Weirdest election mailer ever

[Nyarlathotep]

So the other day I got a mailer that puzzled me. ON the front side it showed a couple of people at a shooting range with words to the effect that Obama and McCain are pretty much the same on the issue of gun control. Even most of the back expounded on the idea that there was no real difference on them on this issue.

"Oookaaay", I thought, "Why on Earth would either candidate send me something saying that the was no difference between the two candidates on some issue? Aren't they supposed to be telling me how much better their candidate is on that issue, or accusing the other guy of beating kittens to death with puppies or some such?" It made no sense to send me a mailer saying "no difference here, nosiree bob"

Finally after reading the rest of it I found where it then went on to say how Obama was the greatest thing since sliced bread on a whole bunch of other issues. BUt still it seems a pretty weird to send out something that mostly says that the two guys are equivalent. I guess it worked, though, since I actually read this one to puzzle it out instead of saying "Yeah, whatever" and throwing it out which is what I usually do with that kind of junk

 

[Whiplash]

Saying the Democrat is no different than the Republican on gun control could be construed as a positive when courting people who love guns. The assumption by many is that the left all hate guns and would ban them all if they could. I assume this flyer was making the point that Obama isn't like that.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Saying the Democrat is no different than the Republican on gun control could be construed as a positive when courting people who love guns. The assumption by many is that the left all hate guns and would ban them all if they could. I assume this flyer was making the point that Obama isn't like that.

True enough, I guess, though that strikes me as saying "Hey, you know all those bad things the Republicans are saying about us? Well this particular one is TRUE.....except in Obama's case" which seems a little counterproductive to me.

Maybe that's why I am in computers and not politics, though.

 

[not_so_new]

Maybe that's why I am in computers and not politics, though.

Could be (I am in computers as well by the way).



To me it is pretty clear, Whiplash was right on the money with his reply.

The assumption is that Democrats are for gun control (which is partly true on the whole). To fight that assumption Obama's campaign wants to point out that Obama ISN'T for strict gun control. That fact that he either doesn't have a problem with gun ownership or he realizes that it is a losing issue with voters doesn't matter, he is stating that he and McCain are in agreement with gun control issues.

Nothing weird about that at all to me.

The political thing you are missing is that this was not sent to you in an effort to vote for ALL democrats, this was sent to you in an effort to get you to vote for ONE Democrat, Obama.

 

[XBoxWarrior]

To me it is pretty clear, Whiplash was right on the money with his reply.

The assumption is that Democrats are for gun control (which is partly true on the whole). To fight that assumption Obama's campaign wants to point out that Obama ISN'T for strict gun control. That fact that he either doesn't have a problem with gun ownership or he realizes that it is a losing issue with voters doesn't matter, he is stating that he and McCain are in agreement with gun control issues.

Nothing weird about that at all to me.

The political thing you are missing is that this was not sent to you in an effort to vote for ALL democrats, this was sent to you in an effort to get you to vote for ONE Democrat, Obama.

OK....all idiocy aside. That thing called The Supreme Court has spoken...There will be no 'control' in America at this point. Do I need to post the WDC decision? (aside from assault)

Unless you are a felon, you can go to the Wal-Mart and buy a gun.

Obama can't change that. Unless he gets 4 appointees to the SCOTUS...even then, Libs would prolly side with the 2cd.

Why does the Gun thing even matter?]

It's like the Roe Vs. Wade thingy?

Been Decided!

 

[Snide]

OK....all idiocy aside. That thing called The Supreme Court has spoken...There will be no 'control' in America at this point. Do I need to post the WDC decision? (aside from assault)

Unless you are a felon, you can go to the Wal-Mart and buy a gun.

Obama can't change that. Unless he gets 4 appointees to the SCOTUS...even then, Libs would prolly side with the 2cd.

Why does the Gun thing even matter?]

It's like the Roe Vs. Wade thingy?

Been Decided!

That still won't stop my cousin and brother-in-law from insisting that Democrats want to ban "pretty much all the guns hunters use," and voting on that one issue.

 

[not_so_new]

OK....all idiocy aside. That thing called The Supreme Court has spoken...There will be no 'control' in America at this point. Do I need to post the WDC decision? (aside from assault)

Unless you are a felon, you can go to the Wal-Mart and buy a gun.

Obama can't change that. Unless he gets 4 appointees to the SCOTUS...even then, Libs would prolly side with the 2cd.

Why does the Gun thing even matter?]

