Have you ridden a Ford lately?
As the denizens of this blog undoubtedly recall, we had an extended discussion about the Fancy Ford website, which was obviously just the precursor to the current ads being run by the GOP against Ford that play upon racial stereotypes in the South, specifically the charge that fancy Ford may have some white babes ridin' him. My question is this: Is not the Democratic reaction to these ads more damaging than the ads themselves? I'd compare to it to the conventional wisdom that it's not the deed itself, but the cover-up of the deed. I'm sure TMcD can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that the ads are purposely designed to suggest racial issues, not so much to appeal to latent racist fears, but to prod Dems into making the charge, and thereby insulting the folks of TN. It's a brilliant ploy. My advice to Dems in the future (it's too late now for this one), especially Yankee Dems, would be to just let the Harold Ford Juniors out there handle these sorts of race-baiting tactics, and my advice to those in Ford's situation in the future would be to just attack the accuracy of the ad and say things, such as "I don't know if they are appealing to latent racist fears or not, but whatever their motive, I don't think an overwhelming majority of the good folks of TN are really racist, so if it they are attempting to play the race card, it won't work here." Maybe he's already said something like this, but the damage by "outsiders" and the "liberal media" has already been done.
posted by Paul @ 11:31 AM
1 Comments:
Was actually just thinking about posting on this. Here's the thing: it doesn't matter what the liberals outside TN say. These ads are so over the top, they were going to get coverage no matter what.
If anything, the national attention has allowed Ford to get some traction for his response. The Dems spin: not only is this racist, but it shows that Corker can't even control his own campaign; he's a puppet of the RNC. In Nashville, the newspaper coverage has slammed Corker (including ample "expert" quotes from John Geer, who has been refreshingly blunt on this, despite his recent book in praise of "negative" ads), although my guess is that the more conservative papers from Chatt. and Knoxville have been much less angry.
Ford's response has been on the money, too. His ads are great, and when interviewed he takes on a tone of dismissive contempt. (Specific responses: "Now they're attacking my faith." "I like football. . . and I like girls. So what?") His problem is simple: $$$$. The GOP just has a lot more money out there. I probably see two or three GOP/Corker ads for every one Dem/Ford. The massive ad buy has helped Corker reverse Ford's momentum, but we haven't had time yet to see if there's a backlash swing the other way. There may not be one. But if three's not, it is simply because the sheer volume of GOP ads overwhelmed the smart Ford response and the accompanying news coverage.
Post a Comment
<< Home