If Romney Ads Always Just Told the Truth

Sunday, June 17, 2012

The 1990 movie "Crazy People" stars Dudley Moore as an ad executive who suffers a nervous breakdown and starts writing ads based on honesty about what the products are really about.

Ads like: "Metamucil: It Helps You Go to the Toilet. If You Don't Use It, You'll Get Cancer and Die." And "Jaguar: For Men Who'd Like [sex] From Beautiful Women They Hardly Know."

After his bosses have Moore's character committed to an insane asylum, the ads accidentally get released to the public and become runaway hits. The bosses, after finding out that they can't replicate Moore's success, turn to him and his fellow inmates to create ads for the new "honesty in advertising" craze.

I think about that movie a lot when watching political ads. I wonder what would happen if "honesty in advertising" took hold in the Romney campaign:

VOICEOVER: Mitt Romney. Some liberals call him a flip-flopper. He was for a path to citizenship for illegals, then he was against it. He opposed amendments to define marriage as between one man and one woman, then supported them. He supported a universal mandate for people to buy health insurance, then called it socialism. He said he was a moderate "through and through," and now he says he's "severely conservative."

ROMNEY: "I'm not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was."

VOICEOVER: But there's one thing Mitt Romney is consistent about and always has been. He's a Republican. Barack Obama isn't a Republican. So there.

BANNER: Mitt Romney. Vote for him. Because he's the Republican.

ROMNEY: I'm Mitt Romney, and I approved this message. At least for now.

Or how about this one:

VOICEOVER: Some liberals say Mitt Romney has a problem with the truth. He's claimed that Barack Obama didn't say it was unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon and that military options were still on the table.

OBAMA: "When I say we're not taking any option off the table, we mean it. ... I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say."

VOICEOVER: He's claimed that his position on the auto industry bailout was "exactly what President Obama followed." But in 2009, he wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times urging lawmakers to "let Detroit go bankrupt."

VISUAL: Picture of newspaper headline: "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt by Mitt Romney."

VOICEOVER: He claimed that Barack Obama never mentioned the deficit or the debt in the State of the Union Address when he mentioned it six times.

VISUAL: Clips of President Obama talking about the deficit and the debt in his Jan. 24, 2012, State of the Union Speech. Fade to the Politifact website's "Pants on Fire" symbol.

VOICEOVER: But there's one thing you can trust about Mitt Romney: He, you know, looks like you. And Barack Obama is ... well, you know.

BANNER: Mitt Romney. Vote for him. He may be a liar, but he's not ... well, you know.

ROMNEY: I'm Mitt Romney, and I approve of this message. If you don't, then you're just calling everyone racist who doesn't agree with you.

Or this:

VOICEOVER: Some liberals, like the ones who write The Wall Street Journal's "Market Watch," say that Massachusetts under Mitt Romney was 47th in the nation in job creation. That during his tenure, Massachusetts' job growth was at 0.9 percent, far behind the national average of more than 5 percent. Some other liberals have said that Romney's top economic adviser has said that outsourcing American jobs to other countries is a "good thing." Meanwhile, under President Obama, we've had two years of positive job growth after suffering massive losses under the last Republican president. Liberals say these things, and ... well, yeah, they're true. But you should ignore all that and vote for Mitt Romney anyway, because he knows how to create jobs. Because he says he does.

BANNER: Mitt Romney. Never mind the facts. He'll create jobs this time. Really.

This is, after all, the essence of the messages I keep hearing from so-called conservatives turned born-again Romneyites: "Yeah, we don't really like him, but he's not Obama." Why not be up front about it?

Dusty Rhoades lives, writes and practices law in Carthage. Contact him at dustyr@nc.rr.com.

