With November 6 just around the corner and candidates panicking about their place in the polls, I can't help but notice that political "slam" commercials have taken over television. While it's true that I tend to have a flare for the dramatics, this is not an over exaggeration. Every time I turn the TV on I'm being told that so-and-so said this, what's-his-name did that and who-does-she-think-she-is lied about that thing that happened fourteen years ago. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like this election season has taken insulting other candidates to a whole new level. In the interest of protecting my own sanity I'm not going to go into detail about every single commercial that's grinding my gears. Instead, I'd like to focus on the two politicians whose advertisements frustrate me the most: Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren.
In a Scott Brown ad entitled "Let America Be America Again," he slammed President Obama and Elizabeth Warren for saying that no one gets rich on their own. In a different commercial referred to as "At It Again," Scott Brown slams Elizabeth Warren for not telling the truth about her career. He said that she said that she worked for people who had been injured by Asbestus when in reality, she worked for insurance companies to help ensure that victims didn't receive the compensation they deserved. He said that she got paid 40 times what the victims received. His commercials (and the people in them) said an awful lot of things about her. Elizabeth Warren, on the other hand... is no better. In one of her ads called "Fighter," Scott Brown is slammed for supporting tax cuts for millionaires and being on the side of corporations. He's slammed for the same thing in another one of her ads called "Clear Choice."
When Warren aired a commercial about how Scott Brown isn't "for women," he aired a rebuttal featuring women who insist that he is in fact on the side of women everywhere. When he slammed her for writing that she's Native American on applications to get ahead, she responded by making a commercial insisting that he can keep attacking her family, but she'll keep fighting for yours. She also responded to his saying that she hurt Asbestos victims instead of helping them by featuring people who have been affected by Mesothelioma. Scott Brown even aired commercials that focused solely on slamming her for slamming him!
My sister and I always managed to cause a ton of trouble when we were younger, and we got caught every time. Once we realized our TV privileges were being threatened, all solidarity went out the window and it turned into one giant blame game. "She made me do it!" "It was her idea!" "She's older so she should know better!" "You let her get away with everything!" Every time I see a slam commercial, I can't help but picture the candidates as tiny children arguing over who's responsible for breaking mom's fancy crystal vase.
I've seen countless slam commercials this year, and I haven't learned a single thing about the candidates from any of them. After years and years of slam commercials that accomplish absolutely nothing, I can't help but wonder why people still make them. Wouldn't it be much more effective to focus on what you're all about and what you believe in instead of what your opponent's about? Am I the only one who's had enough of the shenanigans?
The election is a little over a week away, and at this point those commercials are doing more harm than anything else, so why not call it a day?
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