That evil bastion of corporate media, Clear Channel, through their billboard advertising division, has attempted to insult me and my intelligence. You too provided you are as disillusioned with the Republican party as even some of their most staunch supporters are.

Just down the road from me is a billboard that I assume was put up by the local Republican party. I don’t have a picture of it yet, but I’ll provide an update to this post once I get one.

Try to picture it: a large billboard with a baby blue background. In the center of the billboard is a large representation of the Republican party’s elephant logo. To the left is a small, inverted, Democratic party donkey. To the right of the Republican logo are these words: DON’T BE STUPID.

This type of political advertising is wrong on many levels. My anger with it manifested itself in a string of profanities that would make even the saltiest of Marines or sailors blush. Of course, these profanities were damn near shouted while I was in my car and again in the relative quiet of my garage once I got home. For those of you who may be asking yourself “What’s wrong with it?” let me break it down for you. This billboard seeks to once again paint those of us who are NOT Republicans in a bad light. Much like President Bush and others of his party have taken to calling Democrats cowards, “defeatists”, traitors, etc., this type of advertising is disingenuous at best and downright evil at its worst. This kind of political billboard seeks not to unite us as a country, nor does it try to forge compromises on the issues where politically Republicans and Democrats disagree, but instead continues to divide this country even further.

I’ve written in the not-so-distant past about my complete and utter disdain for political attack ads, so my anger over this one should be a no-brainer. Well, according to CNN, my anger level is about to get raised again due to another type of ad I hate: the FEAR Ad!!! I’ll let you guys (and girls) click on the CNN link and then, if you can stomach it, click on the link to the RNC to see the latest and greatest in the Republican game of Fear Factor as it pertains to mid-term elections next month.

I hope that many of you readers, lurkers and commenters alike, choose to reject this type of political posturing this close to the elections and vote the issues and the candidates come November 7th. This is not just another ordinary election. This election will define whether we, as a country, continue on a path of failure, or one of hope and progress. We must do something to correct our course or we’ll end up no better than the Titanic. There’s an iceberg out there on the political landscape and our chance to change course and slip past it is November 7th. So don’t forget to educate yourself on the issues, both local and national, and get out and vote on November 7th. Your country is counting on you and so am I.

UPDATE:

Friday evening after I had posted this, I did a quick websearch for Clear Channel’s Outdoor Advertising site. I found it, and sent a web email to them advising of my offense at this billboard. Below is the text of the email I sent with my name redacted:

Dear Sirs/Madam,

I am writing to express my offense at a billboard that was recently placed by your company. The billboard in question is located near US-45 and the Silver Spring Rd exit in Milwaukee, WI. It appears to be a Republican Party ad that features their logo in the center, a smaller Democratic Party logo upside-down and to the left of the Republican logo, followed by the words: DON’T BE STUPID on the right. Regardless of Clear Channel’s political leanings, this type of ad is very offensive to me. I am requesting its removal. The implied message is one that should provoke outrage among not just Democrats, but Republicans as well since it claims that community members who vote Democrat are stupid. This kind of political advertising can potentially lead to even more offensive statements offered by the Democratic Party about those who vote Republican. Please do you part to help make the political climate here in the US a more friendly one by removing this ad. The future of our country depends on it.

Sincerely, [name redacted]

Well, I checked my email this afternoon and found I had received somewhat of a response:

I am forwarding your email on to the appropriate persons.  
Russ

Russ Mason
Corporate Director of Digital Services

I am looking forward to hearing back from them and what kind of response they give.