing about it though is Democrats have to learn to start using scarier music. Sets the mood a bit better lol. Still, damn good in my opinion.

Wow, That Was Fast

The Air We Breathe

MoveOn is coming out with a series of attack ads on corporatist Dems like Senator Landrieu, for trying to block climate change legislation. This is really good stuff.

Now If You Want To Make Hay Out Of Something On Scott Brown

Martha Coakley and the rest of the Mass. Democratic machine have really been making a mess out of things in her race for Ted Kennedy's seat of late, but if they want to get people off their ass to vote in the election they should play this clip of Scott Brown questioning whether President Obama's mother and father were married at the time of his birth. It shows that the "moderate" he has been pretending to be on the campaign trail is just an act and the REAL Scott Brown came out for just a minute. And while they are at it they should put out a press releaase calling on all of the GOP leadership to say whether they think what he said was appropriate and calling on him to apologize to President Obama.



That ladies and gentlemen is how you play effective politics.

Where Are Your Balls Mr Majority Leader?

I love and fully endorse this ad hitting Harry Reid on health care reform and the public option in Nevada. Having a woman ask if Reid is "strong" enough is powerful powerful stuff. He won't like it and that's even more of a reason to run it in my opinion!

Perception Versus Reality

First I would like you to take a look at this attack ad from New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine directed at his opponent Chris Christie.



Now I want you to read this description of the ad in the New York Times.

It is about as subtle as a playground taunt: a television ad for Gov. Jon S. Corzine shows his challenger, Christopher J. Christie, stepping out of an S.U.V. in extreme slow motion, his extra girth moving, just as slowly, in several different directions at once.

In case viewers missed the point, a narrator snidely intones that Mr. Christie “threw his weight around” to avoid getting traffic tickets.

In the ugly New Jersey contest for governor, Mr. Corzine and Mr. Christie have traded all sorts of shots, over mothers and mammograms, loans and lying. But now, Mr. Corzine’s campaign is calling attention to his rival’s corpulence in increasingly overt ways.

Mr. Corzine’s television commercials and Web videos feature unattractive images of Mr. Christie, sometimes shot from the side or backside, highlighting his heft, jowls and double chin.
Meanwhile, Mr. Corzine, 62, is conspicuously running in 5- and 10-kilometer races almost every weekend, as he did last Saturday and Sunday, underscoring his athleticism and readiness for the physical demands of another term — and raising doubts about Mr. Christie’s.

Next, he and a fellow fitness buff, Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark, will run through the streets of that city together next Tuesday.

The governor denies that he is deliberately ridiculing Mr. Christie’s weight, and tries to make light of such suggestions. “There isn’t a candidate in the world that likes how they’re depicted in their opponent’s ads,” Mr. Corzine said on Friday, smiling as he lamented that some have shown his bald pate. “Seems to be some sensitivity going on here.”

But the unflattering depictions of Mr. Christie, a Republican who has long struggled with his size, have been the talk of the political world in New Jersey, with Democrats snickering and Christie supporters privately complaining. The governor’s latest ad, which featured the “threw his weight around” line and was expected to be seen by some viewers as many as 10 times, brought sharp reaction, even from those who like Mr. Corzine.

“There’s no subtlety there,” said Bill Baroni, a Republican state senator from Hamilton who lost 130 pounds starting 15 years ago. “That’s not a randomly chosen phrase. It’s purposeful. And it’s offensive.”

Mr. Baroni said that Mr. Corzine risked a backlash from the “tens of thousands” of New Jerseyans who struggle with their weight. “It is a lifetime battle,” he said. “And it’s made harder when people that you expect better from make fun of you.”

Mr. Christie calls the ad “silly” and “stupid,” but there are signs that the images may be contributing to a more negative view of Mr. Christie.

Does that description line up with what you saw? It didn't for me. Not really much at all.

To be honest with you I have only followed Jon Corzine's campaign superficially. When something major has come up I have tried to post about it just off general principle, but its not like I have been gung ho about defending or promoting the guy's campaign. But the truth is the truth is the truth and I don't think it is being told in the New York Times article. It appears instead to be almost a concerted effort to attack Corzine at a soft spot where he might lose support,people who have dealt or are dealing with obesity issues. Journalists know that most people are lazy and won't actually go to watch the video for themselves. Instead we rely on them to give us an accurate picture of such a video and tell us how we should feel about it.

