Most of us I'm sure have seen some of the ads on the MoveOn.org website, and there's certainly been lots of discussion about them in the AD forum. But MoveOn.org isn't alone in putting up political multi-media ads. Republicans have some as well. For example, this one is pretty good I think. Too long to run on television, but it does drive home the point about Kerry's record on defense issues in Congress. Check it out.

So, the questions for our discussion to consider are.......

1. Are Internet ads like this one effective for the Republican Party and President Bush?

2. Do you know of any other ones? Post the link!

I dont believe that it is actually harmful. I believe the american people has a mind and they will use their mind in the future. It is just a matter of time. I do however believe that they will "change" their mind with the kerry article that you showed me.

1. Are Internet ads like this one effective for the Republican Party and President Bush?

Yes...every possible avenue for getting the facts out is an asset. One of the positive sides of these Internet ads (in addition to being low cost) is they get the media's attention which (for free) helps increase public awareness.

2. Do you know of any other ones? Post the link!

Not at the moment, but I will be happy to contribute links in the future.


This link is a off topic, but since this is a Republican thread, I will slip it in here:

http://www.gop.com/Default.aspx

The above link takes you to GOP.com and on the top right corner is a link to NEWS FLASH which is a free download of a GOP Desktop Newsfeed Ticker so that while on line, we can be updated on the latest GOP news.


Thanks for a great link and starting this thread for input, Aquilla!

That's a GREAT link, Desert Resident, and exactly on topic with this thread I think. Internet multi-media doesn't just mean TV type ads, but rather encompasses a variety of ways to use the Internet as a communications medium to get the message out to people. Your link and the NEWS FLASH does exactly that and it is precisely the sort of thing I was hoping to find Republicans doing.

Howard Dean has demonstrated the power of the Internet in national politics and I think it's important for the Republican Party to recognize that power. Not as an alternative to more traditional means, but in addition to them. Hopefully the Internet-savvy Republicans like the ones here can discover other ways to the use the Internet to get the message out.

Well, after months of letting the Democrats have center-stage in the political arena, the Bush campaign has finally released three new ads. These ads are all positive in nature, don't even mention John Kerry, but already the Democrats are up in arms about them. Apparently the other side can dish it out with countless attacks on Bush as a "Nazi", a "Liar", "war-monger" and just plain "stupid", but they sure don't like it very much when we fire back at them, even in the mildest terms and especially with the truth.

These ads are obviously TV ads, pretty short and to the point and they have to be like that for TV, but I wonder. Whatcha all think, should there be a longer, more-detailed version for the Internet? Would that be useful or a waste of resources?

IMO, these same three ads on TV have a better impact than on the Internet. Why I believe this I can't explain. Don't believe making them more detailed for the Internet would serve any purpose as people are impatient and will click off if the message is vague or too long. Remember, this is just the beginning and I have a feeling that, without being uncivil, the heat will keep bumping up as time goes on. Also, the Democrats are expecting the Republican rhetoric to be bad and are encouraging Bush and the Republicans, "Bring It On!" I believe the ads focused on the issues and differences between Kerry and Bush rather than mud slinging...will ANGER the Bush mongers and critics.

Would you believe that some 911 victims' families are protesting the new Bush ad depicting 911 with the WTC, the flag, and firemen? IMO, those protests are more in line with being an opposer of Bush/Republicans than as 911 victims being victimized again.

Hmmm, it depends on how you look at it. Most of these internet ads are looked for by people who support them. Like, the Kerry "NAY" ad, will be found mostly be Republicans, sooooooo, only republicans will respond to the ad. So, It does help the Bush campaign, but will be seen by those who are already going to vote for him.

That's a good point, Jaken, and by the way, welcome to America's Debate! You are probably right that most of the time those ads are accessed by people who already support Bush unless of course, someone posts the links to them in an Internet forum and others go see them out of curiousity.

Perhaps the link that Desert Resident posted is better for the Internet? It contains information, links to voting records, expansion on the issues, all information useful when one attempts to advocate a postion to others online and off. Maybe that's the direction the Republican Party should be going instead of simply putting up 30 second sound bytes with cute pictures ala the Moveon.org commercials.

This isn't an ad per se, although perhaps it should be.

From a speech by President Bush yesterday in Dallas, Texas........




Not bad, not bad at all. I think this single paragraph draws a definite line of distinction between President Bush and John Kerry over how they would fight terrorism. An ad based on this speech would be very effective I think.

I don't think I would agree with this statement.

Swing voters are always the key. Swing voters who want to be informed have a decent chance of finding these types of ads, which cost next to nothing to host on the internet. I think they will have an impact.

Welcome to AD, Jaken. It always seems that Conservatives (and especially Republicans) are outnumbered around here...

Yes, I heard part of Bush's Texas speech on CNN until they cut away and I also heard part of his speech in Ohio this morning in which he focused more on the economy and he did a fine job explaining the good and the bad and the differences between his resolutions and Kerry's.

