Your area's political ads...

mca47

How are your local election ads?
Here in Arizona, I've never seen anything like it. I moved to AZ from Illinois about 5-6 months ago.
I've seen some nasty ads in my day but this is simply unreal.
The senate race between Jon Kyl (R) and Jim Pederson (D) makes American politics look like a childish, playground arguement. It is absolutely pathetic!!
I am deeply involved with politics and I honestly can barely decipher what either stands for as they spend most of their time attack the other guy and defending themselves.
In 2004 we got to see the W's wolves. That was low and horrible, but what these two are doing is sickening.
I love my country, but anymore it's a matter of picking the "best of the worst".
It goes beyond the senate race. Every race down to the guy that files papers in the courthouse is bickering, nonsensical bullshit.

It's no wonder why this country has such poor voter turnout.
The lesser of two horrible evils is not something that appeals to me anymore.

Vedderlution_Baby

I got charlie crist and jim davis. A charlie crist ad is on every other commrecial but I havent seen a jim davis ad AT ALL. It's not as bad as it could be really, crist uses davis's shitty attendance (Well, the ad has said he has the second worst attendance rate in congress and is supported by a couple of sources.) All in all...isn't that bad...there only one ad that bites my ass.



"...Or Jim davis...a LIBERAL WASHINGTON politician..."

Oh noes!

Hope&Anger

You're not missing much in Illinois -- at least not in my part of it. We get a couple Blagojevich commercials, a couple Topinka commercials. They're a mixture of positive and negative -- but I wouldn't say the negative commercials are all that bad. They're mostly about political corruption, which in Illinois is perfectly fair game, I guess.

I have to admit -- the negative ads the Democrats run against Republicans crack me up. Governor Ryan looms in the background, like a ghost hovering over the Republicans. ("I am the Spirit of Corrupt Governors Past -- wooooooo.")

I find it particularly funny because I -- recently described on this board as a "radical liberal left wing bomb thrower" -- have been thinking about writing in Ryan in the gubernatorial race.

mca47

Hope&Anger wrote:

You're not missing much in Illinois -- at least not in my part of it. We get a couple Blagojevich commercials, a couple Topinka commercials. They're a mixture of positive and negative -- but I wouldn't say the negative commercials are all that bad. They're mostly about political corruption, which in Illinois is perfectly fair game, I guess.

I have to admit -- the negative ads the Democrats run against Republicans crack me up. Governor Ryan looms in the background, like a ghost hovering over the Republicans. ("I am the Spirit of Corrupt Governors Past -- wooooooo.")

I find it particularly funny because I -- recently described on this board as a "radical liberal left wing bomb thrower" -- have been thinking about writing in Ryan in the gubernatorial race.

Hahaha, I actually saw some Topinka, Blagojevich ads before I left. There's a perfect example of two horrible, worthless people running for a position that neither one of them (IMO) is really qualified for.
Topinka is simply evil. She reminds me of Cheney's daughter, therefore Satan's granddaughter. Blagojevich has done a whole lot of nothing in his earlier term. He is the definition of a bandwagon political whore.

Worthless vs. worthless and evil Hmmm...

Hope&Anger

mca47 wrote:

Hahaha, I actually saw some Topinka, Blagojevich ads before I left. There's a perfect example of two horrible, worthless people running for a position that neither one of them (IMO) is really qualified for.
Topinka is simply evil. She reminds me of Cheney's daughter, therefore Satan's granddaughter. Blagojevich has done a whole lot of nothing in his earlier term. He is the definition of a bandwagon political whore.

Worthless vs. worthless and evil Hmmm...

Yeah, it's not much of a choice. Blagojevich has been particularly disastrous on the issue of higher education -- although he started coming through with money conveniently close to election time. (Hmmmmm . . . )

I DID like the fact that he's arranged for health insurance for the kids of the working poor (by paying for them to enrol in the state health insurance plan, I think). And he's insisting on reforming the death penalty. So yeah, he's just worthless.

chopitdown

i have the honor of getting to watch senator Allen and Jim Webb commercials in VA... wanna talk about mudslinging; it's ugly here, primarily from Allen...at least he has more crazy ads and accusations.

