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First ads of season channeling GOP themes and issues
By Danny Westneat
Published: July 1, 2024, 6:01am
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The first political ads of the year have been released into the wild, and the early reviews are that it’s looking to be a Republican year.
I don’t mean the Republicans are going to win. That’s up to voters, and in this state, the GOP’s prospects remain underwater, due in no small part to the albatross of a felon at the top of the ballot (they should dump him for a different candidate, and pronto, as I’ve argued before).
But the first ads are playing entirely on Republican turf, channeling GOP themes and issues. This is an important signal about the state of play of politics. It suggests that some Democrats sense their boat is listing, too, and maybe they’d better do some bailing.
Down in the 3rd Congressional District, first-term incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat from Skamania, unveiled a TV ad last week called “Keep Us Safe,” that awkwardly sounds a bit like cosplaying to the right.
“Marie Perez is taking on the Biden administration,” it starts out over a video clip of her talking sternly, “working with Republicans to secure the southern border and improve public safety.”
On the same day, one of her GOP challengers, Leslie Lewallen, put out an ad called “Chaos” that echoed the same themes. Except it also laid the blame on Democrats. “I decided to run because of the COVID chaos,” Lewallen says. “COVID is gone, but the chaos sure isn’t. It’s spreading,” she says over scenes of nearby Portland’s public drug use. “Perez is bringing it here.”
Remember when Republicans sought to make the last election, in 2022, about crime and immigration? Remember when that didn’t work? Now this time apparently some Democrats are going along with it.
Either it’s a mistake, or something has shifted.
The 3rd Congressional District tilts slightly red, so the messages will be different there than in Seattle. But it’s a sign of Joe Biden’s unpopularity, and the party’s struggles on immigration, that the first Democratic ad out of the gate is bashing their own president. Plus it’s in a state on the northern border.
“Democrats is this OK?” asked one analyst, for election info site VoteHub. They were conducting a snap reaction poll of Perez’s surprising strategy.
Some were miffed about it: “It’s probably stupid to raise the salience of an issue where your party has a disadvantage,” one said. Cracked another: “Secure the border … with Oregon?”
Many were resigned, though.
“In a Trump district, it’s probably her only bet,” said one. “Unbearable to watch, but you gotta do what you gotta do,” said another Democrat.
What’s the platform?
These are early ads, but for me they raise a larger question: What are the Democrats running on this year? The party has spent most of its energy talking about the perils of Donald Trump winning. Not what would happen if they were to win.
Take Biden, who Perez just crossed. What are Biden’s goals for four more years? He beat Trump in 2020 — which automatically enshrines him as a historical figure, as far as I’m concerned. He’s done a pretty good job steering us back from the pandemic (better than most peer countries). But he’s also made a confused hash out of a bunch of issues, such as immigration and Israel.
Go to his campaign website, JoeBiden.com, and notice what’s missing. There’s no policy or goals — only a “donate” button and a merchandise store. His one statement is about “finishing the job,” and a video message makes clear what that one job is: finishing Trump.
If you feel Trumpism is a toxic threat to democracy, then probably that’s enough of a to-do list. We do have other problems, though. Democrats, what are your plans?
When VoteHub asked for views about Perez veering to a tough-on-the-border stance, one stood out to me.
“Democrats need to accept this positioning, as most of the public has gotten very hawkish on the border. There’s still room for legislative work … but the framing has to be ‘pro-border security.’ ”
I suspect that’s right. It’s vital to rebut Trump’s archaic plan for a mass roundup of millions of immigrants for deportation. But just warning about Trump isn’t enough. If Democrats sweep the House, Senate and presidency, what would they do instead?
Somebody ought to spell it out. Or the sense is, there will be a lot more awkward ads coming.
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