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moonchild7 11 months ago

I've never seen 'Crazy People" but it sounds rather funny. Peter Sellers in "Being There" was about sorta the same thing. Sellers spoke constant "Non-Sense" to the "Elite" and they thought he was a Genious. He had been a reclusive gardener who's only education came from watching tv. Why tell the truth when people still only want to believe the LIES? Denial, Dusty is ingrained at this point and only the LIES seem to work. That's of course because everyone has become so stupid and crazy that even trying to find out what the TRUTH really is, is just too much trouble. Look at those "Special Re-Call Elections" just held in Wisconsin. The TEAPOTTERS want All Unions to be GONE. Yet those Public Unions and others have been responsible for having created the GREATEST Middle Class the World has ever known. The Republicans are actually telling people that Teachers, Firemen, and Policemen, are BAD and are the reason our country is "Failing". But that being what it is and BAD enough, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BELIEVE THOSE LIES!!!!! I say GO, Romney GO! I'm getting where I just don't care and am constantly laughing at how STUPID people are. You are buying the LIES and YOU deserve them. Romney is a CYBORG of the Mormon Church and Republican Party or better known as WHITE on WHITE.

theoldguy 11 months ago

Absolutely spot on.....funny and true (but really very sad when you think about it) So this is what we've become, eh?

clarabelle 11 months ago

smiles............ I am shocked the far right here haven't commented yet. Must be church at the big trailer in the back and then lunch next to the old tire pile........

lakeview 11 months ago

"The Republicans are actually telling people that Teachers, Firemen, and Policemen, are BAD and are the reason our country is "Failing". But that being what it is and BAD enough.

Talk about bold face lies but from Moon, what do you expect

fatboy 11 months ago

Pretty good fiction Dusty. I wonder what the difference is between flip-flopping and evolving.

dustyrhoades 11 months ago

Actually, Lake, Romney did criticize Obama for wanting "more firemen, more policemen and more teachers." This is a fact.

Mitt Romney Criticizes President Obama For Wanting To Hire More Police, Firemen and Teachers by cubmerdu

So Moon isn't lying, you are. But what else do you expect from lakeview?

lakeview 11 months ago

DR- that's a far stretch from saying there BAD and the reason our country is failing. Nice spin Liar. Show me where the republicans said exactly what Moon claims or admit she lied. Its real simple.

dustyrhoades 11 months ago

Actually, it isn't a stretch at all. So get stuffed.

lakeview 11 months ago

Its takes a pretty stupid individual to believe that anyone (republican or democrat) would think teachers are bad for our country. Any argument attempting to support that notion is simply formed from a weak mind for political points and that is actually what is causing our country to fail.

dustyrhoades 11 months ago

He said what he said, and he's been trying to weasel out of it ever since, with the help of rubes like you.

Facts are facts, and the fact is that the current GOP has made hatred and jealousy of public sector employees a major talking point, and that includes teachers, firefighters, and cops. It's disgusting.

The idea of “guaranteeing the government will keep its fire, police, and teachers intact … is not an effective way to get the economy going.”—Mitt Romney, 12/29/11

When one retired firefighter in New Hampshire said he was drawing a reduced Social Security check because he also had a state pension, the former Massachusetts governor was less than sympathetic. “If there’s a competition for who will give you the most free stuff, go vote for that guy.”

When the man said he wasn’t asking for any handouts, Romney said, “You knew what you were getting into. … I wish you well, but I’m not going to promise you more bucks.” (AP story, Dec. 30, 2011)

There's your conservative hero. Pfft.

coffecreme 11 months ago

Ask the homeschoolers

buskwon 11 months ago

CBS's 60 Minutes reported on 04.01.2012 that 3 months before the general election Obama told 7000 workers in NASA's space program that he would not cancel the Constellation space program. Not only did he lie to their face and do the exact opposite of what he promised, the 7000 person lay off devastated that area's economy. Another 7000 people were directly effected by Obama's decision. Businesses failed sending people into foreclosure and bankruptcy.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW_yhg...

Reggie_Mantle 11 months ago

I thought you conservatives were all for privatization? And I thought government spending doesn't create jobs?

