General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumswhen do the gloves come off? We need versions of the Goldwater ad that destroyed the gOP in 1964 to
start airing and I would have an ad of a cemetery where trump and his GOP circle, including all the GOP governors are all digging graves for next round of dead americans, A simple voice over of "How many MORE can we take"?
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(52,503 posts)It only aired once and Johnson's campaign got a lot of flak for crossing a line.
That said, I agree we should have done very hard-hitting ads. This election is a choice between democracy and fascism.
beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)In 1964 LBJ won with 61.1% of the popular vote, Johnson won the largest share of the popular vote of any candidate in modern history as well as a electoral landslide of 486 electoral votes.
Biden could hit those same levels
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(52,503 posts)beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)unblock
(52,503 posts)some democrats have made that point already.
we'll see if the media focuses on that or falls into its usual horse race narratives and obsessions with trivia.
ananda
(28,914 posts)I was there. I saw it. And I remember the
brouhaha afterwards.
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(52,503 posts)it certainly had an impact on the political ads and the role of tv in politics and discussions of what was appropriate in political ads and so on. it's a legendary ad, perhaps the single most famous political ad ever in american politics.
but i don't think it dramatically changed the outcome of the election. that is, if the ad had never run, i think the election would have turned out very close to how it actually turned out.
it's the same sort of phenomenon as some famous commercials, like the energizer bunny ad. hugely famous, maybe not so much anymore, but at the time, it was widely seen as one of the most recognizable and best ad campaigns ever. but it didn't actually help energizer gain market share over duracell. there are a number of reasons for this, but the point is that just because people talk about the ad doesn't mean it actually had an impact on sales. the ad had an enormous impact on other tv ads and people certainly talked about it, but it didn't really change things for the business it was intended to help.
after jfk's assassination, people wanted continuity, and goldwater's conservativism and strict ideological approach to politics had a limited appeal at that point. he was a movement builder and was inept at building a coalition, which is why he failed miserably but is still regarded as the grandfather of modern conservativism.
katmondoo
(6,457 posts)to shoot tear gas at her as she seeks to protect the protesters. I am sure this can be easily photo shopped.
DenverJared
(457 posts)Is that Goldwater ad available on youtube? I'd like to see it.
DenverJared
(457 posts)roamer65
(36,748 posts)Iterate
(3,020 posts)Full quote, from his nomination speech, "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."
I was just a teen, but less than two years after the Cuban crisis and with civil rights conflicts growing sharper, even I knew full well what he meant. The ad put an image to go with his message, but it wasn't necessary and I never saw that it changed one vote.
Just had the uneasy thought that voters then might have been sharper. That just can't be.
unblock
(52,503 posts)back then, there were 3 tv stations (ok, plus pbs) and they were all trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.
so tolerance and moderation and calm dignity and gravitas worked well in the news and in politics.
goldwater did not play well in that environment. his politics works much better now that the media and society is more balkanized and partisan and confrontational.
of course, these days none of the extremists on the right would call themselves extremists. they understand propaganda better than goldwater did. they know that the word "extremist" simply not a word you want to use to describe yourself, even if it's in defense of liberty.
Fiendish Thingy
(15,711 posts)I dont mind if the Lincoln Project or other PACs want to pummel Trump with stark ads on the COVID death count, but I dont think the Biden campaign needs to.