... while we get political ads of men cutting up the tax code with a chainsaw or destroying their cellphone with a golf club, Canadians are blessed with a man riding a goose, slaying a dragon, catching a man wearing a dress falling from the sky, fist bumping an alien, all with a backdrop of pot plants and what looks like the ruins of Chichén Itzá... it least someone has a sense of humor. :) "Artisan Politics, Not Partisan Politics" is the soundbite of Wyatt Scott, who is running for Parliament. For sure, no one will question whether he inhaled.
We see this daily and all around us, but it is when we become aware that it does not need to be this way, as in the Canadian ad, that we see what we have lost. It is sad for me to say the following, but it is true at least for myself as a result of observations: I am comforted that there is less before me than behind. I am relieved that I have no children who will suffer the future that we are creating. The only thing I will continue to do is to do the right thing for humanity so that when I leave this earth I may rest knowing that I have done no harm and perhaps made this grain of sand propelled within the cosmos just a hair better.
They say negative advertising works, but it just turns me off and I tune it out or off. Doesn't affect how I vote one way or the other. And if an attack ad is especially stupid or factually inaccurate, I despise it even more :)
I know they have become necessary, but still ..... Is this really any way to run a democracy? By trying to get people to vote *against* someone/something, or not to vote at all?
@MT, I would prefer to see a politician tout his/her own accomplishments, and more preferably I'd like to hear in their ads what they plan to accomplish. Sadly though, taking the high road does not get them a bang for their buck. TV ads are expensive, and being negative elicits outcomes more favorable for the politician who puts them out. It sucks. Apparently one of the preferred outcomes that people would like to see is for politicians to work together across party lines. I use apparently, only as the hug that Governor Chris Christie gave President Barack Obama is something that many Republicans will never forgive Christie. Never mind that it's a great example of working together across party lines. Never mind that the context was after a horrific natural disaster and that thousands were homeless and tens of thousands with water and/or power. It's true people say they want to see unity, but only on their own terms. Again, being negative works even though people say they don't like it. :(
@Bear--I do love humorous ads. We're fortunate here in California as in national races Republicans don't even bother with ads, so we're spared the non-stop barrage that other states, like Ohio, can't escape. (As an aside, right now we're being bombarded with ads from Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran (aka, AIPAC), assuring us of our imminent demise if Congress agrees to the Iran deal.) That said, we're pretty politically ad free, but we occasionally do get some good ones. I'm not sure if you've ever seen Carly Fiorina's demon sheep ad. It's so damn funny! In the Republican primary for the US Senate seat that she ultimately lost to Barbara Boxer, she put out the following ad; I'm sure Fiorina must inwardly cringe when someone brings it up. :)