It's like the Roe Vs. Wade thingy?

Been Decided!

That still won't stop my cousin and brother-in-law from insisting that Democrats want to ban "pretty much all the guns hunters use," and voting on that one issue.

Snide said it better than I could but as I said above The assumption is that Democrats are for gun control.

That does not mean they are going to get it or even really try to fight for it at this point. It's just that many rural folks, who by just about all other accounts are Democrats vote Republican based on a few issues, gun control would be one of them.

Again, it is all about perception not reality. Look at the McCain / Palin attacks on Obama over the last week.

 

[leftysergeant]

I live in Pierce County, Washington. Good mix of urban and rural voters. Gun control measures get laughed off the county convention floor, most times. Too many of us own guns ourselves.

 

[joobie]

the weirdest mailer i got this year was sent by some losers called the clarion fund. it's spme dvd about how muslims want to eat our babies.

if i find out who gave these people my address, i'm going to kick them in the nuts.

 

[davefoc]

I think the mailer was consistent with the idea that Obama or the Obama campaign leadership is very good at politics.

If you are for Obama you admire this skill and hope that it translates into skill at government. If you are against Obama you see it as cynically creating public positions to pander to the widest possible section of the population.

 

[leftysergeant]

This is actually good targeted marketing. They address a particular block of voters among whom only one issue matters enough to sway the voter's opinion.

There are people out there who will ignore all manner of important issues and base their votes entirely on a candidate's voting record for a position they support or against one they oppose. They are known as single-issue voters.

(I usually call them dimbulbs.)

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I think the mailer was consistent with the idea that Obama or the Obama campaign leadership is very good at politics.

If you are for Obama you admire this skill and hope that it translates into skill at government. If you are against Obama you see it as cynically creating public positions to pander to the widest possible section of the population.

False dichotomy.

I see it as cynically creating public positions to pander to the widest possible section of the population, but then again that's what all politicians do so I consider it a wash in that respect between him and McCain and am probably voting for Obama unless he really screws up (or McCain really shapes up) in the next 25 days.

 

[davefoc]

False dichotomy.

I see it as cynically creating public positions to pander to the widest possible section of the population, but then again that's what all politicians do so I consider it a wash in that respect between him and McCain and am probably voting for Obama unless he really screws up (or McCain really shapes up) in the next 25 days.

Well it was a little tongue in cheek and somebody such as yourself that isn't part of the base support for either candidate isn't exactly a fair test of my theory. But if you want to hold me to the requirement that my theory be exactly right in every case or it is wrong then it was clearly wrong as you have just proved.

I would like to hear what about what you thought about the Palin troopergate report. I was interested in the reaction of people that still haven't completely decided on one candidate or the other to the report and to the situation in general. If you didn't want to comment on that here because it is off topic, you could post your answer in this thread:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126141

Thanks, Dave

 

[KoihimeNakamura]

Huh, just noticed you live near me, lefty.

 

[Kestrel]

This is actually good targeted marketing. They address a particular block of voters among whom only one issue matters enough to sway the voter's opinion.

There are people out there who will ignore all manner of important issues and base their votes entirely on a candidate's voting record for a position they support or against one they oppose. They are known as single-issue voters.

(I usually call them dimbulbs.)

A few weeks ago, I helped a young lady register to vote for the first time. When I asked her if she had decided who to vote for, she responded.

I really like Obama, but have to vote my morals so I will be voting for McCain.

The "Christian" right has distilled morality down to a stance on one issue. All that "compassion for the poor" stuff that Jesus talked about isn't a moral issue. Starting a war and killing thousands of innocents isn't a moral issue. Only a pure stand against abortion under any circumstances counts as a moral issue.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Well it was a little tongue in cheek and somebody such as yourself that isn't part of the base support for either candidate isn't exactly a fair test of my theory. But if you want to hold me to the requirement that my theory be exactly right in every case or it is wrong then it was clearly wrong as you have just proved.

I would like to hear what about what you thought about the Palin troopergate report. I was interested in the reaction of people that still haven't completely decided on one candidate or the other to the report and to the situation in general. If you didn't want to comment on that here because it is off topic, you could post your answer in this thread:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126141

Thanks, Dave

One of the things I hate most about politics and politicians is using public office to pursue private gain and pursuing a personal vendetta is 'private gain' in my book. But McCain had already lost me when that came out so all that means is he has an evens teeper hill to climb to get my vote back.