On Politicians and Profanity

Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has successfully generating lots of earned media coverage by being a bombastic loose cannon who may launch an "F" bomb at any time.  This may thrill those Trump supporters who are always spoiling for a down and dirty fight and who abhor political correctness, but it has also driven Trumps unfavorable rating  to over 60%.

This circus campaign strategy worked well before voters started casting ballots.  But as the race became serious and is focused in the Bible Belt, this boorish bluster does not play so well.  

In fact, Trump promised not to use foul language on the campaign trail.  This promise lasted about twenty minutes, as Trump relapsed into crass asides later in the same speech.

An MSNBC Focus Group in  South Carolina  had participants visibly cringe at Trump's profane presentations.

Opponents are eager to capitalize on this Trump shortcoming.  Thus, Ted Cruz opined: "It is not a good thing if parents would be embarrassed to have their children repeating the President."  Last week, the Cruz campaign released a video ostensively  about "Eminent Domain", but the puerile playtime imitating Trump with chagrined parents watching reinforced themes rebuking crass campaigning, which certainly would include profane politicians

If polls are to be believed five days before the South Carolina primary, Trump has a commanding 20% lead.  But one needs to parse political polling to discern its true worth.  And South Carolina has a history of making sudden shifts at the last minute.

The Republican South Carolina primary will be held on Saturday Feburary 20th 2016.

Saturday Night Live: Amusement or Agiprop?

Saturday Night Live just launched its 41st season on NBC with special guest First Lady Secretary of State Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY).  The appearance by the leading Democrat Presidential hopeful was a sympathetic portrayal of Mrs. Clinton, having the real politico playing a bar keep to a faux Hillary Clinton visiting a Republican bar.  This was a sharp contrast to the SNL satire in the spring which portrayed Hillary as robotic.  It is not surprising that the Not Ready For Prime Time writers would pen comedic softballs for a progressive politician like Hillary Clinton, but the obsequiousness for covering campaign soft spots (slow to support same sex marriage, need to be cool and youthful and the tough task of humanizing her) was egregious.

What was more irksome was a pretty amusing SNL fake ad for Ambilify, a pharmaceutical for politicians suffering from what would best be described as "Potomac Fever".  Such wanna be Presidential candidates have virtually no support but they still continue to campaign.



Perhaps the writers were appealing to Low Information Voters and Potomac Fever would be too Between the Beltways lingo or esoteric.  But slandering these quixotic campaigners as having dementia propels it from the realm of parody into propaganda.

Faux Pharamaceutical Ad on Saturay Night Live

WMAL radio host Chris Plante rightly pointed out that the Ambilify fake pharmaceutical only takes aim at Republicans.  There are a couple of Democrats running for President this cycle who have nearly naught support, namely former Senator and  Governor Lincoln Chafee (R-I-D-RI), former Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and former Governor Martin O'Malley (D-MD).  Strangely, none of those fledgling politicians were satirized as being candidates for Ambilify, even though all of them could have less support than the margin of error in most polls.

As a political junkie, it is fun to see campaigns spoofed on comedy shows.  Knowing the ways of the Lamestream Media, it is unsurprising to see the comedy slanted to the left.  But when a funny fake drug about delusional Presidential aspirants only ribs Republicans, it is not entertainment but agiprop.

Thomas Sowell has urged Americans to be prudent in choosing their news sources. But in an age of infotainment, low information voters often turn to comedy shows to get their fill of the world. Unfortunately, for the last decade youths have been turning to comedy shows, like the Daily Show or the old Colbert Report, to get their news instead satirizing current events. These smug news consumers think that they get they have a good bead on things but they do not realize that they are being played. 

There's More Than a Snowflake's Chance that Ted Cruz is Running for the White House

At this point of the 2016 Presidential election cycle, most prospective Presidential nominees are playing coy about their intentions to run for the White House.   Many media personalities will jocularly try to get a story by coaxing the candidate to declare his or her intentions on the air.  Serious candidates need to sound interested to prospective supporters, yet not proverbially put the cart before the horse by declaring not at a time and place of their own choosing. 

So Glenn Beck's exchange with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) at the end of a lengthy radio interview included the obligatory "ask".  However, the junior senator from Texas gave a memorable deflection.  

When some politicians claim quote their children, it sounds as if the kids were cued off of a teleprompter. An infamous example was President Jimmy Carter's alleged exchange with daughter Amy about the dangers of nuclear war during a 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan. 

The quote from Caroline Cruz certainly sounds like a six year old's logic.  While the quip intimated that the family blesses Senator Cruz intention to throw his hat in the ring, it also served as a light hearted feint to the question of declaring. 

Running for President is a grueling effort to constantly travel, raise funds, react to opposition in real time and try to project a positive prospective policy.  Many politicians refrain from continued combat in the political arena to supposedly spend more time with family.  It is a twist to conventional logic to a family to encourage a campaign to gain a back yard for a dog.

Yes Caroline, there is more than a Snowflake's chance in Texas that Ted Cruz is running for the White House. But now was not the time to color in that picture and say it with surety.