Stoopid Politician Tricks

It's election time again. The television, even in Colorado, is flooded with political advertising. Candidate A attacks candidate B, candidate B says, "Oh yeah, well candidate A..." and everyone is as confused as ever. Perhaps the most confused at times are those that make the commercials. Let me explain.

Amendment 48 (I think that's the number) will amend the Colorado constitution to define a marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Oklahoma passed a similar amendment to its constitution in 2004 and I'm sure there are many other states following suit. My feeling is that all of these states are in big trouble when (notice I didn't say "if") someone challenges these laws and amendments because they are descriminatory. But that's not why I bring this up. Whether you agree with the amendment or not, someone dropped the ball on a recent commercial for A48.

The commercial shows a young boy playing outside. You hear the voice over, from mom, saying, "Sam used to have a father..." and meanders on about how he needs a male influence in his life to "teach him, you know, 'guy' stuff." Then it hits you with the tagline to vote yes on amendment 48. Lady, I have news for you. There are a thousand reasons why Sam does not have a male influence in his life. Maybe he died. Maybe he couldn't stand you because you're an evil, dictatorial bitch. Or maybe, after getting you knocked up, he left you for another man. I've got news for you, an amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman isn't going to change any one of those scenarios. Words on paper can't stop him from disolving your relationship. The commercial may as well have said, "This is a jelly donut. It should be sweet and delicious but someone used salt instead of sugar. Vote [insert position] on [insert state question or amendment number]." Same thing! A has nothing to do with B.

It reminded me of a commercial that ran when Oklahoma was trying to pass a state lottery. It used an animated mouse to show the evils of gambling but ended with the tagling, "save our children from gambling." (for a full breakdown of the commercial and a link to it, see this blog.) I laughed when I first saw it because it made the same sort of non-sequitor as the aforementioned A48 commercial.