Your Daily Lesson in Political Naivete: The Scam of Slate Mailers
Ah, look what I got in the mail:
Oh, it’s my good friends at the Republican Leadership! What do they have to say?
Well, I certainly want to Support My Republican Team. After all, Republican Leaders do Make Strides. So this is a voter guide, huh? Does it tell me anything about who the Republicans support for judge?
Wait . . . what? You’re telling me that the Republican Party is supporting Songhai “Sunny” Armstead for a judicial position? But . . . isn’t she the candidate I have told you about here who goes around using her skin color as her primary job qualification? Whose supporter filed a bogus DMCA takedown to scrub the evidence from YouTube, forcing me to host the proof here on my own site?
Yes, she is. So what is the Republican Party doing endorsing a race-baiting candidate like that?
The short answer is: they’re not.
Before you start to fly into a rage against those damned Establishment Republicans, take a super-close look at that first image. See that tiny upside-down disclaimer at the bottom? Here’s what it says:
REQUIRED BY LAW – NOTICE TO VOTERS: THIS DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED BY LOS ANGELES COUNTY REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP VOTER GUIDE, NOT AN OFFICIAL PARTY ORGANIZATION. Appearance in this mailer does not necessarily imply endorsement of others appearing in this mailer, not does it imply endorsement of, or opposition to, any issues set forth in this mailer. Appearance is paid for and authorized by each candidate and ballot measure which is designated by a *.
That includes Songhai “Sunny” Armstead. She paid to appear in this slate mailer. A slate mailer, I will add, that has nothing to do with the Republican Party whatsoever.
Armstead is not the candidate you want to vote for in Office 97. My friend Teresa Magno is.
These slate mailers fool a lot of people. Don’t let them fool you.
DISCLAIMER: This message brought to you by Patterico.com. Always trust content from Patterico.
Summary of judicial endorsements coming just after midnight.
Patterico (9c670f) — 6/2/2014 @ 10:02 pmBy the way, I don’t think it’s dishonest for candidates to buy these spots. It’s smart.
But the mailers themselves are sometimes quite deceptive, as this example illustrates.
Patterico (9c670f) — 6/2/2014 @ 10:08 pmit’s so sad how trashy america is anymore
but sadness aside
this racist lil sweetie pickle sure does seem like she’s just the kind of person who would be a judge in such a country
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/2/2014 @ 10:09 pmi save all the mailers, flyers, etc, and we go through them, carefully, before making our election choices.
it’s always enlightening to see who’s trying to skew what.
case in point: i was leery of Tuck for Education Super, since i knew all the papers, including the Slimes had endorsed him.
then i started hearing a relentless ad campaign telling me how terrible he was and suggesting someone else was a better choice.
unfortunately for him, the ad campaign was paid for by the teachers unions, which told me that since they hated him, he was likely the better choice… not that it’s likely to fix what’s wrong with #Failifornia schools, but he’s still better than putting another union fox in the public hen house.
😎
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/3/2014 @ 1:07 amThe way things are going – hope everyone know where the closest fall out shelter is?
mg (31009b) — 6/3/2014 @ 2:38 ammg@5: I think that may be Texas.
Anyhow: Posting today to oppose Kashkari.
Ibidem (3ede5e) — 6/3/2014 @ 6:27 amContrary to Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, et al, I vote Republican for principles. And those principles mean I don’t want a pro-abortion, pro-gun control banker whose only alignment with the party is a brand of “fiscal conservativism” that claims it’s critical to bail out banks and cut entitlements.
I don’t think entitlements are great. But I do think that welfare programs beat bailouts. And the bailout (TARP) that Kashkari designed and directed the first stage of is the epitome of throwing money at problems.
(To elaborate on entitlement programs: the first role of government is to protect the lives and avenge the deaths of its people. Insofar as entitlement programs are needed for that purpose, they are good. To go far beyond that is not. The next two roles are the protection of liberty and of property; but transfer of wealth is not a proper part of protecting property.)
There are slim pickings. Do we know anything about Richard Aguirre? Or Akinyeme Agbede?
Michael Ejercito (becea5) — 6/3/2014 @ 6:32 amThis kind of subterfuge and false advertising goes on quite a bit. I think most people throw such mailers away into the recycle bin without reading them anyway, but I’m sure a few well meaning people do get buffaloed. I hope the good guys win in Cali today.
elissa (76d201) — 6/3/2014 @ 6:50 amI wonder why the transgender bathroom bill did not become a political issue.