Derrick

American politics would be a lot better if there were laws against campaign television ads. A LOT.

...or...

each of your political commercials should be forced to end with "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"

mammasan

The ads for the senate race here in New Jersey, Menedez and Kean Jr., are not that bad. There has been some mud slinging but it's been pretty tame by New Jersey standards. Much like other races in other states, both candidates are horrorable. There is also very little 3rd party support in this state, I only know of one 3rd party candidate who is running and he gets less than zero coverage. So what it boils down to is that New Jersey will end up with a worthless shitty Senator.

Cosmo

Political ads suck... they all suck.
Do yourself a favor... read through the ballot booklet your State sends you and decide for yourself. Don't listen to your political party... they suck... they all suck.

hippiemom

Ignore, ignore, ignore. Hit mute, change the channel, or best of all turn the conformity box off entirely.

Look up their voting records. Find out what legislation they've sponsored. If they're new to politics, find out if they've ever done a single useful thing in all their lives. If at all possible, meet them yourself and see if there's a glimmer of intelligence behind those cold, reptilian politician's eyes. Ask them a question about something that's not getting any media coverage, something they probably don't have a prepared response for ... that way you can see if they have functioning brains in their heads or if they're only capable of spouting the lines others have written for them.

For the issues, find a copy of the actual legislation and read it. It was written by lawyers so it's going to be painful and probably destroy brain cells, but it's your responsibility as a citizen. There's no other way to know what it says. If it's a controversial issue, I can pretty much guarantee that both sides are telling you blatant lies about it ... not exaggerations or alternative interpretations (although they do that too), but flat-out lies.

Political ads are an insult to your intelligence.

cincybearcat

Here's one that will blow your mind....

An ad paid for by the Democratic party attacks a Repubican State rep or senator for his proposal sometime inthe past 4 years where is suggested a plan that had everyone under 30 not paying income taxes...saying he was laughed out of the legislature that day...and saying 'Who would end up paying if people under 30 didn't pay'?

Doesn't that ad seem backwards to you? Shouldn't it be a Democrat with that idea and being attacked by the Repubs?

Anyhow, despite the fact that I would pay more...I actualyl think that is a great idea in theory, and probably you could make that work, and younger people could save early on and be less dependent on governmental help inthe future.

flywallyfly

Our incumbent Republican Governor Perry has one where he ends by saying he will bring fiscal responsibility back to the capital. Well, he has been gov for the last 6 years and Bush the 6 years before that. So is he attacking his own fiscal responsibilitie? The house has been republican since '94 as well.

The Illinoisemakers

In WA I've been watching the Mcgavick vs Cantwell ads. I love the ad that Cantwell's camp has been running about Mcgavick supporting private accounts for social security reform. Oh no Marie, I might actually have a say in how the money I earn is used for my future retirement. Unfortunately Cantwell will likely win, because she really is a horrible senator.

Hope&Anger

The Illinoisemakers wrote:

In WA I've been watching the Mcgavick vs Cantwell ads. I love the ad that Cantwell's camp has been running about Mcgavick supporting private accounts for social security reform. Oh no Marie, I might actually have a say in how the money I earn is used for my future retirement. Unfortunately Cantwell will likely win, because she really is a horrible senator.

You do have a say in how the money you earn is used for future retirement. You can put it in an IRA or a 401(k) and then direct the investments. What does that have to do with privatizing Social Security?

mammasan

There was one ad I read about, can't remember the candidates but I believe it was a race for a congressional seat in New York state. Well the ad mentions that this Congressman's opponenet used taxpayer money to make sex calls. We the allogations where investigated and it happened that this candidates staffer dailed the wrong number and immediately hung up after realizing it. The phone charge came out to $1.25. I found it hillarious, but not suprisng, that this Congressman would take only a portion of the facts and them present them in the most vile manner possible.

cincybearcat

Hope&Anger wrote:

You do have a say in how the money you earn is used for future retirement. You can put it in an IRA or a 401(k) and then direct the investments. What does that have to do with privatizing Social Security?