I think the Internet ads similar to the "stamp" yea and nay and then the Kerry boxing match are perfect because the viewer receives a visual message that almost conveys the thoughts without much text to support it.

Haven't been able to locate any more links other than provided by our desktop news flash.

Also, welcome to AD, Jaken. We are always glad to welcome another AD member, but especially if he/she is a fellow Republican. As you can guess, we are a tad outnumbered or at least it feels that way during some of the more heated debates.

We aren't out-numbered. We're "out-histrioniced".

It is a shame that most Conservatives do not realize that we are the majority in this country.

We are out-shouted and out "histrionic-ed" though...

I really feel that Bush can win simply by emphasizing what he stands for (as every ad I have seen him run so far has focused on).

Positive ads...the road to re-election...

I completely agree with you, Amlord. ANY commercial that begins with "I am President George W. Bush and I endorsed this ad" should be a postive ad, forward in thinking, optimistic about the future.

However, there are other organizations out there who don't necessarily have to follow that script and they are the ones who can counter the negative "doom and gloom" ads of groups like MoveOn.org with a few broadsides of their own. One such group is Citizens United and they have some ads of their own. I haven't been able to get their video stuff to download and play properly and it looks like they are on a pretty slow server, but the scripts of their ads are pretty interesting.

I don't know how effective their stuff is going to be as far as persuading people to vote for President Bush, but it might help the morale of the Bush supporters who see the constant and steady stream of hysterical attacks by the rabid anti-Bush crowd. Sometimes it's nice to know that we're not just taking it - we can dish it out too.

Edited because I can....

Since I had this post open anyway and I touched on the morale issue a bit I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk a little NASCAR here. I am a huge NASCAR fan, love the racing, love the individuals involved with it - the drivers, the pit crews, the owners, the sponsors, the fans. It's about as down home, mom and apple pie Americana as you can get and it's growing in popularity, by leaps and bounds. It is not unusual at all for there to be 150,000 - 200,000 fans show up for a race if the track can hold that many people. The "NASCAR dad" has replaced the "soccer mom" as one of the more coveted demographics in American politics, and guess what? THEY ARE REPUBLICANS!!! Don't believe me? Check this out. Somewhere on the White House website is also a Q&A with Michael Waltrip about racing and President Bush. This takes us to the really fun part....

This year's Daytona 500 - "America's race" and the "Superbowl of NASCAR". President Bush not only attended that race, he was the grand marshall of that race and what an entrance he made! The airport in Daytona, Florida is right next to the race track and when President Bush came in on Air Force One, they did a fly-by of the race track! It was absolutely incredible, Air Force One, in all it's glory, making a low altitude pass in front of nearly 200,000 cheering people. THAT my friends is the power of incumbancy!

Aquilla...my second laugh for the day thanks to you!

Thanks for sharing the NASCAR scene. And our Bush bashers even attacked Bush starting the race and yelling, "Start your engines!"

You can't believe how many letters (snail mail) I have sent to the DNC Chairman, President Bush, and AZ representatives about moving Iraq and 911 to the bottom of the list in speeches (even I am tired of hearing some of the same rhetoric so many times) and addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the economy, education-No Child Left Behind, the medicare reform program (according to AARP so many seniors are confused and thus angry about Bush's Medicare Reform Bill), jobs-manufacturing and out-sourcing, etc. I "advised" him to tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them again until the voters have his message down pat and can then make an informed decision whether to vote for Bush or Kerry. He has got to face the good, bad, and the ugly in a civil and positive manner, but yet leave no doubts about what he is going to do for us in the next four years.

I used to write his father so much especially when I could see the writing on the wall that he was going to lose the election. I received a very nice signed picture of President Bush 41 sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. And I wrote to Senator Dole so often when he was running for President. After he dropped out of the race, he contacted his most loyal (not only financial but loyal) supporters either by phone or letter to thank them for their moral support. I got a letter from him saying that he tried calling me but our phone was unlisted, so he wrote the letter. Good man! And through the years I have received countless responses (letters) from AZ McCain and Kyl and Kolbe. Do I write to get and collect letters from our leaders? No...I let my voice be heard, hopefully to receive answers or consideration for my opinions and questions, and then let my vote be counted.

Thanks for listening to my off topic chatter.

That is a perfect example of the problems that Kerry and his little cadre are going to have. While President Bush is down in Daytona Beach mixing it up with the good ole boys on pit road and telling them to light the fires in their 800 HP American-made Engines with Joe NASCAR dad sitting in the stands with his family, popping a Bud and munching on a hot dog enjoying the race, John Kerry is sitting in a mansion somewhere with his haughty liberal elitist friends telling them, 'Gentleman, open your bottle of fine French wine and enjoy the Russian caviar while we discuss how much bread to throw to the unwashed masses."