Guess it's just another example of "Obama done gone and did it, so we's against it."

bufordsplay 11 months ago

Public sector unions are destroying our country and people are sick of it. These unions should be outlawed because they hold the taxpayers hostage and like an unfettered Federal Government , no matter how much the unions recieve it's never enough. Obama spent a Trillion dollars of our money to bolster union jobs when he said it was for shovel ready jobs and infrastucture. He lied. It's interesting how when there is a discussion of a spending cut, it's always Firefighters, Police officers and teachers jobs that Liberals threaten to cut first. Romney was right that increasing these jobs will not help the economy because these jobs don't produce anything so it's a zero sum game. It's like putting a dollar in a change machine, getting four quarters back and think you have won something.

The_AnonymusProfit 11 months ago

Yea i am a bit confused here. Could i not say the exact same thing about obama or any nunber if pokiticians?

lakeview 11 months ago

TAP- I too am confused by DR quoting Mitt ( “If there’s a competition for who will give you the most free stuff, go vote for that guy.” ) Isn't that the political agenda and battle cry of the democrat?

Gimme, Gimme Gimme, right?

dustyrhoades 11 months ago

So lakeview sees nothing wrong with his new conservative hero being dismissive and disrespectful to a retired firefighter. Thanks for proving my points yet again.

buskwon 11 months ago

The_AnonymusProfit , Yes you could say the same thing about Obama but the far left loonies refuse to listen. They have there heads buried so far in the sand or somewhere else.

buskwon 11 months ago

by buskwon

Thatcher 11 months ago

DR (3 hours, 11 min. ago)-- Where to start? This "hire more firemen, policemen, and teachers" mantra is quite sad. First, these types of employees typically are hired/fired from the state/local level (ever heard of a federal firefighter?). It is a classic straw-man argument: if we cut federal spending we'll have to fire police, firemen, and teachers...blah, blah, blah. The fact is we could drastically cut federal spending without affecting any of these folks. http://wizbangblog.com/2012/06/13/police-firefighters-and-teachers-oh-my/. And why do Democrats scream that firemen, police, and teachers must be the first group cut? What about the hundreds of duplicative federal jobs and welfare programs, whose employees accomplish nothing? http://theccpp.org/2011/09/federal-government-cannot-identify-how-many-government-welfare-programs-exist-much-less-whether-they.html. http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/jun/30/jim-jordan/rep-jim-jordan-says-7-18-food-programs-check-out-1/. Finally, as to your comment that conservatives really don't like Romney, "but he's not Obama," and why don't we be upfront about about it, how about this: I think Romney is a nice guy, but not conservative enough for me (although he does understand economics and free markets very well). I think Obama is a nice guy, but has no clue about any of these things (hence the ridiculous "teachers, firemen, and police" mantra). I prefer conservative-lite over socialism-lite. I'll be voting for Romney. Cheers!

Thatcher 11 months ago

And if you really want to downsize the federal government (which has nothing to do with firemen, police, and teachers), consider this: http://blog.heritage.org/2010/10/29/morning-bell-how-to-cut-federal-spending/. Being honest about the problem is the first step.

skylinefirepest 11 months ago

Thatch has once again hit it on the head. I don't really like Romney but I absolutely hate what Obama has done to this country. And if you wish to talk about lies what about the Obama ads that are airing already?? And don't forget, Dusty, that the "private sector is doing just fine:" ....so if you want to talk about having an understanding of how the country is doing right now, don't ask Obama, 'cause he ain't got a clue!!! I have a hard time believing that all you libs are really going to vote for Obama, simply because I know that some of you are really rather intelligent....and an intelligent person could not look at what Obama has done and his blithering incompetence and vote for him FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY.

Thatcher 11 months ago

Thanks skylinefirepest. To me, this is no different than a family claiming that they would not be able to pay for little Meg's doctor treatments....while ignoring that they spend hundreds on restaurants, nail care, and a lawn service. Can't cut those things, right? When it comes to federal spending, liberals just can't be truthful. Cheers!

Thatcher 11 months ago

And clarabelle (7 hours, 11 min. ago), my family and I did go to church this morning. It was a great service! You should join us sometime! Cheers!