Vernon Robinson is mad as a hatter — Part MMCXVII

August 19, 2006

Honestly, if North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Vernon Robinson didn’t exist, we’d have to invent him.

A few months ago, I noted his first bizarre TV ad that you’d swear was a parody making fun of fringe right-wingers, but alas, it’s entirely sincere.

Now that the campaign is entering the homestretch, Robinson has decided to ratchet things up a bit (if that were possible), with a new radio ad. One smart person had the wherewithal to record it and put it on YouTube.

Here’s the script of the ad in case you can’t quite make out the audio:

Your congressman, Brad Miller, is giving away all your tax dollars to these illegal aliens. Vernon Robinson thinks that’s wrong and Robinson for Congress paid for this message.

(Sung to the tune from “The Beverly Hillbillies”)

Come and hear me tell about a politician named Brad, he gave illegal aliens everything we had. He gave ’em Social Security and driver’s licenses too, free healthcare, free lawyers, free lunch at the school.

Well the next thing you know old Brad’s a congressman, with all the sneaky aliens eating from his hand. “Sugar-Daddy Miller” is what they call him in DC, giving them the taxes he stole from you and me.

(Voice Over)

I’ve Vernon Robinson and I approve this message. If you send me to congress, I’ll secure the border, stop the handouts, and protect your jobs.

(Song resumes)

Well now its time to say goodbye to Brad in Washington and 14 million aliens he’s given so much fun. You’re not invited back unless you come here legally, because you took advantage of our hospitality.

Hey all you illegals, put your shoes on and go home. Don’t come back now, you hear?

I’m almost impressed the sheer lunacy of it all.

Let’s get right to the point, I think the first ad is brilliant. Evil, but brilliant. He has identified a way to present elements of a narrative that he thinks will work. I think it might work, too. Especially if our liberal response is to wring our hands over how he distorts issues, cherry-picks facts, and plays to the lowest common denominator of fear. It is now 16 years since the onslaught on Clinton began–an onslaught that used these techniques to great effect. How on earth can Democrats be surprised that this stuff happens.

Let’s craft responses that are as easily digested as these ads are. If we are going to say that we cannot do that, we don’t have the ability to govern because an essential quality of governance is making the people believe in your story. If we are going to say that we won’t fight with those tools, we are saying that we don’t really want to enter the fray, because to refuse to fight means we are placing an abstract sense of what the fight OUGHT to be over a clear vision of what it is. If we do that we aren’t clear headed enough to govern either. If we say that we won’t pander to our voters baser notions, we’re saying that we’d rather our opponents control the field and IMPOSE their baser notions on the majority than to join the struggle.

Look, governance is never neat, especially in a democracy. To some degree, I think the liberals have been seduced by their blue-sky notions about the dignity of man and the good that government should do. I like those ideas, as well, but they won’t ever get put to the test if we can’t wrest control of the government from these guys. And we won’t do THAT if we continue to appear weak, yes WEAK. Weak and ineffectual. If you listen to that ad that started this harangue, I think that you can hear a leitmotif–all the things he cites are at heart an assertion that the Democrats are too weak to grasp the nettle and do the right thing. Too weak to insist that people obey the rules. If that impression continues we are doomed not just as a movement but as a people.

  • I think carwnirpc is correct. I’ve always thought that non-rightwingers ought to take on the ‘anti-government’ crowd by making them run against meat inspection, the Coast Guard, the Center for Disease control, the DoT (highway builders) and all that. Make them into mad cow-loving, Ebola-sponsoring, children-drowning SOBs who don’t want you to have a decent road near your house.

  • When a pol or even a common citizen begins to attack the very institutional nature of our 200+ year democracy, just ask them who fixes the potholes and streetlamps, who provides education and funding for community-minded civic projects. Then, when they say that none of these things are fixed very well, ask them who will pay to fix them better – the tax paying citizens of this nation working in concert with elected officials to fully fund societal needs or Bush’s buddies over at Halliburton. If they answer the latter, they are no friends to democracy. If they answer the former, tell them to quit living in fairyland where they can get a free lunch anytime they wish.

