Opening The Door
I may very well have misunderestimated Tom Tancredo in my post yesterday. At the same time, I also may have displayed even more of my naivete than usual when it comes to the nation's media. An op-ed piece in today's Los Angeles Times, written by Swati Pandey (a researcher for The Times' editorial pages), raises some points that sadly enough make sense.
That the ad is available to view on the landing page of Tancredo's campaign website suggests that Tancredo wants to milk the controversy he knew the ad would create. Critics have objected to the ad's xenophobia, its fear-mongering, and its hit-us-where-it-hurts suggestion that our shopping malls — including playgrounds that seem to be full of shiny, phallic, fruit-shaped rides — could end up as battered and bloodied as the trains and bodies in other, less fortunate, possibly more immigrant-permissive countries
The tactic seems to be working. For a campaign that was largely dismissed as a one-issue effort on an issue that most candidates would rather ignore, Tancredo has managed to draw a good deal of media attention. That isn't a surprise, considering the over-the-top ad is a tested technique that worked even before YouTube. National media picked up the endlessly discussed Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks on Sen. John Kerry, which initially aired only in four small markets. The media also spread the message of Lyndon Johnson's famous "Daisy" spot, the original, oft-copied, and most apocalyptic death-and-doom ad, which aired only once before the campaign pulled it. And in both cases, the obvious failings of the ads (exaggerations, lies, extreme paranoia) didn't stop the slur from sticking to the candidate at the ad's receiving end.
...By moving the debate to a shrill extreme, Tancredo gave other members of his party a way to be tough on immigration while still appearing moderate. [Emphasis added]
Mr. Tancredo won't need to spend much of his dwindling campaign funds on airing the commercial because, with the publicity the media gave the ad, folks will rush to his campaign site (to which I linked yesterday), thereby generating more face time than he would have been able to afford otherwise. Further, the buzz just might be enough to raise additional funds among the racists and xenophobes still looking for a candidate to support.
More importantly, however, is the fact that the GOP candidates will have to respond. If their comments on the use of torture during interrogations of terrorism detainees are any indication, those candidates will try to out-do each other in the size of walls needed around our perimeter now that Tom Tancredo has provided the linkage between immigration and terrorism.
That, of course, means that the Democratic candidates will also have to respond, both now and throughout the primary season. Will any of them get beyond the "well, that boy ain't right, but ..." rhetoric? Will any of them unequivocally point out the devastating flaws in the commercial's content, the "exaggerations, lies, extreme paranoia", and move on to inject some truth, rationality, and common sense into the issue?
I guess we'll find out soon enough. Sunday is only a few days away, and I'm certain that the bobbleheads' talk shows will show the ad (for free, of course) and then grill the guests.
I am not optimistic.
That the ad is available to view on the landing page of Tancredo's campaign website suggests that Tancredo wants to milk the controversy he knew the ad would create. Critics have objected to the ad's xenophobia, its fear-mongering, and its hit-us-where-it-hurts suggestion that our shopping malls — including playgrounds that seem to be full of shiny, phallic, fruit-shaped rides — could end up as battered and bloodied as the trains and bodies in other, less fortunate, possibly more immigrant-permissive countries
The tactic seems to be working. For a campaign that was largely dismissed as a one-issue effort on an issue that most candidates would rather ignore, Tancredo has managed to draw a good deal of media attention. That isn't a surprise, considering the over-the-top ad is a tested technique that worked even before YouTube. National media picked up the endlessly discussed Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks on Sen. John Kerry, which initially aired only in four small markets. The media also spread the message of Lyndon Johnson's famous "Daisy" spot, the original, oft-copied, and most apocalyptic death-and-doom ad, which aired only once before the campaign pulled it. And in both cases, the obvious failings of the ads (exaggerations, lies, extreme paranoia) didn't stop the slur from sticking to the candidate at the ad's receiving end.
...By moving the debate to a shrill extreme, Tancredo gave other members of his party a way to be tough on immigration while still appearing moderate. [Emphasis added]
Mr. Tancredo won't need to spend much of his dwindling campaign funds on airing the commercial because, with the publicity the media gave the ad, folks will rush to his campaign site (to which I linked yesterday), thereby generating more face time than he would have been able to afford otherwise. Further, the buzz just might be enough to raise additional funds among the racists and xenophobes still looking for a candidate to support.
More importantly, however, is the fact that the GOP candidates will have to respond. If their comments on the use of torture during interrogations of terrorism detainees are any indication, those candidates will try to out-do each other in the size of walls needed around our perimeter now that Tom Tancredo has provided the linkage between immigration and terrorism.
That, of course, means that the Democratic candidates will also have to respond, both now and throughout the primary season. Will any of them get beyond the "well, that boy ain't right, but ..." rhetoric? Will any of them unequivocally point out the devastating flaws in the commercial's content, the "exaggerations, lies, extreme paranoia", and move on to inject some truth, rationality, and common sense into the issue?
I guess we'll find out soon enough. Sunday is only a few days away, and I'm certain that the bobbleheads' talk shows will show the ad (for free, of course) and then grill the guests.
I am not optimistic.
Labels: Election 2008, Immigration
posted by Diane at 4:32 AM
1 Comments:
Let's see--Nixon had The Southern Strategy.
These ReThugs will have The Southern Border Strategy.
Hate and discrimination is the basis for each, and the object is to get the hatefilled xenophophic and racist voters.
jawbone
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