In eight days, Democratic and unenrolled voters of the fifth congressional district get to choose who will very likely be the next Member of Congress from Massachusetts. The race seems to me to be in an odd place: there’s been very little polling, and none that I know of from well-established independent pollsters (sorry Emerson), so nobody really knows who is ahead, and the race for Mayor of Boston seems to be sucking much of the political oxygen out of the room. Peter Koutoujian has a lot more money than anyone else in the race, but it remains to be seen how he’s planning to spend it; Katherine Clark has already demonstrated the ability to self-fund to some extent, and she could conceivably give her campaign another cash injection for the final sprint.
For your viewing pleasure, here are the latest ads from the campaigns according to their YouTube channels. Clark’s and Koutoujian’s latest efforts are quite recent. Carl Sciortino’s and Karen Spilka’s have been around for a while. I don’t know the extent to which these ads are actually appearing on the airwaves, and I could not find any ads for Will Brownsberger (his YouTube channel has not been updated for several months).
Katherine Clark (ad posted yesterday):
Peter Koutoujian (ad posted three days ago):
Carl Sciortino (ad posted Sept. 17):
Karen Spilka (ad posted Sept. 12):
I am in Cambridge and have been seeing these ads. Clark’s ads have been on much more than any others, Koutoujian’s have been airing a lot within the last week, Carl’s ad has been getting some play on channels like MSNBC and NECN, and I have not seen Spilka’s ad on TV.
I believe that is Clark’s third TV spot. They are well-made and she comes off well, but they are basically all the same. It’s probably a smart strategy for her to go after the 50-70-year-old women, but I don’t like the one-note focus. Also, in all of her ads, there are close-ups from the side that seem strange.
I think Koutoujian’s ad is really poorly made. It doesn’t explain what he did at all, there is some dead time, it doesn’t bring the emotional weight that the story should, and he’s barely in it. I also didn’t like his previous ad because of the way the end was filmed with his family – it was weird and distracting. He should have hired the firm that made Carl’s ad.
Carl’s ad is great. I’m supporting him, but it’s still objectively a well-done ad. I wish he had come out with a more serious, straightforward ad to provide some balance.
Spilka’s ad is good. It’s similar to Koutoujian’s in concept but I think 10X better. I just have not seen it on TV.
I hadn’t seen the newest Clark ad but I saw the one with just her mom. I’ve seen the Spilka ad more on the internet (youtube), I think, than on TV. Carl’s ad I’ve seen on TV numerous times. The Sheriff’s ads (and I agree with your take on them) I’ve seen only thanks to BMG. I guess I haven’t watched much TV the past week or two. Expecting a Koutoujian flood given all the cash on hand.
You know those candidates who print everything in green and put shamrocks on every bumper sticker and mailing?
I can’t vote for them.
No matter the quality of the candidate, no matter the stand on the issues, the “vote for me because I’m Irish” campaign is offensive. So are the rest of the dog whistles out there.
“I’m a life long resident.” Is it dedication, or is he too dumb to find his way beyond the limits of the municipality.
“I’m just like you.” Is it affinity, or is the candidate trying to point out that the opponent is (black, Jewish, gay, left handed, whatever).
Show me the issues, and forget about the dog whistles.
Now, someone I really respect is out there with pink dog whistles. They are not even subtle. If I had one mailing talking about grandma or women’s issues, okay. However, it has been a steady stream of nothing but women’s issues. By the time the third or fourth mailing hit my mailbox, it morphed from pattern to theme. It is the political equivalent of the Vagina Monologues.
Bleh.
The TV ad reinforces the theme. No substance. Katherine Clark could have saved herself $250,000 of her own money and sent out fewer duplicate mailings. Dog whistles don’t work if they are too blatant.
Right now, Clark’s TV ad reinforces a negative image that is developing about Katherine. Waste of money.
On the other hand, I can’t get enough of Sciortino’s ad. I love it every time it comes on television.
Yes, Spilka and Koutoujian are playing on the same field with the sick constituent theme, but Spilka does it better. Haven’t seen it on cable yet, but I have seen a whole bunch of Koutoujian’s first ad which ended with the family on the front stoop where his wife looked like she was in a hostage video.
Koutoujian’s negatives come from his lawn signs. Too many are sitting on lawns that had Scott Brown signs last year.
Brownsberger still has the best website.
http://www.willbrownsbergerforcongress.com/
Agree with her priorities or don’t but that is where she decided to carve her niche in this campaign – perfectly legit. The variations of I’m like you are to show that they share experiences which will shape votes in ways you are likely to approve, also legit.
Okay, grandma was told she couldn’t be an engineer. The world is a little different now, and while there are legitimate women’s issues to be solved, there’s lots more going on in the House. Unless you think “I’m a woman” is a niche you should use to get elected to Congress, it’s not much of a niche.
Given the pretty blatant and real “war on women” that’s been going on lately I suspect there is a strong market, especially in the Democratic primary, for a candidate who puts those issues at the forefront of her agenda.