Look, most of us recognize that politicians are not way up high on the honesty list. But the awful truth about career politicians and the party bosses is that even when what they say is technically accurate, they say it in as misleading and hypocritical a way as is humanly possible. The Republican and Democratic parties call it political advertising.
One of the best tricks is to attack someone for an obscure vote that is stretched completely out of perspective. Like the Democratic Party ad saying Minnesota Senator Rod Grams voted against a gun-free school zone bill because he’s fond of guns at school. Then there’s the Republican Party ad accusing Florida candidate Linda Chapin of being “soft on convicts” because criminals watched cable TV until, that is, Chapin had it removed, a fact the ad forgets to mention. And the Republican ad attacking Democrat Calvin Dooley as soft on crime for voting the same way as House Republican campaign chairman Tom Davis, whose group made the ad.
Dooley says, “The Republican Party has a criminal case of hypocrisy. Do Republicans think their own chairman is soft on crime too?” But Dooley knows that members of the incumbency Republicans and Democrats couldn’t care less what anyone is for or against. Just use whatever you must use, twist whatever you must twist, smear whomever you must smear to win. And why is winning so important? Why? To lead a crusade for truth, justice and the American way, of course!
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.