Now I myself am far from being a small guy, and I know how it feels to be ridiculed and made fun of for being fat growing up. But if I had watched this video without every having read the article I don't think I would have even paid much attention to that last shot of Christie getting out of the truck. For that matter it wouldn't have registered to me that "throwing his weight around" was some kind of veiled shot at him for being fat. But you would think from the description that the entirety of the ad was one big fat joke making fun of Christie's weight. For the overwhelming majority of the ad you don't even see any images of Christie and at first when you do all you see is a head shot. And then because there is a slow motion shot of him getting out of a truck in a shirt and tie Christie is making fun of all fat people? What exactly were the ad people supposed to do, photoshop Christie into a skinny guy? Maybe even most curious of all is that the article makes no mention of the actual charges in the ad which you have to admit are pretty serious.

Now I am not claiming that the New York Times is trying to somehow actively prejudice voters against Corzine in his reelection bid. But I AM saying that this was a pretty shitty piece of journalism not grounded in the facts from my perspective.

What do you think?

The Great Pumpkin Is Gonna Be Pissed

John Boehner can't be happy about this new DNC attack ad.



The best thing about it is they have the same ad basically set up for other prominent House Republicans as well. The angry old white men aren't going to be too happy to hear that the Rethugs are trying to kill their MediCare. It will be interesting to see if it has any effect on the health care reform debate.

DNC Kisses Cheney

Nice to see somebody touching this fool up. I'll have a post up on Cheney and a lie he told awhile back that still bothers me before the night is over.

Oh My Damn

The DNC just put up an ad after my own heart. Its got everything....birthers, Palin mobs, effigies, the townhall memo and batshit crazy wingnuts galore!




I need a damn cigarette!

Keep Them Coming!!!

If the DNC is going to keep putting out ads like this then i am for damn sure gonna keep putting them up on this blog. I hope the rest of the liberal and progressive blogosphere does the same!

"Are You Serious?"

Home Grown

I wanted to pass along this attack ad aimed at Conserva Dem Max Baucus who is holding health care reform hostage right now in the Senate Finance committee. The thing of it is though is that this ad was made by a regular person just using the internet and YouTube to get the word out. Yet its just as powerful as if it cae from a big time high powered outfit. Lets get more of these kinds of ads up and take them viral. Send this to all of your friends and family. Especially if any of them either live in Montana or are on the fence about the need for health care reform. And ask them all to call Max Baucus over the break and flood his office line with demands that he get on board for health care reform and stop selling out we the people for health insurance money.

Lets get it!

Can I Haz More Attack Ads Pleez?

I fashion myself and ideas person. In particular I like checking out attack ads and trying to decipher if they are persuasive and effective or not. I will check out Republican ads as well as Democratic ads and the truth is the Republicans still have a definite edge over us when it comes to attack ads. Some of that is their willingness to play fast and loose with the facts. And some of it is that they just seem to "get it" about wht strikes a nerve with people.

Well yesterday on Greg Sargent's The Plum Line blog I made a couple of suggestions about ads that should be made. Here is one of the comments I left.

Again, easy easy easy add. Show part of one of President Obama’s speeches where he emphasizes helping the people then replay that clip then go to other Democratic leaders and their quotes about helping the american people and keep going back to DeMint’s quote and then at the end “Do you want someone reforming healthcare that is focused on you or someone who is focusing on partisan politics?” Fade to black. I am sure if I could think of that in 2 minutes that some bright Dem pol can come up with something a helluva lot better in a day or so. And it wouldn’t even cost that much to make. Hell its all right there for you.

Now to be sure I am not in any way shape or form trying to take any credit for this new DNC ad but I FOR DAMN SURE endorse it!



This web ad is everything you want. Its cheap because it just uses archived footage, no voice over or anything. Its powerful because you are using people's own voices and own quotes. And its a major contrast between what President Obama and the "good guys" are trying to do and what Rush Limbaugh, Jim DeMint and the "bad guys" are trying to do.

