Comments on: A Tale of Two (Bad) Campaigns http://theactivist.org/blog/a-tale-of-two-bad-campaigns // Culture. Consciousness. Critical Thought. // Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:43:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Andrew Holt Williams http://theactivist.org/blog/a-tale-of-two-bad-campaigns/comment-page-1#comment-74513 Andrew Holt Williams Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:15:10 +0000 http://theactivist.org/blog/?p=2540#comment-74513 Thanks for this article. I've read some about the Chilean election and was wondering more about how it went the way it did (most articles don't go beyond "Frei was dull", though). I thought maybe it had to do with a pendulum swing back away from entrenched decades-long majorities, mirroring the growing negative press the Kirchners are getting in Argentina. As far as South America goes, it will be interesting to see how the Worker's Party's successor to Lula in Brazil fairs later this year, since he's had a fairly popular if center-left at best presidency. As for Coakley, it doesn't help when your candidate supposedly advocating for labor won't get out among the masses (as the popular narrative has stated). In Virginia, we experienced a slightly similar campaign in the governor's race last year. The Democrat didn't get out on the trail following the primaries till late September and allowed too much time for the GOP candidate to present them self without rebuttal. In the end, I think it was the lack of difference between candidates (both ran against global warming legislation and supported tax cuts as the centerpiece to economic policy) and the narrative the GOP got to put together unchallenged for McDonnell that decided this. Like Mass., I hope this wakes up some people across the state, but we're still only purple by southern standards, and if Dems can't put together a real populist message that doesn't rely too much on the declining popularity of Obama, we could lose a few seats, esp in SW Virginia where most unions are sitting out right now due to concern (justified or not) about the effect that global warming legislation might have on the energy sector, which is where the union power comes from here. If you want my gut feeling, I'd say this is a bad cycle for anyone currently in power, since the media narrative has been entrenched as "Obama is failing at passing things, therefore...", which once again shows that the left needs to become more independent and visible so as to not tie themselves so closely to the ups and downs of this president. Thanks for this article. I’ve read some about the Chilean election and was wondering more about how it went the way it did (most articles don’t go beyond “Frei was dull”, though). I thought maybe it had to do with a pendulum swing back away from entrenched decades-long majorities, mirroring the growing negative press the Kirchners are getting in Argentina. As far as South America goes, it will be interesting to see how the Worker’s Party’s successor to Lula in Brazil fairs later this year, since he’s had a fairly popular if center-left at best presidency.

As for Coakley, it doesn’t help when your candidate supposedly advocating for labor won’t get out among the masses (as the popular narrative has stated). In Virginia, we experienced a slightly similar campaign in the governor’s race last year. The Democrat didn’t get out on the trail following the primaries till late September and allowed too much time for the GOP candidate to present them self without rebuttal. In the end, I think it was the lack of difference between candidates (both ran against global warming legislation and supported tax cuts as the centerpiece to economic policy) and the narrative the GOP got to put together unchallenged for McDonnell that decided this. Like Mass., I hope this wakes up some people across the state, but we’re still only purple by southern standards, and if Dems can’t put together a real populist message that doesn’t rely too much on the declining popularity of Obama, we could lose a few seats, esp in SW Virginia where most unions are sitting out right now due to concern (justified or not) about the effect that global warming legislation might have on the energy sector, which is where the union power comes from here.

If you want my gut feeling, I’d say this is a bad cycle for anyone currently in power, since the media narrative has been entrenched as “Obama is failing at passing things, therefore…”, which once again shows that the left needs to become more independent and visible so as to not tie themselves so closely to the ups and downs of this president.

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