Here is the link to the Kerry Flip-Flop Boxing Ad

http://www.gop.com/kerryvskerry

Link to article:

http://www.rnc.org/News/Read.aspx?ID=3973

Did you hear that Kerry wants Bush to debate him on a monthly basis until election time? Kerry says, "The American people deserve better." Guess he is weary of the voting record ads...gosh Bush ads haven't been out for a full month yet and Kerry is weary of them!

Also Kerry said, "Who knows, maybe after this is all said and done and the election is over maybe Bush and I can attend a baseball game together!" Simply astounding!

Has anyone else here seen the latest Bush ad titled Wacky?

It's a good one about Kerry's voting record on gasoline taxes. Pokes some good fun at Kerry and pretty light-hearted. Of course, we'll have to wait and see how the histronic left gets "offended" this time by it.

Has anyone else here seen the latest Bush ad titled Wacky?

Yes...it's Wacky Kerry good! The nostalgic touch IMO signifies Kerry's agenda as "been there and done that" or "old ideas for the 21st Century". Maybe they should add the nostalgic scenes (if appropriate) in more future ads. According to the latest polls, the Bush campaign ads seem to be registering with the viewers as Bush's ratings are moving up and Kerry's are taking a dip.

Bush ads and speechs will have a much greater impact if they remain focused on the issues showing voters the major differences between Bush and Kerry rather than the gloom and doom/negative path of the Kerry campaign. Remember the gloom and doom and so negative campaigns of McGovern and Mondale? I especially remember the Democratic Convention when Mondale was the nominee...their message was almost nothing but gloom and doom. Mondale was honest and told the American people if elected as their President that he was going to raise their taxes-no ifs and buts about it. They heard him and the Democrats' gloom and doom messages....and Mondale carried his home state only. Am I right about that? Anyway....voters don't like gloom and doom messages.

Ok, this isn't an ad per se, although it should be. Amlord referenced Zell Miller's group, "Democrats for Bush" in another thread and I thought I'd look around a little bit and see what that's all about. I came across Zell's announcement about the group on C-SPAN and his speech is an incredible speech! It is really, really good. I would urge everyone here to follow that link to C-SPAN and search through their video archives for it. Ole Zell really laid out what this election is really all about.

He also carried die hard Washington D.C.

You are so right about Zell's Democrats for Bush speech! I really like that man and am proud he chose to back President Bush! I remember the first time I heard him interviewed on Larry King (after his new book hit the shelves) and one of the comments he made is so true.

He said that the Democrats are imitating the themes of the very candidates that ended up losing the election. He went on...if you want to win an election, why not imitate themes that won elections....President Kennedy, President Carter, Ronald Reagan, etc.

Let's hope the Democrats don't end up taking Zell's advice!

They won't, they're "smarter" than Zell Miller is and besides, Kerry doesn't think he needs the South to win. Keep in mind that at one time, Ronald Reagan was a Democrat. He became a Republican because the Democratic Party left him, and what a Republican he became! This is nothing new, Zell Miller and even Ed Koch are Bush supporters because the Democratic Party and people like John Kerry are marginalizing themselves. Their "gloom and doom" ads aren't going to work and it's important that the Bush ads capitalize on that theme. I think the theme should be 'They are only saying what's wrong in America, but they don't offer any ideas on how to make it better. I'm going to tell you what's right in America and how by working together, we can make it even better and fix our problems." THAT in a nutshell is the Reagan message. That theme is what Ronald Reagan was all about. That was his "shining city on the hill" and the "American song" that rang though the mountains and across the plains of America.

Since this thread is about political ads, I'll try to tie this all together. It is a ton of fun to make fun of John Kerry, and he does make it so easy. However, sooner or later the campaign needs to shift away from ridiculing Kerry to delivering President Bush's agenda for the next four years. We need to look forward and talk about how we are going to address the challenges facing our country. Kerry can talk all he wants about why people shouldn't vote for President Bush, but we need to make people understand about why they should.

You are so right. A couple of weeks ago, I submitted a question/suggestion to a RNC Deputy Chairman through a chat session that I hoped Bush and his campaign team were going to focus less on Iraq and the WOT and more on his agenda as there is much voter confusion and misinformation about several of his long term policies-"no child left behind"education, immigration, medicare reform program, etc. Just as Bush and his people did about Iraq and the WOT, they have got to explain and restate his agenda repeatedly, in different ways, right through Election Day so that voters have a clear understanding and won't be swayed by hyped or false information from the other side.

Agree with you also about Reagan's message...he gave us HOPE while the Democrats were preaching "raising taxes" and gloom and doom. Voters almost always respond to positive messages (unless they are promising the MOON or actions the voters doubt will or could happen) and when our nation seems to be under a cloud of gloom and doom, those messages of HOPE are highly welcome and well received by the voters. When I listen to Kerry and his supporters too long, I begin to wonder why in the heck should we be so ebullient about getting up and starting another hopeless day!

The Club for Growth has just released a new ad on their website detailing President Bush's leadership in the War on Terrorism. They'll be running it in a couple of battleground states, but anyone can see it on the Internet. I can't wait for the howls from the left to roll in over this one.