Seriously DNC, great frikkin job for a change.

Can we get more like this please?!

Now THAT'S What I'm Talkin Bout!

The DSCC evidently doesn't mind using all of the ammunition the GOP is just handing them.



The DNC needs to take a page from the DSCC's playbook. This ad is EXCELLENT and it doesn't even take all that much ingenuity. The GOP is full of liars, DUH. Come on people lets all step our games up like the DSCC!

Yep, That'll Do It

I think this attack ad against Judge Sonia Sotomayor may just be the nail in the coffin for the foreseeable future with the GOP's relationship with Hispanics.

We Don't Need No Stinking Outreach!

What can I say about Michael Steele that hasn't been said before. Honestly after watching Steele wingnut out on FoxNews for the better part of last year, when his name was mentioned as a candidate to chair the RNC I thought it would be a great move.....for Democrats. But I have to admit that even I couldn't have predicted the lengths to which this man would go to help out the Democratic Party. His prolific "foot in mouth" disease is the gift that keeps on giving and it seems he just can't help himself. Having said that I believe that yesterday he out did himself.

First of all I think everyone would acknowledge that if the Republican Party is ever to make a comeback it will need to make inroads into two constituencies that they have not done well with lately, women and minorities. You would think that outreach to those two voting blocks would be one of the chief goals of any new chairman of the RNC. And you know what, maybe it is a goal of Michael Steele, but as usual he has a very odd way of showing it.

Every Friday Steele guest hosts Bill Bennett's radio show. For that reason quite a few liberal and progressive watchdog groups tune in on Friday to catch the gaffes that they at this point can assume the very reliable Steele will give them. So yesterday he presented his fans and foes with this ditty:

STEELE: The problem that we have with this president is that we don’t know [Obama]. He was not vetted, folks. … He was not vetted, because the press fell in love with the black man running for the office. “Oh gee, wouldn’t it be neat to do that? Gee, wouldn’t it make all of our liberal guilt just go away? We can continue to ride around in our limousines and feel so lucky to live in an America with a black president.” Okay that’s wonderful, great scenario, nice backdrop. But what does he stand for? What does he believe? … So we don’t know. We just don’t know.

Now just because I am a black man doesn't mean I can speak for all other minorities, obviously. However I can say for me that one of the things that pisses me off is when someone implies that the only reason I or any other minorities achieved a level of excellence is because of the color of our skin. It gives the impression that OBVIOUSLY no minority could make it on their own merits, they simply MUST have been helped by some mythical "white liberal guilt". And yet here is Michael Steele trying to further that notion in order to try to delegitimize President Obama, our first black President. But the problem of course is that this notion exists not only in politics but also in the business world. And many minorities have experienced a touch of this in their personal life. The wondering about whether we were "affirmative action" hires. The whispers about our abilities match up with our white counterparts. When Steele says these things on the radio you have to wonder if he thinks that this is the way forward to bring more minorities into the fold of the Republican Party. But then you remember that this is a guy who doesn't "think" much apparently before he speaks.

But Mike Steele wasn't content to just potentially offend minorities yesterday. You see the RNC also put up an attack ad against Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi which was supposed to hit her for saying the CIA lies to Congress "all the time" last week. Now I would like to be able to show you the ad so you could have a frame of reference to how offensive it was but it has since been taken down. But have no fear, Politco has a scathing criticism of the ad up, a criticism that may well have been the very reason why the RNC under Steele's leadership decided to take the ad down.

But when you see Nancy Pelosi, the Republican National Committee wants you to think “Pussy Galore.”

At least that’s the takeaway from a video released by the committee this week – a video that puts Pelosi side-by-side with the aforementioned villainess from the 1964 James Bond film “Goldfinger.”

The RNC video, which begins with the speaker’s head in the iconic spy-series gun sight, implies that Pelosi has used her feminine wiles to dodge the truth about whether or not she was briefed by the CIA on the use of waterboarding in 2002. While the P-word is never mentioned directly, in one section the speaker appears in a split screen alongside the Bond nemesis – and the video’s tagline is “Democrats Galore.”

