This blog article is about politics. If you are expecting a rant about Trump, pro or con, it is not here. Maybe some other time when he does something that has an effect on me. But now I would like to talk about how political ads have started following advertising trends with starting earlier and earlier.
July 4th no sooner gets dark when “Back To School” ads start running. August ushers in the Halloween/Thanksgiving sales. And Christmas sales start, well, December 26th. Political ads are running wild now and it is only August 3rd.
Now I get that people should know who is running, but things have gotten out of hand. Ads have dissolved over the years to name calling, mud slinging, playground antics. By November, I will know every flaw that the candidates have because their opponents will dredge up every parking ticket, failed endeavor, and missed dentist appointment since the opponent was six. Conversely, I will know about the personal life including his successful floss to brushing rate of the other side when the mud gets fired back. Great. I’m sure that this is what the government is supposed to be. How can we elect a candidate who may or may not be in the throes of gingivitis?
I have a challenge for any politician who cares to step up. Run a clean campaign. There are bunches of political groupies out there who run ads to disparage candidates of the opposite camp. That’s all they do. Just professionally mud sling. Not bad if you can work like that. You get to tap into your inner terrible child and go for the gold. Do we need to know this stuff? In some cases, yes. But most of what I see…not really relevant.
Tell me, Mr/Ms Candidate, what you intend to do…and keep it real. You can’t run for a low level office and tell me you’re gonna overturn Roe v Wade. You can’t. You just can’t. That stuff is bigger than you.
Tell me that you are going to look at why my tax bill is so high and my services so low. Tell me how you are going to my town a better place to live. Tell me that you are going do something about the crime rate whatever the prevailing crime is in my area. If you are running for an office that is more service oriented, tell me about your personal dedication to doing a good job, every day. That’s the candidate I want.
Don’t make your campaign about one topic. You may not be in favor of abortion, but what about taxes, spending, and public safety? Gun laws…if you can make them better, ok. If you can’t, don’t talk about it until you know you can make a difference. Oh and making it illegal to own a gun won’t help. In New Jersey, the gun laws are super strict, but there is always a shooting in Newark, Trenton or Camden splashed on the news. There has to be a better way.
We tell kids not to be bullies on the playground or in school, but we are watching 30 seconds of bullying several times a night. Stop it!
We, in the Northeast have had our fair share of mud this summer. Literally. Flood watches dot our weather forecasts weekly. Hose off your campaigns and let us know what YOU intend to do. Voters will be happier to get a person in office who is there do the work, not just collect the benefits.
C’mon, show us what you got!