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I’ve Approved This Message
On December 8th the State of Massachusetts is holding a special election primary to fill the Senate vacancy caused by Ted Kennedy’s passing. The final election will be held on December 15th. This is considered a big-ass election for obvious reasons and the peeps of Mass are being bombarded with campaign ads by the candidates.
I have to wonder if anyone else sees the lack of originality in the ads. The ads are void of any fresh content and the candidates’ messaging showing the perfect family with the perfect upbringing makes me want to gag. It always goes something like this:
- Dad was a <insert blue collar job here>
- Mom was a stay at home mother
- Went to an Ivy league school
- Video of Norman Rockwell Christmas with children dancing around the tree surrounded by “perfect” relatives
- Childhood photo of little boys in ties and girls in dresses and white gloves standing in front of church
The fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as the perfect family. When I was a kid I used to think everyone else had the perfect family. As an adult, these friends have now shared their own stories about how screwed up their family was. One story that stands out is from a former teammate. I thought her family had it all — huge house, lots of money, country club membership, uber-athletic kids and more. A few years ago, my friend told me her family life was absolute hell. Her parents would get bombed every night and it wasn’t unusual for her mother to chase her father around the house with a knife trying to kill him. Fo’ shizz.
If the reality is that most American voters didn’t grow up with the perfect family, why don’t the candidates reveal their own imperfections? These ads would truly stand out. The messaging wouldn’t be overused and reheated and I believe people would respect their honesty and connect with them in a way they can’t today. Even better, what if they proactively disclosed everything that would be viewed as a “skeleton in their closet.” Now, there’s an ad that will keep voters from changing the channel!
Although I will never run for public office because the personal agendas would make me crazy, if I did, the content of my ad would be something like this:
- My parents were divorced. (50% of marriages end in divorce, so I’m thinkin’ this will resonate with voters)
- My Mom was a single working Mom long before it was commonplace.
- My Dad was an alcoholic and his alcoholism created a very chaotic home life. Note: He has been recovered for 25 years and I am so proud of him and love him immensely. (Over 9 million Americans are alcoholics and I bet 100+ million people who love them are affected by their drinking. This is yet another transparent opp to connect with voters.)
- I was sexually abused as a child by a really effed up uncle. (Statistics on sexual abuse vary, but a conservative numbers estimates 25% of children have been sexually abused. It is horrific and we should have a “one strike you’re out – life in prison” law.)
- I went to shitty state college. (There are only eight Ivy league schools and the overwhelming majority of Americans did not attend them.)
- Because I was a tomboy, any photos of me would probably show me in Sears Toughskin jeans holding a fishing pole….while climbing a tree ’cause my Mom was trying to drag me to church.
I have no skeletons in my closet because I never try to hide anything about me. The following things are often used by candidates to discredit a political rival, so I am and will always be upfront about them:
- I am gay and I am married — because in Massachusetts we believe in providing basic human rights to all our citizens. I know this attribute would make me unelectable in many parts of the country, but I would never try to hide who I am.
- In college I did a lot of drugs — I think the only things I didn’t do were crack and heroin and that’s because they really weren’t around.
While I wouldn’t wish my childhood on anyone, I wouldn’t change it and I am who I am because of it. I am resilient, compassionate and honest. I am the person you want by your side in the middle of a crisis. Why? Because I grew up in chaos, I am calm and level headed in the midst of it. I am always the defender of the underdog and will go toe-to-toe with any bully — without exception. Hell, I am not perfect and am far from it, but neither is the American voter.
I’m Kel Kelly and I approved this message.
Who would you rather vote for? Someone who is upfront and honest or someone who tries to spin the perfect background?
