Years ago, in my rural, conservative county, we decided to try to move just an inch towards some zoning regulations, of which we have none. Just a little move. We wanted to regulate polluting industries--preventing them from setting up against the banks of our rivers and requiring some buffers between them and the homsteads of those of us living here.
Next thing you know, the word got out: we were planning to tell people what color to paint their houses, we were not going to allow you to work on your tractor in the front yard, and you could only graze 5 cows to an acre.
Of course all of these things were not only silly, but also untrue. We worked hard to get the truth out there. The newspapers published the truth, we ran radio ads, we held press conferences, we went door-to-door, and we sent out mailers. All to no avail. Why? Because folks' neighbors told them one thing at the Ruritan fish fry, and we told them another. They believed the person they knew, not the person they didn't.
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I've been working Democratic Campaigns in the south for more years than I care to admit, not in the big cities, but in the rural, conservative areas--hard nuts to crack.
An article in today's Washington Post, "Flag City USA, False Obama Rumors Are Flying," examines Mr. Peterman's confusion and uncertainty about Obama in his small town in Ohio. This article brings home the serious problem we so often have here in rural areas trying to break through with the truth to voters.
While we all believe this election's results will turn on economic or security matters, the truth is that it's hard to even talk with voters about the differences between candidates' plans on these and other serious issues when all they hear from their neighbors and friends at restaurants, the local gas station, or their family reunion is that one of the candidates is not even an American. No amount of direct mail or TV spots can get up over this:
A swing voter who entered this election leaning Democratic, Peterson faces a decision that is no longer so simple as a choice between Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain, he said. First, he must pick the version of Obama on which he will stake his vote.
Does he choose to trust a TV commercial in which Obama talks about his "love of country"? Or his neighbor of 40 years, Don LeMaster, a Navy veteran who heard from a friend in Toledo that Obama refuses to wear an American-flag pin?
You see, Mr. Peterman's neighbors and friends have all bought into the fact that Obama is a Muslim, was born in Africa, and is possibly gay. How do they know this? Because their long-time friends and neighbors told them so.
Does he trust a local newspaper article that details Obama's Christian faith? Or his friend Leroy Pollard, a devoted family man so convinced Obama is a radical Muslim that he threatened to stop talking to his daughter when he heard she might vote for him?
"I'll admit that I probably don't follow all of the election news like maybe I should," Peterman said. "I haven't read his books or studied up more than a little bit. But it's hard to ignore what you hear when everybody you know is saying it. These are good people, smart people, so can they really all be wrong?"
The evidence is clear: Americans are very unhappy with the direction our politicians are taking. The ONLY shot the Republicans have to convince voters that Obama is not just one thing they stand against, but every single thing they stand against. That means pulling out all the stops. Obama can't just be supportive of gay rights. He has to be gay. He can't just want to talk with other countries, he has to be from another country.
Get ready for a lot more of this, an email my Mom received in her inbox this morning:
I AM confused!!!
RECEIVED THIS, AND NOW I AM MORE CONFUSED THAN I WAS BEFORE ...
LET ME SEE IF I HAVE THIS STRAIGHT:
HIS FATHER WAS A KENYAN, MUSLIM, BLACK - WE HAVE SEEN PICTURES OF HIS 'AFRICAN FAMILY'
HIS MOTHER IS A KANSAN, ATHEIST, WHITE - WHERE ARE THE PICTURES OF HIS KANSAN, WHITE MOTHER AND HIS WHITE GRANDPARENTS WHO RAISED HIM?
HIS FATHER DESERTED HIS MOTHER AND HIM WHEN HE WAS VERY YOUNG AND WENT BACK TO HIS FAMILY (WHOSE FAMILY ?) IN KENYA ?
HIS MOTHER MARRIED AN INDONESIAN MUSLIM AND TOOK HIM TO JAKARTA WHERE HE WAS SCHOOLED IN A MUSLIM SCHOOL
HIS MOTHER RETURNED TO HAWAII AND HE WAS RAISED BY HIS WHITE KANSAN GRANDPAREN TS ?WHEN ?
HE LATER WENT TO THE BEST HIGH DOLLAR SCHOOLS, HOW?
HE LIVES IN A $1.4 MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE THAT HE ACQUIRED THROUGH A DEAL WITH A WEALTHY FUND RAISER.... HOW?
HE 'WORKED' AS A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN CHICAGO - HAS NEVER HELD A PRODUCTIVE JOB.
THE PRESIDENCY IS NOT A CIVIL RIGHTS POST, NOR IS IT SUBJECT TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION SET ASIDES
HE ENTERED POLITICS AT THE STATE LEVEL AND THEN THE NATIONAL LEVEL, WHERE HE HAS MINIMAL EXPERIENCE
HE IS PROUD OF HIS 'AFRICAN HERITAGE' BUT IT SEEMS THAT HIS ONLY AFRICAN CONNECTION WAS THAT HIS AFRICAN FATHER GOT A WHITE GIRL PREGNANT AND DESERTED HER.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT SPERM CARRIED A 'CULTURAL' GENE. < BR>
WHERE IS THE PRIDE IN HIS WHITE CULTURE?
HE GOES TO A 'AFROCENTRIC' CHURCH THAT HATES WHITES, HATES JEWS, AND BLAMES AMERICA FOR ALL THE WORLD'S PERCEIVED FAULTS AND THEN REPEATEDLY COVERS UP FOR THE PASTOR AND THE CHURCH
HE CLAIMS THAT HE COULD NOT CONFRONT HIS PASTOR BUT HE WANTS US TO BELIEVE THAT HE CAN CONFRONT NORTH KOREA AND IRAN,&nb sp;
YEAH, RIGHT!!!
YEAH, I THINK I SEE HOW HE COULD BE A 'UNITER' AND BRING US TOGETHER, I THINK THE HOPE IS THAT HE HOPES NO ONE WILL PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER UNTIL AFTER THE 'ELECTION' .
LIKE I SAID AT THE START, ' I AM CONFUSED !!!! '
How can voters think America is so misdirected and still vote for McCain?
This is how. And how do we fight this?
I'm sad to say we already tried the hope and vision and the "we're above politics" thing here in our county. We are a Republican county, but we Democrats here now hold all seats save one. How did we do it? We ran local candidates for office, candidates with strong ties to the community and with familiar family names. These sorts of smears just don't stick when the candidate's family goes way back. Our candidates are all progressive, mind you, but the voters knew them well.
But in Obama's case, what does he do? Identify local people who will advocate on his behalf. Not just Mayors and other elected officials, but just plain old regular folks who everyone knows and respects.
While the "get to Know Me" TV spots Obama has been running are excellent, think of how much more effective they would be if they presented the woman with the right last name who works at the local quick stop. Or the guy with the right last name who inspects your car.
Voters need to hear from their neighbors that Obama is an okay guy. No one else will be able to convince them.