Offensive political mailings?

[Konaguy]

By any political mailings sent to you ? We received one yesterday that
for the first time compelled me to complain. It was sent by the Hawaii
Republican Party. On the front it had a picture of a burglar breaking into
a house. It said "Name of our State reprenstative wants you to meet
your new neighbor" it large bold letters from meet.

It goes on the back saying our current state representative refused to criminalize pushers of ice. It i goes on and says the republican candidate
will put ice pushers away.

Regardless of how she voted, which I e-mailed her about by the way.
This political mailing is pure scare tactics in my opinion

[Linkmeister]

Re: Have you been offended......

I got the same one, although maybe with a different representative's name. My immediate reaction was "that's the equivalent of the famous 1988 Willie Horton ad which Bush 1 used to great effect against Dukakis." Over the top and over the line stuff, in my view.

[Konaguy]

Re: Have you been offended......

Well for the first time in regards to political mailings I e-mailed the Hawaii Republican Party and voiced my complaint to them in regards to this
mailing.I have not heard a response from them.

[pzarquon]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

Turns out both sides are raising a stink about mailings from the other side. Oddly enough, among folks I know, the GOP's "fist through the window, 'meet your new neighbors'" piece is the one that crosses the line, but the media and the state GOP are focusing on Democratic mailings that a bipartisan panel deemed "inaccurate, misleading and unfair."

The Democratic mailings - targeting the GOP's Mark Jernigan - harp on votes and attendance, but blur the line between committee work and "real" work on the floor. The Dems say he had a 46 percent absentee rate, but include conference committee votes. The GOP counters that attendance in committees is not counted and that Jernigan was there for 59 of 60 regular floor sessions. The Dems say Jernigan voted against the state budget package, while the Republicans clarify that "Jernigan voted for the budget on that date, although he had voted against an earlier version of the budget bill on March 11."

The GOP's mailer - targeting several Democratic candidates - is pure scare tactics, and are more upsetting to me. It reminds me of the infamous Lyndon Johnson TV "Daisy" ad, invoking a terrifying image for pure shock value. But the Democratic mailer sure ain't on the level, either.

[mcnabbmcnow]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

I got one from John Kerry politicizing stem-cell research. It was offensive to me because it gives people false hope that somehow cures to Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, and Juvenile Diabetes are a heartbeat away, and George Bush banning stem cell research will cause all these people never to find cures. There are many avenue where we are looking for cures, and this is only one of many. First off, George Bush didn't BAN anything. He's the first President ever to allow ANY stem cell research. He only didn't allow it on live embryos financed with public money. This is still going on privately, though. There is no ban..plenty of stem cell research is going on. They basically take a shot at W's religious views but I resent them politicizing this issue and his beliefs. The article is misleading because it says "George W. Bush Said NO to Stem Cell Research." That is a lie. Regardless of who you are for, I don't like this kind of misleading mail and can see through it from either side.

[Sherry]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

I too have received my share of political mail. I was not particularly upset by any. But it is interesting to note the the vast number of political tactics used. Politics is indeed dirty. I remember what my father used to always say, "A politician is never to be trusted." It is good that American politics do not get bloody though, war of words is better, safer.

[pzarquon]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

Since it was mentioned earlier, I thought I'd share scans of the "Meet Your New Neighbor" scare piece the Republicans sent out.



Impressively (from a printing point of view), the jagged-font front of the each full-color cardstock mailer is customized with the name of whatever applicable Democrat is being targeted - here, Marilyn Lee and Brian Schatz - and the back features the alternative for each: Tracy Okubo and Alonzo Sandoval.

We got two because we recently moved from Makiki, and thus got the cards for both that neighborhood and Mililani.

[j3rr3y]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

This probably goes for most candidates in office, but the campaign literature I received in the mail from Ed Case said it was paid for by the taxpayers of Hawaii.
I am annoyed that the taxpayers have to pay for some candidates' campaign material!
What is the deal with this anyway? Does anyone know what the rules regarding this are?

[pzarquon]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

Ah, one of the many perks of elected office. You have the ability to "communicate with your constituents," which - conceptually speaking - is a good thing. We want our representatives to keep us updated on what they're doing. Of course, in an election year, this communication increases considerably.

And while I'm not sure overt campaigning in such pieces is allowed, a "progress report" of accomplishments is just as good, and even a statement like "I look forward to continuing to serve you" could easily slip under the wire.

If you don't like your incumbent, these mailings will annoy the stuffing out of you. If you voted for the guy or gal, though, you might very well care what your vote is getting you.

[Konaguy]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

Since it was mentioned earlier, I thought I'd share scans of the "Meet Your New Neighbor" scare piece the Republicans sent out.

That is exactly the same one we received, targetting democrat Cindy Evans

[Linkmeister]

Re: Offensive political mailings?

Oh, yeah. I got one of those from Jerry Coffee.