My local newspaper, The Montclair Times, ran an ad last week that made me laugh out loud. The ad, placed by the Montclair Republican Club, is a poorly-written, inaccurate regurgitation of GOP talking points, and fear-mongering.
Follow me below the fold.
As a quick background, Montclair is a town of some 37,000 people, situated about 15 miles west of midtown Manhattan. The town prides itself on its diversity, its commitment to the arts, and its liberal stance on many issues. Montclair is the current or former home of: Yogi Berra, Stephen Colbert, Buzz Aldrin, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Strahan, and many others.
Our town, is a very blue enclave in an already blue state. Support for Gore and Kerry in 2000 and 2004 was overwhelming.
There are roughly 26,000 registered voters as of 10/13/08. The breakdown is as follows:
10/13/08 2004
Democrats 15,000 (56%) 9,000 (35%)
Republicans 2,600 (10%) 2,300 (10%)
Undecided 9,000 (34%) 14,000 (55%)
As you can see, there was a tremendous swing as the undecided voters threw in with the Democratic Party.
Now, back to the ad.
Vote Republican on Election Day
When else would you do it?
John McCain for President - A member of the Senate for 26 years, Vietnam War fighter pilot and P.O.W. for 6 1/2 long years in the Hanoi Hilton.
Two inaccuracies here: P.O.W. should be 5 1/2 years and Senate 21 years. Great factchecking and proofreading.
Sarah Palin for Vice President - Governor of Alaska and the candidate with the most executive experience.
That is open to debate, but let's not quibble.
Dick Zimmer for US Senate
That's it? Nothing else to say? Who cares, Lautenberg has it sewn up anyway.
They list a couple of down-ticket candidates, then they get to the issues. Here's where it gets funny.
What are the main issues in this election?
If the Democratic ticket is elected, and the Congress remains under the control of this party, America will become a far more socialist country.
They used the "s" word, didn't they?
It was the work of people in the two main mortgage agencies, granting mortgages, at the urging of Congrssional (sic) Democrats, to families who could not afford them that put the nation in the financial fix it is in.
I get it. The Democrats were in the mortgage business. Do the predatory lending practices of mortgage brokers and poor regulatory oversight get a free ride?
Further down the road, Democrat (sic) leadership may lead to nationalization of industries. We then would not be the free enterprise nation we have been.
Nationalization. Holy shit. Be very afraid. How many buttons can they press in one ad?
I'm afraid this ad is falling on deaf ears. If anything, the undecided voters will be making a beeline to the polls and voting Democrat all the way.