{"id":1697,"date":"2004-05-04T10:39:27","date_gmt":"2004-05-04T15:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com\/archives\/1697.html"},"modified":"2004-05-04T10:39:27","modified_gmt":"2004-05-04T15:39:27","slug":"attacking-kerry-as-an-elitist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/attacking-kerry-as-an-elitist\/","title":{"rendered":"Attacking Kerry as an elitist"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think the new Kerry campaign ads<\/a> border on perfection and I think they’re the ideal part of a new national ad buy<\/a> the campaign is rolling out this week.<\/p>\n

While there are a number of positive features to the spots, there’s one point I’d like to emphasize that the ads touch on in a masterful but subtle way: growing up with privileges exclusive to the wealthy.<\/p>\n

No one likes a favored rich guy who’s found success because it’s been handed to him. Americans love an underdog — a self-made man (or woman) — who started with nothing but relied on his (or her) strengths and hard work to get ahead. The alternative is an out-of-touch snob who is fundamentally incapable of relating to “average” American families.<\/p>\n

It’s one of the reasons the Bush campaign has been throwing the “elitist” charge around so much. There’s been more criticism of Kerry’s wealth than his tax plan. A GOP ad<\/a> launched last month, for example, ridiculed Kerry for having an expensive haircut, wearing expensive clothes, and owning expensive property. The spot labels Kerry “another rich, liberal elitist from Massachusetts.”<\/p>\n

Republican attacks against Kerry’s wealth are ironic on one level and breathtakingly hypocritical on the other. It’s ironic because the GOP has become the unquestioned champion for the upper class. The party’s class warfare intentionally and deliberatively uses the law to redistribute wealth in this country towards those with the most wealth. Under conservative philosophy, Kerry shouldn’t be criticized for his economic status; he should be celebrated.<\/p>\n

The hypocrisy, of course, is attacking Kerry as a rich man when Bush is the quintessential elitist. Bush’s family came to the country on the Mayflower, for crying out loud. His grandfather was a senator, his father was president of the United States. He went to Andover, Yale, and Harvard because of his family, not his skills. Bush’s connections got him out of military service and got him into lucrative business deals. The man’s entire life has featured one incredible characteristic: an ability to fall up. Every failure has been met with a promotion, not because of merit, but because of his last name.<\/p>\n

And yet, the “elitist” charge against Kerry has become a standard GOP talking point. The new Kerry campaign ads deftly handle this attack by carefully embracing the candidate’s background. It’s a tricky maneuver that the ad’s creators pull off beautifully.
\n
\nConsider this comment from the new ad titled, “Heart.”<\/p>\n

I enlisted because I believed in service to country. I thought it was important if you had a lot of privileges as I had had, to go to a great university like Yale, to give something back to your country.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Perfect. Yes, Kerry’s saying, I have wealth and have enjoyed privileges that most people have not, but I haven’t taken it for granted. Instead, I’ve spent my life giving back. Unlike someone else we know…<\/p>\n

It highlights what I see as a fundamental character difference between Bush and Kerry. Both come from wealth, but one feels a sense of entitlement while the other feels a sense of obligation.<\/p>\n

I remember way back in August, Kerry was campaigning in Iowa at a bowling alley. The issue of education came up and Kerry didn’t hesitate to draw on his own background. He told Iowans<\/a>, “George Bush went to a nice, fancy high school like I did, but I came out of my fancy high school asking the question, ‘Why can’t everybody have a school like this?'”<\/p>\n

Bush pretends to be a regular guy who’s worked hard to get where he is. From his bought-for-the-campaign ranch to his phony rhetoric, it’s a scam. Like Ann Richards’ classic line, Bush was born on third base and thought he hit a triple.<\/p>\n

Kerry doesn’t pretend to be something he’s not; he embraces his background and makes it a positive. Like Bush, he has personal wealth. But unlike Bush, Kerry wants to fight for those who don’t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think the new Kerry campaign ads border on perfection and I think they’re the ideal part of a new national ad buy the campaign is rolling out this week. While there are a number of positive features to the spots, there’s one point I’d like to emphasize that the ads touch on in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}