The wisdom of equating the first woman speaker of the House with a character whose first name also happens to be among the most vulgar terms for a part of the female anatomy might be debated – if the RNC were willing to do so, which it was not. An RNC spokesperson refused repeated requests by POLITICO to explain the point of the video, or the intended connection between Pelosi and Galore.

But what isn’t open to debate is that the waterboarding conflict has been accompanied by a cascade of attacks on the speaker, not as a leader or a legislator, but as a woman.

Earlier this week, Pittsburgh radio host Jim Quinn referred to the speaker on his program as “this bitch”; last week, syndicated radio host Neal Boortz opined “how fun it is to watch that hag out there twisting in the wind.”

There has also been a steady stream of taunts about the speaker’s appearance, and whether it’s been surgically enhanced. On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Republican strategist Alex Castellanos said, “I think if Speaker Pelosi were still capable of human facial expression, we’d see she’d be embarrassed.”

Even erstwhile presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee took the time to pen a poem that begins:

“Here's a story about a lady named Nancy / A ruthless politician, but dressed very fancy.”

One might argue that face-lift and fashion gibes are just sauce for the goose these days – especially given the president’s crack about John Boehner’s perma-tan during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

But “hag”? The P-word? Really?

Not only is it bad form, say Democrats and women’s advocates, it’s bad politics. “

They can’t seem to distinguish between a backroom smirk among the boys and something you put out in public,” says former Hillary Clinton senior adviser Ann Lewis of the RNC video.

“It’s an attempt to demean your opponent, rather than debate them. If they’re serious that this is an issue of national security, then you’d think that one would want to debate it on the merits,” she says. “It’s almost as if they can’t help themselves.”

Now make no mistake, I generally don't have a problem with a political ad being a parody or an attempt at humor. But its hard to see this ad as anything other than a hamfisted attack on Speaker Pelosi's femininity. While I support Speaker Pelosi on most issues and I truly believe that she has been honest while discussing the CIA briefings I will be the first one to admit that her handling of the subject was bungled last week in her press conference. There was plenty of fertile ground for the RNC to attack her on the substance of her response, yet they decided to forgo all of that and just go to her looks and "feminine wiles". Seriously. Now I don't imagine that this ad would have offended ALL women in the middle, but I do believe it would have offended many of them. And Michael Steele still decided to put the ad out at a time when the Republican Party is bleeding members from almost every demographic. Way to build that big tent buddy.

Nothing is ever set in stone when it comes to politics and anything can happen between now and the midterms and between now and the next Presidential election in four years, but at some point Michael Steele and the RNC might want to realize that they need PEOPLE to win elections. As long as he keeps pulling this kind of stuff the issues might not even matter. If you can't get enough voters to like your party enough to vote for it's candidates then you won't win many elections. Its just that simple.

Minority Outreach Fail

I am sure by now most people saw the fearmongering video the House GOP released yesterday asking if you felt safe. But did you know that one off the images in the video was a picture of President Obama meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus? One has to ask why that image was interspersed with images of terrorists right? Well it turns out the CHC is pretty pissed off about the inclusion of the picture as well as the ad itself.

“Latinos contribute to the progress of this nation, and have a long standing history of serving of our country,” Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the CHC, said in an accompanying statement. “The video posted on Congressman John Boehner’s official website is a completely inappropriate message for the leader of the minority party to send to the American people.”

“It’s disrespectful to the hard-working Latinos across the nation, serving in every sector of our economy and on our military’s front lines,” Velazquez’s statement continued. “The CHC demands an apology from the Minority Leader for this insensitivity and that the video be removed immediately.”

How is that minority outreach going for you GOP?

The Party Of Hypocrites

Great new ad from the DNC dinging Congressmen Eric Cantor and John Boehner

Shots Fired

This time MoveOn.org isn't waiting for the next version of a Harry and Louise video from the health insurance lobby.

Excellent Ad For EFCA

Whoever did this ad for the SEIU on the Employee Free Choice Act should be on retainer with every Congressional Democrat and the White House.





(h/t Greg Sargent)