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Back Online and Rabbi Hecht on Negative Campaign Ads

It's great to finally be back. The computer has been repaired and TheSolidSurfer.com is primed and ready to go. Unfortunately, though, I have to start over on several intended posts, including the election analysis. In the meantime, however, guest contributor Rabbi Shea Hecht provides a much needed perspective on a key aspect of the election process:

Eight To One
by Rabbi Shea Hecht

Growing up with a father involved in the political scene has had at least one benefit. Because I’ve been exposed to and involved in politics from such a young age, there is little in the political arena that can surprise me. Yet, this week something did.

The AP tells us that in these election weeks, hundreds of millions of dollars was spent on advertising. This alone didn’t shock me. What shocked me was that $160 million of those dollars was spent on negative advertising about the candidates opponent as opposed to $17 million spent on advertising what the candidate himself can offer his constituents if voted in.

Not only that, but according to the Federal Election Commission, 54 percent more money was spent on this campaign than in the 2004 campaign, and the ads are decidedly more negative.

For a moment, let’s forget about what this says about the candidates themselves. For better or for worse, it’s human nature to knock an opponent. In fact, it’s a character trait that many people have to work on. That politics is dirty is also a given. I can tell you it’s been that way for as long as I remember – and much longer than that.

Each time there is a primary race I am truly fascinated. The candidates bash each other to no end and when one wins they all back the winner in the upcoming election. I sometimes feel like asking the losers, “You just finished weeks of telling me what an absolute horror government will look like if this person is in office, now you are telling me to vote for him instead of his opponent?”

Politics can also be nasty in the reverse. Recently, at a meeting with Senator Joe Lieberman, he pointed out that the day before the primary he was praised by all his colleagues and the next day when he lost the primary the very same people were critical.

So it isn’t the negativity itself that bothers me. The thing that bothers me though is this. What does this say about us – the ones who read and watch these ads? Advertising is aimed at a willing-to-listen voter. Candidates pay this much for advertising, because the advertising works. The fact that there is such a disparity in the amount of money spent on advertising, means that we are buying into negative advertising and making a decision that impacts us based on a candidate’s negative spin of his opponent. The advertising dollars - eight to one on the dollar - with candidates telling us how horrid, terrible, dishonest and crooked their opponents are, is also a reflection of who we are. They reflect what we buy into and the reflection is not a pretty one.

If someone was told 8 negative statements for every positive one, we would be horrified with the “emotional abuse” and “negative atmosphere” that is created. I think that by buying into the negative advertising and not demanding every politician say what he can do for his constituents, we are helping to create a negative atmosphere.

We are not always aware of the consequences of some of our actions and as a result we fail to change them. Now that we have been made aware that $8.00 is spent for negative advertising as opposed to $1.00 towards positive we can send our politicians a message. If you can do something positive for your constituents tell us, if not we don’t want to hear what you have to say.

TheSolidSurfer.com responds: Rabbi, thank you for yet another excellent piece. Negative campaign ads have become so ubiquitous that we often overlook their potentially devastating impact on both elections and ourselves. Unfortunately the 2006 cycle was no exception, and these messages likely have influenced the entire political atmosphere for the worse. Hopefully, though, this culture can be reformed, and that, I believe, can become a key part of anyone's strategy to win in 2008.

So what's next for politics in America? I intend to provide my best prediction(s) in the upcoming posts.

November 16, 2006 in Guest Contributors | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

2006 Election Recap and Analysis

(Scroll down below for continuing updates)

Now that Tuesday's key contests have all concluded, it's time to recap the 2006 election and analyze its implications on America, the political parties, local issues, foreign policy, and elsewhere.

The short version: The election was bad for Republicanism, but (perhaps surprisingly) good for conservatism. Domestic and foreign policy results are highly mixed.

Expect a far longer version shortly; things have been very busy here at TheSolidSurfer.com, but a full analysis is in the works, and we hope you will find it well worth the wait.

Stay tuned over the weekend...

