You all know that I’m extremely liberal in my political views, and politics isn’t something I like to discuss on this blog. However, I’ve been amused by the mailings I’ve been getting lately, so I thought I’d share.
The national election isn’t getting much play–we are a blue state through and through when it comes to the presidential election. (Conversation: Me: Do you think it’s fair to say that for Massachusetts, it’s obvious it’s going to go to Obama? Adam: Um, sure. Doodles: But Mitt Romney was governor here. Me: Exactly.) Even in our own household, we tend to be more or less in agreement on the presidential election.
The senatorial race, however, is another story. Both in our house and in the state, the election is up for grabs. Now, I’ve committed myself as an Elizabeth Warren supporter. To be honest, at this point, I find her the lesser of two evils, but she’s got my vote. But I need to say, the Republican Scott Brown campaign has done a truly excellent job marketing to me. Yes, me. The registered Democrat.
I have noticed, amongst my almost-solely Democratic friends, that I alone am getting mailings from Scott Brown (addressed to me and me alone) touting him as the independent voter, the one that many Democrats are supporting. After polling folks in the school yard and discovering that only a handful are getting these mailings, we’ve realized that we all have one thing in common: we are all registered Democrats living in a house with a registered Republican or independent. The marketing is genius. Truly. Okay, so it hasn’t swayed me in the least, but I’ve been impressed with the thought behind it.
Until the mailings I received yesterday. I received a very colorful glossy mailing that proclaims, “Scott supports a woman’s right to choose.” “Scott broke with his own party to support funding for Planned Parenthood.” “Scot voted for and supports requiring coverage by healthcare providers.” All excellent points that could possibly make a voter like me consider changing my vote.
And then, in the very same mailbox on the very same day, I received a second postcard. Not quite as glossy, but a bright eye-catching red-and-white print. From the National Right to Life committee. And this mailing, in my box the same day as the pro-choice Scott Brown mailing, is promising me that “Scott Brown opposes using your tax dollars to pay for abortion.” “Scott Brown opposes partial-birth abortion, and supports requiring parental notice before an abortion is performed on a minor daughter.” “Scott Brown…voted to keep groups…from being forced to provide insurance coverage for drugs and procedures that violate their religious or moral convictions.” The same mailing also tells me that Elizabeth Warren supports Obamacare. That she supports the current policy of abortion on demand. That she’s supported by radical “pro-abortion” groups.
Brilliance in marketing. To be fair that second mailing didn’t come from the Scott Brown campaign itself. Adam and I were trying to parse why I’d be on the Right to Life mailing list (in the past year I’ve donated to both NOW and Planned Parenthood) and the only thing I can come up with is we have donated to a Catholic organization that provides housing, work training, and, oh yes, support for people with AIDS.
That one little mailing undid any hesitation that I may have had about supporting Elizabeth Warren. Elizabeth Warren doesn’t need to do a thing; Scott Brown is doing all the work for her!
