We try and get out… they just pull us back in.
And what’s got us back into the blogging game? Well, today it’s Senator Titus’ awful, awful new ads. A few other bloggers — Myrna, Gleaner – have mentioned that maybe the ads aren’t tip-top, but nobody’s gone into why. And we’d really hate to think there’s some Titus supporter out there, wearing a giant Titus foam finger, watching TV and telling their buddies how great the new ads are. That’s exactly the kind of thing we’d sort of expect the die-hards to do.
Senator Titus is running the campaign that every lefty-latte-drinking activist wants her to run. It’s condescending, much like the Senator or this blog. Instead of respectfully disagreeing — see Jill Derby’s hit piece — Titus’ ads use a narrative so flabbergasted in disbelief that doesn’t just point Congressman Gibbons’ negatives, it mocks him for them.
The ads are bad because they’re too easy. They’re a by-product of the same sort of Democrats whose primary reason to vote for John Kerry in 2004 was “come on, you’ve got to be kidding me.” We’d like to think the Dems have grown up in two years. Some have. Some haven’t. We would normally say these sorts of ads are beneath Senator Titus — except from what we’ve seen her in action for nearly two decades. They’re exactly at her level.
In the Senator’s defense, Gibbons’ “Dina Taxes” ads pretty ridiculous, too. But we’re not talking about that today. Before we get a half-dozen comments from thread-jackers and folks so fervently entrenched that they can’t allow for some intellectual self-assessment, you should know this: we’re going to vote for Senator Titus. We’d like to see her win — though we’re pretty sure she won’t, and certainly not if she keeps running the campaign that she has.
It’s alarming to us that Titus’ senior staff would sign off on these silly, cartoonish channel-flippers. We don’t know if it was Marlene Lockard or the manager or the Senator herself, but it was a bad call. A good media consultant will spend some time on the ground, watching TV in bars and such to see what catches people’s attention. They also do this because they can bill a few rounds of drinks to their candidate. That’s the price you pay for better service.
We’re too lazy to check and see who Dina uses for this stuff — it may be somebody local. If so, we’d ponder how these folks keep getting work. Honestly, e-mail us and let us know. We’re always looking for new ways to scam folks out of some cheddar.
These ads capture perfectly the reason Dina is going to lose: her inability to form a real connection with the voters. Pressed hard enough, much like Kerry in 2004, Democrats distill Senator Titus’ candidacy with “Jim Gibbons sucks”– maybe more eloquently, but it’s essentially the message. And at the core of your campaign, your message has to be about you. Otherwise, it’s game over.
Similar Posts:
- A Closer Look At The Nevada Gubernatorial Election Result
- Our Nutty Governor
- Titus Leading Gibbons in Rasmussen Poll?
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Dina Taxes! That’s hilarious. No, really. But I think I like the nickname the Gibbons camp ginned up for Kathy Augustine:
Kathy Dead-Murder-Victim.
That man is a genius and the next governor of the great state of Nirvada.
Actually when I first saw the new Titus ads I thought they were from some low-budget PAC whose spot was done in a Video Production 101 class (and pulled a C-).
Agreed. That water ad is hard to even comprehend, the sound is so bad.
Why isn’t she smashing Gibbons for all of his mistakes?
Democratic candidates have been seen as condescending and acting “smarter-than-you” for many election cycles now. People who didn’t go to college don’t want to be told indirectly ,”hey vote for me–I went to college- many colleges in fact”!
Is there a way for her to point out she actually is smarter without saying “I’m smarter”??
Look at the doofus we’ve got now at 1600 Penn. Ave.?
Dina did better when she was running the campaign without the help of a manager. And they should leave Gib-mocking to the professionals.
Responding en banc…
Ginger Man: We love Ginger ’round here. But, um, what? Seriously, what?
Derek & Mojo: C- would be impressive. Our presumption is that the campaign is so strapped for cash that somebody had to use iMovie to throw something together in the back of the office.
Wiley: You’re right. But I think Sen. Titus can say “I’m smarter” by taking it to him on things that matter to voters — the gas & water stuff is actually going to be pretty obscure. Also badly timed in the face of a pretty significant drop in oil prices. Anyway, she’s not saying “I’m smarter” so much as she’s saying “You’re dumb.” And that’s telling.
Using the magic of TiVo I paused the gas pump commercial to see just how expensive the gas was in the Titus world. $2.25 a gallon. If tax breaks for big oil will get us back to that price, I’m all for it.
MMP: We’ve missed you. The good news is, if it’s bad ads that motivate you to keep writing, I’m sure the next 4 weeks will be your most prolific.
I don’t know if I should apologize for my own condescension or not but
I speak with sincerity when I say: I believe the inordinate effectiveness of these TV ads in getting results at the polls is a sad commentary on the voting public and speaks to the root of a weakness within our democracy: an ignorant public. I fear a big chunk of the populace will vote almost entirely based on how the commercial made them feel. Without some intellectual effort to study the candidates and the issues this leaves them vulnerable to manipulation.
More en banc…
Tom Clark: Shouldn’t you use a fake name when you sort of make fun of a Senator who has made a name for herself holding grudges and the like? I’m sure her wishy-washy control over a minority of state Senators probably doesn’t advance your interests, but still, we’d probably play it on the safe side Or maybe you’re a different Tom Clark. Anyway, we think TiVo is probably the best invention of the last 200 years or so. Yeah, better than penicilin.
JR: We missed you too, pal. And if they keep putting up stupid ads, we’ll keep calling ‘em on it.
Left-leaning independent: We’re not saying hit spots don’t work. You’re right, they do. We’re saying THESE hit spots won’t. When you’re trying to manipulate people, you have to trick them into thinking you’re letting them make the choice for themselves. The Senator’s ads don’t do that.
MMP, the ads were done by a DC firm that is well-resected by some, heavily dissed by others.
Years ago, the founder of the firm made legendary ads for Gary Hart’s 1984 presidential campaign and they generally specialize in southern and red state Democratic campaigns. As we’ve all read by now, this firm is no longer with the campaign so obviously someone agreed with your analysis.
My take on these ads, and admittedly this is hopeful and perhaps naive, is that the Titus camp is still saving its money.
She put up a response to his attacks on taxes but not a major buy. She waited for all of Sept.
Few seem to have noticed but for about 10 days in late Sept, Gibbons seems to have gone dark in southern NV, presumably because Titus wasn’t spending.
At that point, it became a matter of who would go first, neither side wanting to be left without sufficient money in the bank down the stretch.
One of the paradoxes of a campaign is that having ads on tv helps you raise money. Another paradox is that you want to have ads on the air when polls are in the field, so that the poll results will be favorable to you.
So my point is that Titus needed to go on the air not os much to win over voters (not because she thinks she’s smarter than voters but because most swing voters aren’t paying much attention in Sept) but to keep up her fundraising and continue to garner free media.
So my my theory MMP is that instead of pandering to voters, these ads are pandering to the folks that really need pandering to — political columnists and monday-morning bloggers.
If I’m right, we;ll see different, better and more heavily rotated ads starting next week in conjunction with the debates.
Yes! so glad to see you back MMP. Wish I could participate but I am out and about in places where I cannot play on the computer….