The DNC has a LOT more money than the RNC. They ought to consider investing in some general ads that INNOCULATE voters against future republican attack, swiftboat and fear induction ads. The ads I am thinking about would mock the last eight years of right wing ads-- the deep, gravel voiced guy saying nasty things about those tax-raising corrupt dems.
I'd love to see ads that laugh at right wing fear and smear tactics. They are so old and tired, so predictable. The ads should be very smart, using images that start out serious and then get clumsy, ham-handed, or with people voicing over them, laughing at them, saying, "Oh, come on. Do you really think ANYONE will still buy this fear and smear garbage?" And a gravel voice comes on. "You bet they will. They better. It's all we've got."
Seriously. The right wing ads are SOOO predictable. Advance innoculation of viewers could minimize their potency. By innoculation, I mean that it is possible to pre-set viewers expectations. If a serious guy talking about nasty dangers, in a deep voice is lampooned and mocked, ahead of time, if the viewer is prepared for the onslaught of this kind of attack ad, then when the ads are run, they won't work. They will, instead, galvanize the viewer AGAINST the right wingers running the ad.
I said, before the November elections, that the DNC should help local candidates with this approach. They didn't. I still say that this approach could help raise the tide for all candidates on the left. The right has been "tenderizing" and "marinating" the public with their message for decades. The left's leadership, the DNC, moveon.org, People for the American Way-- whoever has the resources-- should invest in general ads, not candidate specific ads, to help influence the thinking of voters. It would go a long way and help many, many candidates, including those who can't afford ANY advertising.
This kind of ad, marketing a spin, frame, perspective, could, of course, go both ways. The thing is, with Bushco running things in the White house, the right wing message has been permeating the airwaves for seven years. There really should be, at this time, a strong response to it. Ads that mock the right wing message, and how it is delivered could go a long way to counter its efficacy and power.
