Kentucky-6 is a tough district for Democrats, with a Cook PVI of +9 Republican, but this is a good ad.
I think we should reward candidates when they run good ads. You can contribute to Amy McGrath’s campaign here.
Reader Interactions
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Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
Great ad.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Fayette County (Lexington) is at the heart of KY-05, and elected an openly gay mayor. There’s a shot.
Brooklyn Dodger
I do appreciate some inspiration this morning.
CaseyL
That’s a great ad, and what makes it particularly interesting is the emphasis on military imagery and military service; i.e., in years past, that would have been an ad for a GOP candidate.
ETA: I don’t mean that as criticism; au contraire. I’m happy to see Democrats reclaim classic patriotic themes.
zhena gogolia
Wonderful ad. She is very impressive.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Make that KY-06. I’m fumblefingered.
zhena gogolia
I kicked in $25.
Major Major Major Major
@CaseyL: It was obvious that we’d become the de facto party of patriotism if you watched the conventions last year. Turns out a lot of Americans aren’t patriotic, and it turns out the non-patriots are the ones who angrily accuse their opponents of hating America.
Conservatism is now 110% projection.
(edited for clarity)
Thoroughly Pizzled
Contest every race.
Major Major Major Major
On the shitty Democrats front: So apparently Seth Moulton and Tim Ryan are making presidential noises.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@CaseyL: I believe that the reason James Thompson (had to google his name) came so close in Pompeo’s old seat was that he was a vet, and that if Ossoff had been he would have won.
The downside of the country’s respect for military service is when it becomes a virtue/valor/machismo-by-proxy cult
even for Morning Joseph, I gotta think Barnacle stands out as the dimwitted cousin you hate to see go toward the mike at family weddings
guachi
Is there something about her opponent she can exploit?
She looks like a good candidate (and she’ll be the third straight Democratic woman running for the seat) and 2018 will be a Democratic year, but is there something specific she can attack her opponent on?
I see the seat was held by Ben Chandler from early 2004 (special election) until 2013 after his defeat in the 2012 general election.
Yarrow
@CaseyL:
Same thing was said about the Dem convention last summer. Republicans in particular said, “They stole our shtick!”
syphonblue
The average increase in Dem votes in hard-R districts this year so far has been D+16, so an R+9 district can easily swing D.
Major Major Major Major
@syphonblue: some politico poll found the D generic congressional ballot advantage to be +7. Might be more accurate than results of special elections. Might not!
Cheryl from Maryland
@Major Major Major Major: Good, maybe then they’ll leave Nancy SMASH alone, although if the DNC is not careful, 2020 will be a repeat of the GOP with way too many indistinguishable and uninspiring candidates.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
J.
Thanks for sharing that ad. I hope Kentuckians will elect McGrath to Congress, but I know they won’t (sadly).
Mom Says I*m Handsome
“We’ll see about that.” I got a little verklempt…
(Trying to avoid banishment to moderation by replacing the apostrophe with an asterisk, a la sm*t cl*d*…)
Major Major Major Major
@Cheryl from Maryland: how would the DNC prevent that?
And didn’t 2008 have like twelve candidates at the start?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Cheryl from Maryland: @Major Major Major Major: I think they’ve got to raise a fair bit of money even to make the pre-announcement steps, the “exploratory committee” and hiring staff in Iowa, etc. Moulton has an impressive bio, but I heard him on the Obamabro podcast and even in that friendly setting, he was pretty unimpressive– spouting a lot of platitudes about bipartisanship and finding solutions. And the House gym, which is very bipartisan, it seems.
Major Major Major Major
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: never trust a straight man who talks about the gym.
Greg in PDX
I lived in Lexington. It is a liberal island, as is Frankfort. She has a good chance. I have no doubt the local paper, the Herald-Leader, will be endorsing her. Fayette county went for Clinton and the backlash against Governor Bevin is huge even among conservatives.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Major Major Major Major: Ben Sasse, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan….
I think Sasse is the smartest and most devious of that lot. It’s like he was created in a fever dream of David Broder’s death bed
TaMara (HFG)
Damn.
Major Major Major Major
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sasse is bad news, imo. Just waiting for him to lead the senate-republicans-against-trump movement from behind…
MomSense
The future is female and McGrath is a badass.
Mel
Check out the “Meet Amy” bio on her website. She has plenty on her resume thst will make it very difficult for McConnell and company to throw shade at her. So far, the best they’ve come up with is a vague insinuation that she is somehow “carpetbagging” because she has only been back in Ky. for a year or so. She gave a calm but take-no-prisoners response in an interview, simply stating that she would have loved to have been back in Ky, but that she was serving her country and even spent a year of her absence living in a tent in the desert while doing so, because of how much her country and her state matter to her.
eric
@Mel: I for one welcome our new female overlords.
Doug!
@Major Major Major Major:
The more the merrier
Miss Bianca
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Oh, ouch, now *that* is some shade. Love-hate the image!
smintheus
@CaseyL: The text of the ad is good but the military imagery puts me off, especially the use of the Marine uniform. It’s not appropriate to drag any branch of the military into a campaign for office, and she walks up pretty close to the line banning the military from campaigning in uniform.
rm
Andy Barr, the current Representative, is a deep-red extremist asshole, which works well in motivating rural/suburban white christianists, but could backfire this time around.
The thing to attack him on, besides Trumpcare, is that he’s the payday loan industry’s best friend in Congress. (Such a nice guy). His last opponent, a truly nice little old lady liberal pastor from Lexington, used this as her main attack, citing the unfairness and immorality. Problem is, poor people don’t vote and christianists don’t care about being un-Christian to the least among us.
I like the attack in this ad — he doesn’t give a crap about his constituents (true) and he voted to take our insurance away (also true).
