John Fetterman is making politics fun.
We like that.
Today's post is easy and fun. Sit back and enjoy the ads. Consider the effect they have on voters in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman is doing well notwithstanding having had a debilitating stroke, being a Democrat in a Republican-leaning state, and having a wealthy and famous opponent, TV doctor Mehmet Oz. Fetterman is using message judo, turning his opponent's strengths into vulnerabilities.
Fentterman is punching up. He positions himself as the "regular guy" Pennsylvanian bringing down the inauthentic elitist. The ads are lighthearted enough that they don't come across as "negative." They send an implied message of Fetterman's fearlessness and willingness to confront the powerful. The ads are watchable and mentally "sticky."
Here is Steve Van Zandt, known for singing with Bruce Springsteen and known as an actor in The Sopranos, a TV series set in New Jersey.
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| Van Zandt |
"Snooki" teases Dr. Oz in the same vein. She is famous as a reality-TV personality, known for her role on Jersey Shore and Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.
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| Snooki |
Notice that the ads aren't condemning Oz for being a fraud. Their denoted content is goodwill, urging their fellow New Jersey resident to come back home.
Mehmet Oz put up an ad of himself in a vegetable aisle complaining about the price of "crudites," i.e. raw vegetables. It backfired. He misnamed the grocery store he was in. His word "crudites" ran counter to his effort to portray himself as a price-conscious "regular guy" shopper. Here is Fetterman, telling Oz what a veggi tray is.
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| Fetterman |
"Rich people think differently" were the concluding words of this ad teasing Dr. Oz for saying he owned two houses when in fact he owned ten very large ones. We hear Oz sounding defensive and evasive when he says, "legitimately, I own two houses." The ad counts out his ten homes.
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| Ten houses |
All four of the ads are funny. They don't condemn Oz nor do they praise Fetterman. They position Oz as an out-of-touch wealthy New Jersey interloper carpetbagger, and they do so without making us dislike Fetterman. That is judo.
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10 comments:
Maybe we'll see more such messaging in a 2024 presidential race between Newsom and DeSantis. From the ads Newsom launched in Florida last month, it sounds like it's already begun.
"Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.”
― John Lennon
What the Oz teasing is really about is to point out that the guy is a Trump wannabe, using celebrity to gain political power for personal gain. We must not forget that those that seek the spotlight are to be scrutinized very carefully for their true motives. Entertainers have a need for approval and the power that comes from adoration. While this is kind of sad psychologically, it does often produce some great art. Celebrity is a product of marketing, and for the most part all our celebrities are pretty clownish, not something that makes for good governance.
So it's not an accident that many of these MAGA candidates are a joke, just not a very funny one.
“Punching up” reminded me just how much Fetterman resembles another man who stands 6’9: heavyweight champ Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury. Fury is less the sloppy, punch-drunk vulgarian, though….
This is an era of revolt against elites.
Democrats need to find their own version of populism. It will need to be authentic. Woke snob attitudes are toxic to the Democrats’ chances.
Sixty percent of Democrats view outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) favorably amid potential presidential campaign ambitions, a YouGov poll found this week.
After Cheney lost the Wyoming Republican primary by nearly 40 points on Tuesday, the next day she announced she is considering a presidential bid in 2024.
Perhaps Cheney’s best hope of winning the presidency is with Democrat voters because her favorability among Democrats far outweighs her support among Republicans and independents.
According to the YouGov poll, Cheney’s favorability rating among independents is only 25 percent. And her favorability rating among Republicans is only 17 percent.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), an establishment and anti-Trump Republican, stated in Utah on Thursday that Cheney’s chances of winning the Republican nomination are very slim “in the time of Trump.”
“I don’t know if she really wants to do that. She would not become the nominee if she were to run. I can’t imagine that would occur,” Romney said.
I just decided to double my contribution to Mr. Fetterman.
What Uncle Mittens (R-Windmill) is afraid of is that Liz Cheney is going to run as an Independent and shatter the Two Party system, splitting the Seditionist vote from the "sane" Republicans and handing the Oval Office to another Democratically leaning occupant.
Is “Uncle Mittens” Mitt Romney or Bernie Sanders? 😀
Ha Ha ! Even you should know that whatever else he might be, Bernie Sanders has a core set of principles, to which he is dedicated, no matter who disagrees. And I didn't vote for him.
Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is well known as having all the core principles of a well oiled weathervane.
Nice to see that some still recall the connection between Sanders and mittens. 😉
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