November 30th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Kel -
Spot on! I’m ashamed to admit that I find this important Senate race to be one big fat yawner. Between the boring ads, lack of clarity on where candidates truly stand on the issues and the ever incessant robo-calling, I wish all the candidates would be more transparent. But perhaps the candidates alone aren’t at fault. We seem to be heading ever more so towards a society where as much as we talk about transparency, we seem to embrace artificiality.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Kel, you have my vote. In fact, I am writing you in. I was originally going to write-in the Howard Stern “Bullhorn Ted Kennedy”, but that’s not socially acceptable. And, you’re right, if only politicians were more honest and not so milk toast, we’d actually get things done instead of getting caught up in mud slinging.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
jenn, “artificiality” is a great word. nice! i think web 2.0 is forcing transparency, but we need to do it willingly versus being forced into it. the sad thing is that nobody will ever truly replace ted kennedy. he was iconic, yet riddled with as many flaws as the rest of the world. honestly, i think that is one of the many reasons he was so loved.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
frank, i think howard for senate is a great idea! just imagine the firestorm he would cause. makes me laugh just thinking about it.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Kel –
While I do not envy anyone that has to introduce themselves and give you enough personal info that you connect with them and want to vote for them in 30 seconds, I completely agree with you. There is nothing substantial in those ads, and before I cast my vote (*cough MOAKLEY cough cough*) I’d like to know where the potentials stand on key issues, what their pet projects are going to be and more about who they really are.
I also think that in 50 years, there will be NO skeletons in the closets of politicians – any info will be on FB years before they make a run at office, anyway. Viva la Revolution!
November 30th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
My favorite is Steve Pagliuca. He said he won’t use his Celtics connection to his advantage. LOL! Every commercial has him shooting hoops with a “green” t-shirt on, or attending some unknown but very “green” victory celebration. Not to mention he’s shown every 4th commercial during Celtics games.
Dude, the only reason you have a shot at this is your Celtics connection. Use it! Barely hiding from it makes you seem lame.
BC
November 30th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
meagan, viva la revolution is right! i agree with you. facebook is the biggest, widest, most open closet door on the planet and if you don’t walk through it someone is sure to push you through. btw, is “moakley” (martha coakley) kinda like “jlo” (jennifer lopez)? tee-hee.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
ben, as always, i laughed out loud at your comment. right on, right on. people are not stupid, so don’t treat them as such. i think his work with the celtics is relevant. why hide it?i think transparency should be the new black!
November 30th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
November 30th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Meagan makes a great point re: skeletons in closets and Facebook. It’s going to be a lot harder to hide. So why hide at all? To a certain extent, I’d rather hear that someone screwed around a little bit and made mistakes when they were younger. That’s not a lack of character, that’s someone getting it out of his/her system while that person is still young and without a substantial amount of responsibility. (As opposed to still screwing after they married, after they had kids, and after they fooled us into voting for them.)
November 30th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
janet — i agree 100%. the general population is pretty forgiving when someone takes ownership for a mistake and takes full responsibility. think of how disarming it would be to proactively put all your mistakes out there ahead of someone else unearthing them. your rivals would have nothing on you. seems like a simple, smart strategy to me…i’m just saying…
December 8th, 2009 at 1:12 am
I studied political science in college and this issue was always a popular topic amongst fellow students and in-class discussions. I actually attended Princeton, so you can imagine all of outlandish political ads that I experienced in New Jersey. The sad truth is that this approach doesn’t work. It may seem refreshing to you, it even seems refreshing to me, but the typical American does not think like you or I. They like security, certainty, and someone to look up to. Especially in a leadership position. Many would argue this is reason religion exists.
There have been a number of candidates that tried the approach you describe above, and each candidate lost in a landslide. Unfortunately politics is all about perception, its kind of disheartening because I feel politics is a reflection of our society. As our society advances and becomes more progressive, hopefully this will change, but I’m not sure we are there yet.
December 8th, 2009 at 8:34 am
steve, i greatly appreciate your perspective. thanks for sharing it here with me and my readers. i am not surprised by your insight, but i do believe as times change, so do people’s level of acceptance of reality. there was a point in time when a (insert word here) would never have been elected to a high profile political position. the “insert word here” could be catholic, divorced, gay, adulterer, recovered alcoholic, wwe wrestler, etc. fortunately, as time goes on, people embrace more of the realities of life and the diversity and imperfections that comes with it. i think one of the reasons this acceptance occurs is because people can identify with the candidate’s situation/circumstance. i also think people respect honesty above and beyond rhetoric. having said that steve, i don’t think i would have a snowball’s chance in hell of being elected to the senate. but that may change someday…
January 10th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
This is one of your best yet–I can identify up and down. I love that you are so real.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
thanks liz! i will choose truth over spin any day of the week.
March 10th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
I miss Ted.
March 11th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
i miss ted too meagan!