The latest polls in Virginia's senate race show Republican Ed Gillespie significantly trailing Democrat Mark Warner. Hoping to capture Virginians' irrational love of the ailing Washington Redskins, Gillespie dropped all TV advertising to run one state wide ad during last week's Skins game on Monday Night Football. The ad targets Warner's apparent silence on Harry Reid's "Anti-Redskins Bill" that seeks to remove the NFL's tax exempt status unless the Redskins change their name, which has come under serious fire from the media and various interest groups for being tasteless and racist towards Native Americans. Although the bill has riled some Redskins zealots, it certainly hasn't been the talk of the town around D.C.
"Why won't Warner fight the anti-Redskins bill?...Why won't he answer the question?" asks the ad's dooming voice over, as if Warner has been tapping into our phones or performing some other traitorous act. Closing the ad, Gillespie states that he would oppose the anti-Redskins bill so that Washington can refocus it's attention on the real issues. Although the ad's a bit bizarre, Downs would argue that Gillespie is attempting to strategically locate himself on the policy spectrum where the more extreme Redskins fans and DC gridlock opponents alike would align themselves closer to Gillespie. Called Gillespie's "Hail Mary" to capture the median voter and win the election, this ad will most likely fall incomplete, as Warner's solid lead will allow him to take a knee and run out the clock until victory.
1 comment:
Im going to throw a flag on Gillespie for unnecessary dumbness. Why is he paying for an ad to address the Redskins name if he says at the end that he'll focus on real issues and "let the Redskins handle what to call their team” ? If you bring the name up then make it an issue, don't dismiss it at the end of your own commercial. I also think his campaign managers need to be checked for concussions if they think the Redskin's name going to swing the vote in their favor. Even offensive guru Downs would have trouble identifying what type of offense Gillespie is running because it's clearly not designed to score points(in the polls). This last minute drive will come up short and the incumbent Warner’s tremendous home field advantage will carry him to the state title.
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