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| The Second Congressional Sling Fest '98! |
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| Greenlee and Udall Lower the Bar |
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This is Dark Cloud on Wednesday, October 28, 1998. It is not hard to suggest that political commercials have become the most nauseating cultural repository of our nation. Simplistic, moronic, evil in intent, and après po of nothing particularly relevant, they have become counterproductive. I have no evidence for that. I just hope it’s true. In the Second Congressional District here in Boulder, illustrative examples abound. Until a week ago, Bob Greenlee and Mark Udall had run a fairly elevated campaign. Neither one of them was hiding behind their children, or emoting over much about the family. True, in aggregate neither candidate had a discernable personality or a clear position on an important issue very far from the other, and it was a close race, but what has happened since makes any sane person nauseous. Greenlee started early on talking about honor and integrity, implying he had both and leaving open such a conclusion on Udall. In this regard, he can be said to have started it. Greenlee, a Republican, is not quite in that slimy group of GOP hypocrites who belly up to the military despite their draft avoidance during a war, nor are his professed beliefs very difficult from a Clinton Democrat. But there are questions to be raised about all that. There are also questions about his integrity when virtually all members of the City Council on which he served for fifteen years won’t support him, and when the current mayor, Will Toor, clearly implies Greenlee promised he would resign from the City Council if he received the Congressional nomination of his party. Greenlee did not, saying only he had said he would resign as mayor, a post of no distinction or power. There is also the question of whether a Congressman should have financial interest in gambling establishments, as Greenlee does. Can you be pro family and pro gambling? But Udall, for whatever reason, has failed to capitalize on any of that, and went for this slimy attack based on the contentions of former female employees of Greenlee’s corporations and for which, agreed, he should be held accountable. But there are similar claims and contretemps against any large company and the company is often being gouged. True, there was a similar incident at KBCO when Greenlee owned it involving a female DJ who was being harassed by persons unknown and who was fired in the early 1980’s, but rather than completing an analysis of Greenlee’s record in this regard, Udall simply smears. Greenlee has not reacted well. As disgusting as proponents of school issues are, hiding behind the magic word ‘children’, candidates who pose with spouses are pretty weak reeds themselves. Greenlee and his wife have a commercial where they complain about the Udall ad. It makes them look whiny and weak. Greenlee just discovered Congressional politics are down and dirty? Is he shocked? Udall has been a bland cipher, mouthing platitudes about education that would embarrass a school administrator. He also has the annoying habit of Dan Rather: not shutting his mouth when he finishes a sentence, leaving the camera to dwell on his lips and teeth. I don’t like the fact that these attack ads are done by actors and voice overs, implying objectivity. So this: The way to kill these horrible advertisements for elections in a democracy is simple. Either the candidate or an official member of the campaign committee has to face the camera and say these horrible things about each other. That way, someone has to risk a kick in the teeth by opposing drunks. If you’re going to sling compost, have the courage to do it yourself. Since the ocean of courage in politics would not increase the humidity in a condom, the number of these commercials would plummet. Good. |
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