You are kidding, right?

cincybearcat

mammasan wrote:

There was one ad I read about, can't remember the candidates but I believe it was a race for a congressional seat in New York state. Well the ad mentions that this Congressman's opponenet used taxpayer money to make sex calls. We the allogations where investigated and it happened that this candidates staffer dailed the wrong number and immediately hung up after realizing it. The phone charge came out to $1.25. I found it hillarious, but not suprisng, that this Congressman would take only a portion of the facts and them present them in the most vile manner possible.

That is hilarious. I actually really enjoy the hilarity of the political ads, especially the mean, nasty ones. Good comedy.

mammasan

cincybearcat wrote:

That is hilarious. I actually really enjoy the hilarity of the political ads, especially the mean, nasty ones. Good comedy.

They are pretty damn funny. Another one I read about was an ad a candidate ran that his opponent was associated with a convicted child molester or murders, can't remember which one it was. Again after an inquiry it was discovered that one of the attorneys who worked on the defense also did some legal work once for this candidate. I mean talk about a far stretch.

I'm actually a bit disappointed that the ads for the NJ Senate race have been pretty tame. I was hoping for some good laughs.

Nothingman54

The ads here in TN are very nasty. Herald Ford (D) and Bob Corker (R), they both run nasty ads. The ads talk about Ford partying at the PlayBoy mansion with playmates, and its just nasty. It makes me want to NOT vote because, the ads, also none of then actually do what they say they are going to do, they just tell you what you want to hear and when they win they do what they want to do.

The Illinoisemakers

Hope&Anger wrote:

You do have a say in how the money you earn is used for future retirement. You can put it in an IRA or a 401(k) and then direct the investments. What does that have to do with privatizing Social Security?

Really? Because every paycheck I receive my pay stub tells me that a certian portion of my earnings is going towards social security, which if we continue to use the system we have in place, will be money I never see when I need it in 40 years. I'd like to have control over that money, but I don't.

I think what really floors me about that ad is that Mcgavick recognizes that there is a problem with our current SS system, and he actually has a solution, personal accounts, which I agree with. Why doesn't Cantwell give us a solution to a problem that is in my opinion really important, instead of criticizing someone for actaully working towards solving the problem.

cincybearcat

The Illinoisemakers wrote:

Really? Because every paycheck I receive my pay stub tells me that a certian portion of my earnings is going towards social security, which if we continue to use the system we have in place, will be money I never see when I need it in 40 years. I'd like to have control over that money, but I don't.

I think what really floors me about that ad is that Mcgavick recognizes that there is a problem with our current SS system, and he actually has a solution, personal accounts, which I agree with. Why doesn't Cantwell give us a solution to a problem that is in my opinion really important, instead of criticizing someone for actaully working towards solving the problem.

Duh...the other side's soultion is to raise the SS tax. Also, they probably want ot lowering the income level that would no longer receive SS benefits in the future...if that makes sense. That's just a guess though.

mammasan

The Illinoisemakers wrote:

Really? Because every paycheck I receive my pay stub tells me that a certian portion of my earnings is going towards social security, which if we continue to use the system we have in place, will be money I never see when I need it in 40 years. I'd like to have control over that money, but I don't.

I think what really floors me about that ad is that Mcgavick recognizes that there is a problem with our current SS system, and he actually has a solution, personal accounts, which I agree with. Why doesn't Cantwell give us a solution to a problem that is in my opinion really important, instead of criticizing someone for actaully working towards solving the problem.

Because that means that they would actually have to think and come up with a solution. It's much easier to criticize your opponent's idea than it is to come up with some of your own.