Michael Ejercito (becea5) — 6/3/2014 @ 7:13 amThe only “entitlement program” that is needed for the legitimate role of government is free police protection and access to the court system. It is not a legitimate role of government to “protect” its people’s lives from starvation or sickness. That role belongs to private benevolence.
Milhouse (b95258) — 6/3/2014 @ 8:52 amThe bailouts were a bad thing, and I’m willing to hold Kashkari responsible for his role in implementing them, although it wasn’t his decision to do them in the first place. At least I’d like to hear him say that he disagreed with that decision. But I’ve seen him attacked elsewhere for defending the AIG retention bonuses, and that’s pure nasty populism. Those bonuses were 100% justified, because they were a contractual obligation, an inherent part of the employees’ salary, without which they would never have stayed in their jobs and worked all year. When they were forced to give the money back it was pure extortion, and everyone responsible for that, including those who bayed from the sidelines and contributed to the atmosphere of intimidation that left these people with no real choice, is morally a thief.
Mr Technical Guy, the comment box is once again too wide. I had to write this comment in short lines and then paste them together so as not to have choppy lines like some weird poem.
Milhouse (b95258) — 6/3/2014 @ 8:59 ami was leery of Tuck for Education Super
Marshall Tuck was formerly president of Green Dot Schools, which took over a number of LA Unified schools from the district. The unions hate him just like they hate the entire charter movement.
Even the LA Times knows that the unions are the heart of darkness. Putting an education entrepreneur in as Superintendent might help turn the tide.
Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/3/2014 @ 9:13 amI wonder why the transgender bathroom bill did not become a political issue.
Because the number of students taking up the “right” is few, and far between?
Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/3/2014 @ 9:14 amI think most people throw such mailers away
I read each one carefully, always looking for an honest mailer. Haven’t seen one yet. My favorite so far this year was a “GOP” mailer that had candidates showing off their Obama photo-ops.
Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/3/2014 @ 9:16 amIf you read the note at the bottom of the page, you will note that the asterisk means that the
Nathaniel Wright (1e47ba) — 6/3/2014 @ 2:11 pm“endorsement” is a paid advertisement. This piece of misdirection can only be attributed to Landslide Communications http://www.landslidecommunications.com/other-services/ and not to the ‘Establishment.”
I bought space on a couple of “Republican” slate mailers in a local race six years ago, if only to prevent my leftist (and very well funded) opponent from monopolizing all advertisements.
Incidentally, none of the “in kind” expenditures by unions for campaign materials and phone banking that occurred in that and other races were ever reported by those organizations. California’s FPPC apparently doesn’t bother to enforce reporting requirements by unions.
David (099e1f) — 6/3/2014 @ 3:29 pmI don’t care what you say, Kali will never eclipse Florida.
http://news.yahoo.com/watch-florida-judge-beat-lawyer-middle-trial-155017957.html
elissa (76d201) — 6/3/2014 @ 3:32 pmDavid, (c)5’s are exempt from a lot of things.
askeptic (8ecc78) — 6/3/2014 @ 3:34 pmMilhouse, re: Kashkari’s role in the bailout: This article at the NY Times states that he was one of six assistent secretaries who led the Treasury’s negotiating team.
A number of quotes have him claiming involvement in designing it (as a major achievement); he’s running on TARP, not apologizing for it.
Regarding entitlements: My take is that ideologically, maybe they’re all a bad idea. (I’m not committing myself to that position though.) Here and now, I don’t think axing all welfare programs is appropriate or ethical in the short-term, due to what an abrupt transition might cause.
Ibidem (3ede5e) — 6/3/2014 @ 4:47 pmBut I think that there’s a moral heirarchy, where certain goals, programs, and projects need to go first.
Some of the welfare programs are among those that should go last.
If someone insists on keeping one of the least justifiable parts while arguing against one of the closest to justifiable, it may end up indicating an ethical system that is too completely perverted to be trusted with a role in government policy.
In other words: I’m not sure about entitlement programs and I think they may well be excessive; but they have a better claim to morality than the bailout, on the same scale. If someone got that backwards, their morals are shot.
isn’t she the candidate I have told you about here who goes around using her skin color as her primary job qualification?
I’m less concerned about that than her implication that she only cares about black people. Would people of other races get a fair shake if they’re unfortunate enough to appear before her?
malclave (4f3ec1) — 6/3/2014 @ 6:39 pmSunny is a funny Chootia
Sunny Chootia (0dd8cd) — 6/9/2014 @ 8:40 pm