Ever since the end of the primary, Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District has received the very dubious honor of being one of the most hotly contested and rhetorically vicious in the nation. Gard's people wasted no time in lauching their attack entitled "Dr. Millionaire." It accuses Dr. Steve Kagen, a well-respected allergist who has treated hundreds of thousands of patients, of suing 80 of them. This is, however, more of a compliment than anything else - only 80 patients in his entire career? My hat's off to Dr. Kagen.
Kagen countered with an ad trying to demonstrate Gard's close relationship with oil companies, yet these examples were taken from a few votes that are decades old.
When the acrid smell of desperation comingled with the stench of Republican bullshit Gard let loose a follow-up ad. Here, he focuses on a single case where a mother's child dies and Kagen allegedly pursues legal action against her. What this commercial neglects to tell you is the mother in question collected and pocketed her insurance money and still refused to pay. This Gard ad, in my opinion the most shameful of this election, falls just shy of claiming Kagen kicks puppies and wants to eat your baby Jonathan Swift-style.
One ad from Kagen which I felt was particularly effective was a general assault on many neoconservative postures. In it he pointedly proclaims "I'm too conservative to be a Republican." He then goes on to list his traditionally conservative stands on stemming profligate governmental spending, spearheading health care reform and establishing a blueprint for real national security. All things Republicans have heretofore been unable to accomplish.
By the looks of the Mellman Group's most recent poll both sides seem to be failing, or succeeding, depending upon the way you view it. Failing in the sense that they're unable to definitively pull ahead of the other and succeeding insofar as they're not out of the race. It's anybody's guess who'll take over Mark Green's seat. Anyone who knows the climate of American politics will tell you to examine one facet of any candidate's campaign to determine who'll be the winner in November. That facet is, of course, the money.
1 comment:
I've noticed when candidates don't know what to say to their oppnonents they revert to talking about something that has absolutely nothing to do with the race. All of a sudden personal history and people you beat up in high school become an issue. It's the mark of an desperate politician. Great post. Always about the money..so true.
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