The Huffington Post included this Lincoln Diaz-Balart ad in its list of the
Top 60 Memorable Campaign Ads of 2008. HPost declared the ad to be "one of the most over-the-top negative ads of the cycle," as it featured, "a police officer charging that Diaz-Balart's opponent "thinks he's better than all women," has "no humanity whatsoever," is the "most corrupt politician you have ever seen," and even once "beat up on a little tiny kid."
You would think that Raul Martinez to be a fairly easy target for an attack piece, but if this ad proves anything, it's that in political fights, like real ones, swinging too hard can land you on your ass. LDB might win, but it won't be because of his well-produced commercials.
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The New York Times reports that the Republican Party threw a big bucket of money at Lincoln, compared to other Congressional races, seeking to retain its stranglehold of Miami-Dade County Congressional districts: "In contrast, the GOP has made a big bet -- spending some $1.6 million -- to support Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who represents the western part of Miami-Dade County in Florida. The party is competing there to keep control of a district that is largely Cuban, a demographic that has been reliably Republican."
They had to put their money somewhere, and Lincoln seems like a surer bet than Mario.
Huffpost, that's a real independent analysis. This blog is going downhill fast.
Oh come on. Like the ad isn't way over the top. No humanity? I'm not saying anything good about Martinez here, but the ad is funny and it's election day, so I ran with it.
Yes, I have noticed this blog going downhill...I wonder why our readership is so high?
The commerical may be "over the top" but it seems that it is based on facts.
Refer to the website you posted a few days ago:
http://raulmartinez08.com/
I didn't say that the ad wasn't based on facts. My problem with the ad is its language, or its style, not its substance. The hysterical tone undermines the credibility of the narrator. I imagine that the writer let their emotions get away from them while drafting the script, but that's just pure speculation on my part. Part of the challenge LDB's campaign was facing, I believe, was how to bring up Martinez's past, as illustrated on the site you posted, in such a way as to catch the voters' attention. It's all relevant, but it's also old news, so how do you get people to pay attention? This ad tried to get around that by using a police officer and just throwing the whole kitchen sink in the script. Like I said, I don't think it worked.
The images were probably more effective though. A friend told me that just seeing the shot of Martinez hitting the protester reminded her that he was a "bully" and gave her second thoughts about supporting him. This was coming from a Democrat. If that reaction was wide spread, if enough Democrats have second thoughts about Martinez, then LDB wins.
ggoooooo lincoln!!
The ad worked real well! It reminded people who RM really is. Look at Alvarado's piece in the New Times, it rocks.
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