Congress

Tom Perriello and the Efficacy Angle

By Adam Sorensen | @adamsorensen | June 30, 2010 | +

Much of the political advertising from Democratic incumbents this year has hinged on one central argument: Democrats are delivering — and best poised to deliver in the future — for their districts. Notably Harry Reid, in his opening spot and “no one can do more” tag line, and Blanche Lincoln, in her effort to put her Agriculture Committee chairmanship front and center, have followed this formula. There are certainly exceptions, especially among greener Dems who have tried to rely on their newcomer status to run against Washington. (Michael Bennet’s ads come to mind.)

But Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello, fighting one of this cycle’s marquee House races in VA-05, is definitely taking the efficacy angle. His opening spot mixes it up with some humor, but basically goes the same route as Reid et al.: Laser-like focus on bringing home jobs, lots of in-district shots and the obligatory hard hats.

Related Topics: tom perriello, 2012 Election, Congress

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  • grape_crush

    Good ad. Nice to see a pol not take himself so seriously, unlike some others who come off as somewhat crazed.

  • centfan

    I thought the coffee gag was artfully done even if you could see it coming a mile away.
    -
    I wonder if that ad was that much more expensive to produce than walking the fence with McCain? Which one would I pay more attention to? What’s the money-spent/attention-getting ratio?

  • kristiia

    I like it. More of these, please.

  • nflfoghorn

    Nice ad by Glen Bleck…I mean, Barber.

  • chupkar

    Good, bad or indifferent politician…don’t know.

    Ad. FTW.

  • acameronw

    This approach to campaigning – and its success – is a great illustration of the political schizophrenia of the electorate. They rail against earmarks, pork barrelling (hey, a new verb!) , and stimulus spending, and then reward the representatives who deliver the most of what they’re complaining about. We’ve all heard of NIMBY’s (Not In My Back Yard). Would these voters be called OIMBY’s (Only In My Back Yard)?

  • lupercal5

    my favorite ad so far this cycle. and the little dude is quite telegenic. i wish most democrats would venture this far in creativity

  • sacredh

    Maybe he should have said something along the lines of “I’m working to install high speed internet, not bug the phone lines like weasels from the republican party do”.

  • apr2563

    Chris Matthews had Barber on his show this evening. What an idiot. He was touting his idea for a national sales tax. Matthews asked what the total tax would be when added to state sales taxes. He really couldn’t understand the impact. He also doesn’t seem to understand how regressive it would be.
    /
    The rw seems to be on a tear to punish the poor and middle class. Not new for them.

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