The Illinoisemakers

mammasan wrote:

Because that means that they would actually have to think and come up with a solution. It's much easier to criticize your opponent's idea than it is to come up with some of your own.

Yeah and I recognize that. Normally I don't spend much time paying attention to political ads. They aren't informative, and as people here have pointed out, most ads are really reaching with the mud they are throwing. This ad however got me upset, because I think Social Security reform is an issue that needs to be towards the front of the line for things that need fixin' in this country.

mammasan

The Illinoisemakers wrote:

Yeah and I recognize that. Normally I don't spend much time paying attention to political ads. They aren't informative, and as people here have pointed out, most ads are really reaching with the mud they are throwing. This ad however got me upset, because I think Social Security reform is an issue that needs to be towards the front of the line for things that need fixin' in this country.

See I love watching them because they are so damn funny and horrorably made. The Velveeta factor is so high on those ads.

Hope&Anger

mammasan wrote:

There was one ad I read about, can't remember the candidates but I believe it was a race for a congressional seat in New York state. Well the ad mentions that this Congressman's opponenet used taxpayer money to make sex calls. We the allogations where investigated and it happened that this candidates staffer dailed the wrong number and immediately hung up after realizing it.

Yeah, and then the aide's phone records revealed that he dialed the same phone number with a different area code immediately after he dialed the sex line, and it was the number of some state agency.

At least a lot of TV and radio stations refused to run the ad when they found out the facts. Surprising chutzpah from TV folks.

1970RR

Rick Santorum has one that uses images of the Iranian president, a mushroom cloud and Bob Casey.

I just wish I lived in Iowa just to be able to vote for this guy:
http://www.jameshillforcongress.com/index.php

chopitdown

mammasan wrote:

There was one ad I read about, can't remember the candidates but I believe it was a race for a congressional seat in New York state. Well the ad mentions that this Congressman's opponenet used taxpayer money to make sex calls. We the allogations where investigated and it happened that this candidates staffer dailed the wrong number and immediately hung up after realizing it. The phone charge came out to $1.25. I found it hillarious, but not suprisng, that this Congressman would take only a portion of the facts and them present them in the most vile manner possible.

alls they need to do is pass one law and all this crap we're forced to watch would become truthful and accurate. Right now, nothing in political ads is game for libel or slander. In essence we are saying we want honest politicians but one of the ways they get elected is to use dishonest political ads. Hold the politicians accountable in political ads and we may begin to get an idea of what a candidate thinks of issues, not the other guy. unitl then...we're hosed.

mammasan

chopitdown wrote:

alls they need to do is pass one law and all this crap we're forced to watch would become truthful and accurate. Right now, nothing in political ads is game for libel or slander. In essence we are saying we want honest politicians but one of the ways they get elected is to use dishonest political ads. Hold the politicians accountable in political ads and we may begin to get an idea of what a candidate thinks of issues, not the other guy. unitl then...we're hosed.

That's a great idea but who passes the laws in this land, the same people who run these slanderous ads.

chopitdown

mammasan wrote:

That's a great idea but who passes the laws in this land, the same people who run these slanderous ads.

there's always a catch, isn't there.

Cosmo

Bottom line... if you vote for a candidate or an issue based upon television commercials... do your service to America and the rest of us a favor... stay home on November 7th and watch the 'America's Funniest Videos' reruns.

OutOfBreath

You know, this shit makes me happy that political tv-ads are banned in Norway. And makes me support such a ban even more staunchly. The party pushing for reform there is (surprise surprise) our right-wing-god-we-wish-we-were-republicans-in-the-mold-of-W-and-combine-tax-cuts-with-increased-spending-so-people-will-vote-for-us-as-we-have-no-negatives populist party. The thought of their party leader coming all sincere out of the screen and talk about values and how incompetent the others are makes me cringe.

You all have my sympathies.

Peace
Dan