The Wisconsin gubernatorial candidates, Scott McCallum and Jim Doyle, have been slinging a lot of mud lately. All the political ads they’ve been running talk exclusively about the other guy, and how he’s an evil, puppy-killing scum who’s going to ruin your life.
I think one of the best skewerings of this was on the Simpsons episode where Sideshow Bob was running for mayor of Springfield against “Diamond Joe” Quimby.
TV AD:
Mayor Quimby supports revolving door prisons. Mayor Quimby even released Sideshow Bob — a man twice convicted of attempted murder. Can you trust a man like Mayor Quimby? Vote Sideshow Bob for mayor.
I also love how everyone clucks their tongues at the negative ads, editorials decry them, and yet politicians keep doing them – because they know they work. If commercials full of kittens and rainbows got people elected, they’d use those. People say they hate the negativity, but they eat it up.
Sort of like McDonald’s.
My constant rant is that we elect the government we deserve. I think there are some other cliches that can be thrown at this one, like “You get what you pay for” and “Don’t step in the elephant poop.”
They hate negativity. Get it? Har har.
There are more than two political parties in the United States of America, and politicians who run for office independant of affiliation.
Naming only the Republican (McCallum) and Democratic (Doyle) candidates is the kind of “our majority is the only choice” shorthand that the major parties need to keep their system going uncontested.
For the record, additional candidates for governor of Wisconsin this election year also include Jim Young (Green party) and Ed Thompson (Libertarian party.)
Thank you.
____________
I go now
Matt
In other words, “Tastes Great! Less Filling!” Then some little guy in Skechers and Japanese glasses pipes up with, “Dos Equis!” and gets roundly pummeled into the sod.