Potential problems: Kentuckians may think military service is unfeminine and want to punish her. And God help them, they will resent her for leaving the state even if she left to fight in friggin Iraq. You gotta stay in state. These people are so weird.
If she wins the primary, I hope and predict she’ll get massive enthusiasm in Lexington. I notice that the ad makes her look tough and kinda butch at first, to appeal to a significant part of Lexington’s voters, but makes sure to show her husband and kids near the end, to signal to conservatives that she is straight. I feel gross noticing those messages, but that’s how political ads work. There’s a lot of emotional/non-rational appeal to different kinds of voters, and that is a good sign.
Miss Bianca
@Major Major Major Major: Hey, now…Adam talks about working out at the gym quite a bit! What r u saying, dude?//
Steve in the ATL
@Major Major Major Major:
Rotating tag line?
Steve in the ATL
@rm:
And yet they elected a carpetbagger as governor
The Moar You Know
@smintheus: And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why Dems don’t have the House, the Senate, or the presidency. This attitude, right here.
The GOP has been dragging the military into their electoral politics for forty fucking years. The military is all too happy to go along. For God’s sake, grow a spine and bring a gun to the knife fight next time, instead of a book on conflict resolution. Which the Republican will gleefully stuff up your ass before setting you on fire for HIS campaign ad…all while wearing someone else’s old service uniform.
Uncle Cosmo
@eric: One of my more swinish coworkers from 35 years back (hey, we were all bachelor engineers 25-35, give us a break) would probably have put it (in his thick Jawja drawl) like this:
Maybe you had to be there, but the memory (& his delivery) cracks me up every time…
smintheus
@The Moar You Know: Abiding by the rule that you don’t campaign in uniform is not the reason why Dems don’t have the House, Senate, or Presidency.
MomSense
@smintheus:
I think in this case it is really important though because she is highlighting that McConnell didn’t even respond to her and that she was given a really sexist response by her Rep. Parents are pushing their daughters to pursue STEM and fields that used to be considered only for men. The other thing is that this is her story. Being one of the first combat pilots is an amazing achievement. If this weren’t such an integral part of her story I might share your concern but I don’t think there is anything contrived about this. This is genuine and I think it’s very effective.
smintheus
@MomSense: I agree that the text of her message is solid. I just don’t think she should be showing an image of her dress uniform arbitrarily at the end. There’s a real risk of offending vets who feel deeply that candidates aren’t supposed to present themselves in the guise of the military. The multiple historical photos of her serving in the past are more than adequate to make any point she wants to make about her service. But she is already pushing up against the line by posing in front of a military jet in garb that’s supposed to look like a flight jacket. The dress uniform visual struck me as simply inappropriate.
Stan
@smintheus:
Could not disagree more. I am glad to see former military running as dems. Happier still to see women doing it. She’s retired so there is no ban that applies here.
Ladyraxterinok
There’s another very good video at her webpage. It contains lots of info about her youth, her sports career in high school and at the naval academy. She’s been honored by KY for her aeronautical accomplishments. (Sorry, don’t know how to link on tablet.)
burnspbesq
@Major Major Major Major:
Let ’em. I still think Gillibrand is running, amd if so, I will enjoy watching her grind these idjits into very fine powder.
Mel
I agree. I think the ad is intelligently planned and designed for maximum impact.
Ky. has a high percentage of its young people enlisting in military service, many right out of high school. Reasons for this are many, but include both social and economic incentives (and pressures). McGrath’s military background might well help sway some voters (especially those that lean far to the right), who otherwise would be less likely to vote for a Democrat or a woman. It gives a familiarity, a common point of experience to help offset elements that might be difficult to overcome in a district that traditionally votes male and Republican for this Congressional seat.
Including her background, her mother’s accomplishments, and both of their stories of persistence in obtaining education, training, and careers that others believed being female should disqualify them from will, I agree, appeal to urban voters and to the large academic community centered around UK in Lexington.
Plus, I could see some older, traditionally conservative voters who are “country people” being swayed enough by her presentation and her backstory to at least listen to her campaign talking points, and not immediately discount her.
I grew up in family farm country, and there is still, even today, a respect and almost a nostalgia, at least amongst older people in those communities, for what they think of as “being a survivor” or “sticking to your guns”. One of my (Democrat Quaker feminist) grandmother’s (Republican, Baptist) friends called it “a pioneer spirit” when somebody exhibited a lot of tenacity. In many cases, it earned respect, even if the other person disagreed with someone’s politics, career choice, etc. As in, “Well, I still think you ought to just settle down and get married, but I reckon you must want that college pretty badly if you’re working three jobs to pay for it. That takes some real stubbornness and backbone.”
(Of course, this is also the same attitude that so easily gets twisted into the “You oughtta just pull yourself up by your bootstraps out of that quicksand pit even while you’re getting kicked in the face and stabbed in the back”, bullcrap, but that’s another topic…)
I also don’t see anything wrong with showing a Marine uniform, neatly folded, at the end of the ad. Advertising is psychological. It is a powerful image to include, especially for the district in which McGrath is campaigning, and considering that her military background provided or is connected to much of her education and her past governmental experience (Marine Corps governmental liaison, Marine Corps Congressional Fellow, etc.).
She is not campaigning in uniform, so I think that getting worried about that image is a non-issue.
Lyrebird
@Major Major Major Major: Well (boring aside) Moulton is openly gay. He’s got some great qualifications, but muttering about bipartisanship in these times and the backbiting about Nancy SMASH! isn’t promising though.
Hmm probably too late to this thread but oh well.
Doug!
Thanks everybody!
Msb
Ok, I’m in.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
I don’t think Atrios/Bernie Bros will like this.
Not enough socialism and she’s a girl (cooties!)