File under: what were they thinking, part one
In light of the troubles Republicans have had vis-a-vis accusations of elections fraud recently, who in their
right mind came up with Virginia Republican
Gubernatorial candidate Mark Earley’s campaign slogans?
I speak specifically of the signs that say “Vote Earley,
Vote Often.”

Yeah, it’s mildly amusing and it certainly sticks in
your head…but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Someone thought New Coke was a good idea, too. And the
1986 Mustang. And Cop Rock. Someone thought a
gritty musical cop show was a good idea, too. People,
people, people. Just because you pay someone a lot of
money to think of things doesn’t mean that the things
they think of are good.

File under: what were they thinking, part two
I finally saw it last night. The desperate political ad
where Rudy Guiliani tells me “If I was a Virginian, I’d
vote for [proto-fascist] Mark Earley.”
I’d heard about the ad and I thought it sounded somewhat
offensive, but primarily it just sounded like grasping
at straws. I wasn’t prepared for how fucking
patronizing the actual ad would be.

Why not go all the way and say what you’re really
thinking, Rudy? “I’m Rudy Guiliani and if I was a
Virginian I wouldn’t listen to me because I shoved New
York’s trash down your sorry hillbilly throats. As
Attorney General Earley did one brave thing and tried to
stop me. He failed. I whooped his redneck hide real
good. He’s pretty damned desperate to win this
election, isn’t he? Neener-Neener-Neener.”

Here’s what was really the highpoint of the whole sordid
New York/Virginia trash showdown: “And the politics of Virginia
trash went national when [then-Governor] Gilmore
exchanged angry barbs with Republican New York City
Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, who said at one point that it
was only fitting that Virginia accept New York waste in
exchange for enjoying the benefits of the cultural
capital.”

That’s right, Rudy, some of us haven’t forgotten the
attitudes that were expressed during the Garbage Wars.