Unions Keep Up Mailer Assault On McCain In Battleground States
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees keeps up the economic assault in the swing states, blitzing a dozen battlegrounds with two new hard-hitting mailers tying McCain to George W. Bush on the economy and lambasting McCain's health care plan.
An AFSCME official sends over the mailers, the first of which hammers McCain for his "fundamentals" gaffe and claims that Bush-McCain policies are "killing the middle class" (click on the images to enlarge)...
"You have a right to know about John McCain's economic record," the mailer reads, reflecting internal union polling that shows low-information swing-state voters lack a strong sense of McCain's ideology and proposals on the economy.
Meanwhile, a second mailer hits McCain's proposal to tax health care benefits, the central target of efforts to paint McCain as the risky and even frightening choice on this crucial pocketbook issue. Also note the word "Republican" in big and garish green letters...
As a graphic designer, I actually feel mailers are more effective than tv ads! They sit on the counter and kitchen table for voters to see over and over again at all hours.
October 8, 2008 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe. I know that I usually take a quick look at mine, and then toss them in the recycle bin.
Then there's the issue of whether or not you agree with a candidate. I know in the past, that my dad would not even look at anything from a Democrat. He would obnoxiously proclaim that "All Democrats are evil!" and then rip-up/throw away the mailer.
[The irony here is that he'll be voting for Barack Obama next month]
http://thepajamapundit.com/
October 8, 2008 10:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Mailers also let the voter absorb more information at their own pace, able to re-read and it sinks in a lot more effectively than a 30 second tv ad that just zooms in and out of your head.
October 8, 2008 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Let's hope these have some sway with the white folks who simply do not want to vote for a black guy.
October 8, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
OT:
Does anybody know why Intrade's Missouri prediction has swung so decisively toward Obama in the last day? Is it now 50/50.
Is there a new MO poll out there or something?
October 8, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Probably just macro trends
October 8, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
i don't know, but WTF is going on with the hotline polls?????
yes, i know they adjusted their party ID weighting, but only by about 2% in each direction, i thought. certainly not enough for this to be only a 1 point race nationally. WTF?
October 8, 2008 10:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
I can't figure that out either. No other poll is anywhere near that close. Well Zogby is 2 points I think but Zogby is usually off. But I can't figure out Hotline. Makes no sense.
October 8, 2008 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hotline changed their underlying party breakdown assumptions. The irony is that they made the assumptions less realistic.
October 8, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Heck, even Battleground has Obama up by 4.
October 8, 2008 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's down 3 from a 7 point lead yesterday. McCain had a very good day yesterday.
October 8, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't get it--why do that at this stage of the game? Do they really think in this climate somehow more people have declared themselves Republicans over the last couple weeks? I genuinely don't understand--?
October 8, 2008 11:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here's some more on the mcShame healthcare plan that you might want to share with undecideds.
How does one qualify for a tax credit? Why, one pays taxes first! If you don't pay enough taxes, there's no way you'd qualify for the full credit, doncha know? Which means that the people who can afford to pay for the insurance in the first place are the ones who will get some of that paid for. See how it works for those with more? And those with less get stiffed again?
This is just another give-away to the rich! While taxing the poor.
October 8, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Plus McLame was very unclear on that - he kept calling it a tax refund credit and that makes no sense to me.
October 8, 2008 10:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
If there's a group that has delivered on the message in an effective way, that's the unions.
October 8, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Are the unions jazzed up or what?
October 8, 2008 10:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
In Michigan the last week the union pro-Obama TV ads have seemingly outnumbered all other ads combined.
October 8, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hotline/Diaegeo has McCain back by just one point??? Then again, Zogby has McCain back by just two points.
Scary, but I'm hoping yesterday's debates and certain "THAT ONE!" comments spread out the numbers even further.
October 8, 2008 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Of course Obama is going to "owe" the Unions is a pretty big way as well. They're looking for future influence just like any Lobbyist working for the McCain Camp is...
October 8, 2008 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'd rather have the unions lobbying for workers' rights than a bunch of goddamn foreign nations and corporations.
sheeeeit.
October 8, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
The more Obama "owes" the unions, the better. Because that means he "owes" millions of workers. Which is a hell of a lot better than "owing" big business, big oil, or any other special interest group.
This is better on both policy and political grounds. On the former, passage of the Employee Free Choice Act will do more to raise workers' living standards than anything else the federal government can do. The more workers who join unions, the higher their wages and benefits will go. Similarly, enactment of Obama's health care reform plan will give workers real health security for the first time ever.
On political grounds, the more unions grow and the stronger they get, the more likely it is that progressive candidates will consistently win at all levels.
October 8, 2008 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good. Fucking damn well about time the Democratic Party stopped pandering to management and screwing over labor.
October 8, 2008 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Word up!
In case nobody noticed, the same people who fucked over labor also broke the economy - the two are not unrelated.
October 8, 2008 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Finally Chris Cillizza at The Fix wrote something that is news worthy. BO is outspending McCain 3:1. This article is very good. Its does a campaign comparison state by state. This is a must read. You get the feeling that even thought the Republican party has some dough, its not really focused on McCain, but the down ballot races.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/10/obamas_spending_edge.html
October 8, 2008 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Shit yes, Franklyn. If the Repug party has brains at all left that's what they should be doing.
McLame has lost. They're only hope is hang on to a few seats but the majority is ours. OURS. And it's going to stay ours provided everything doesn't just blow up in our faces.
October 8, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Their only hope - goddamn homophones -
October 8, 2008 11:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Stop being homophonic!
October 8, 2008 11:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
My dirty little secret!!!
October 8, 2008 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed-k1xOCsMs
Who was McCain scary whisper about?
http://www.dogtownink.com/wp-content/themes/BlogTimes/images/thatoneBIG.jpg
October 8, 2008 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
What nobody noticed the "BULL FOR SALE" sign (frame 2)? I bet they searched long and hard for that picture - or maybe Photoshop!
October 8, 2008 2:29 PM | Reply | Permalink