    The response to any candidate who runs on a “attack the system and its decision-makers in any manner necessary to get elected” should be how such a strategy smells of AntiAmericanism. Get the anti-government candidates to answer the question: Do you believe in a common good for all Americans? Force such candidates to address how they plan to govern for all Americans in terms of funding fire protection, law enforcement, infrastructure improvements (filling in potholes, improving transportation systems etc.), equitable taxation and our common defense.

    I venture to say, such candidates won’t be able to rely on their buzz word of privatization without having to more fully explain the impact of such policies. As for a more sane way to spend the upcoming election season, write letters to the editors of your local papers condemning negative campaigning, and asking the candidates to talk to the issues. Then, at the end of the letters, inform the candidates that you will not vote for a candidate who defines him/herself by smearing his/her opponent.

    Keep the letters coming to the local media outlets, and help our democracy redefine campaigning. Vote for candidates who speak to the issues, and vote against candidates who speak to their opponents’ personal defects. Take back the common good for all Americans, Vote the Rascals Out in ’06 and ’08! -Kevo

  • I agree with all the posts. We need, through soundbites and visuals, rapidly to educate the voters to the proper function of government and why its our duty to pay for it fairly. It wouldn’t hurt to toss in a few negatives by way of contrast: while we’re doing all this — What’s the GOP offer? Pointless costly war? Grand scale theft to feed the already obscenely rich? The warm feeling that comes with verbally bashing your closeted gay son or daughter?

    Unfortunately, if I were betting I’d have to say the official Democrats have probably already sold their souls, not to advertisers like the ones we’re suggesting here, but to the same old beltway buttheads who’ve cost us the last full generation of elections.

  • Great posts!
    No one is going to respect you unless you’re willing to stand up to the bullies. Remember grade school?

  • The sad thing is that this promotes stereotypes and hate to which he is exposing children, including his own. Racism and prejudices of all kinds have to stop with this generation, beginning with each of us. It poisons all of us, those who are victimized, those who are the perpetrators, and the rest of us all who are surrounded with this attitude. This kind of thinking, and lack of recognition that, as Martin Luther King said, we are all connected by an invisible web. Until we begin to recognize it as a global society, the violence will continue.

  • I have this image in my mind for a general Democratic ad. Have a guy driving in a car, and every time he turns onto a new road, he has to stop at a different toll booth for a different toll booth company.

    Then have the narative say: “[Candidate X] believes in privitization. He sees no need for Government, such as the Department of Transportation that builds and upkeeps our roads. Has he really thought out the impact of his positions, or is he just trying to get elected to benefit his friends?”

  • I agree that the Dems are not fighting this war on this planet. On this planet, you have to make the message simple and not get bogged down in making sure it’s absolutely fair to everyone.

    I’d say an ad that points out how the Republicans want to go back to the 50’s would be great. Let’s look at the 50’s shall we?

    In the 50’s we had institutional racial and sexual discrimination, they told us smoking good for us, they allowed insane levels of industrial pollution, and built 1,000 times more atomic weapons than could ever be used because of McCarthyism. If poor people got sick it was just too damn bad.

    I could go on and on, but you get the idea. The 50’s sucked. The same people who think the 50’s were great still believe in George W Bush. And he’s a moron, so they’re INSANE.

    Come on, Dems. The voters who aren’t sure who to vote for at this point need to be spoken to in a special way. Directly.

    Do you like the news from Iraq? Do you think huge deficits are OK? Do you hate being lied to all the time? Do you want Congress to do something for you instead of Haliburton?

    Then vote Democratic.

  • There are so many minority-American Republicans who run for federal office, but most do not manage to win.

    We need to turn that around this year. We need for Mr. Steele to win in Maryland; it would be even better if Vernon Robinson were to be elected to the U.S. House.

    I hope that the turnaround trend that has been slowly coming these past years will finally materialize in November, on the national level.

  • First, I linked the “book” you have advertised to this site if you want to see the comments of humans:

    book

    Second, and most importantly, I live in NC and I plan on voting for Robinson. He’ll win. Count on it

    • Comments are closed.