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Update (11/14): Apologies again for the downtime. Just when things finally became less busy, my computer's hard drive conked out and Internet access became quite limited. However, it should be ready at the shop later today, which means that posts on this site should again be up and running! Thanks for your patience.

-TheSolidSurfer.com

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Update (11/15): Computer is back! Now it's just a matter of reinstalling everything and we're ready to go! (As you can probably guess, I'm typing this message from another machine.)

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Update (11/16): Finally! Everything is set up, reinstalled, and working properly. TheSolidSurfer.com is back up and running, and this should (hopefully) be the last update in this series. Tonight, it should be onto regular posting once again, both current events and the last week's huge backlog (including election coverage and analysis). Looking forward to returning!

November 10, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Republican Voter Drive 2006

Today is the big day...Election Time USA. And as the previous post on this site outlines, I believe America will greatly benefit from re-electing the GOP to power. Many other Internet sources, meanwhile, feel similarly, and I'd like to present a sampling below of their highly worthy arguments:


Jewish World Review

The Wall Street Journal

World Net Daily

Front Page Magazine

Israpundit

People Upset by John Kerry's Remarks


These are just the tip of the iceberg, but I think they present the case very strongly: A vote for Republicans is a vote for America. Hope everyone makes it to the polling stations.

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Update: Jewish World Review has an excellent hour-by-hour guide to tonight's results.

November 07, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Reasons to Vote Republican on Tuesday

The Republican Party has had a tough past few years. Iraq issues, scandals, gridlock...you name it. But nonetheless, I feel it is imperative for Americans to vote the party back into power both in the Senate and the House on November 7th.

Why? Two words: National Security.

As imperfect as the GOP has been on this issue, a Democrat-controlled leadership would most certainly be far far worse.

Just remember this - the senior terrorists in the Middle East ALL WANT US TO VOTE DEMOCRAT.

This could not stand out any more glaringly (and I'm not referring to my own capital letters). A vote for Democratic party leadership is a vote for terrorism. That's why I plan to support Republicans in both my state and congressional district, and why I believe you should too.

But don't just take it from me. Listen to America's enemies, and then decide.

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Update: It's not just terrorists; the Communist Party USA also supports the Democrats.

November 03, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Democratic Victory on November 7? Maybe Not.

I have time for only a quick post, but with the upcoming November 7 elections, the media seems out in full force to convince the public of an impending Democratic victory. Of course, it must be noted, they did the same thing in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004 to no avail. But will 2006 be different? A report from Time Magazine (of all unexpected places) suggests the answer is no.

Why not? National Review sums it up:

1) No Republican is being taken by surprise, unlike many Democrats in 1994.

2) Absentee ballot requests and returns, closely tracked by the party, are meeting or exceeding past levels for Republicans in key states and districts.

3) When the national parties, national campaign committees, state "victory" committee accounts and competitive campaigns are added up, Republicans maintained a substantial financial advantage over Democrats at the last filing period.

4) Republicans say the district-by-district playing field favors them in several structural ways not reflected in national polls.

5) The get-out-the-vote machine designed by Rove and now-Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman in 2001 was dubbed the "72-hour" program, but officials say that's quite a misnomer and that it's really a 17-week or even two-year program.

Who knows what will really happen, but these are very interesting points that certainly contradict the mainstream media party line. Democrats could be in for some Congress and Senate gains...or for yet another notch in a long strong of disappointments since the Republican power sweep in 1994.

October 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

America's Creative Class, VDH, Malaysia, Fjordman

Time for yet another roundup of pertinent news and commentary.

Many American city planners have been influenced by Richard's Florida's seminal book Rise of the Creative Class, which postulates that "creative" groups of individuals, such as architects, engineers, artists, and (especially) gays are the true driver of urban economic growth. WorldNetDaily's Jack Cashill, however, suspects a major flaw in Dr. Florida's thesis, on the principle that when creative folks number one too many, things can start to quickly move downhill. A fascinating analysis that could have major implications for city-dwellers everywhere.

Another must-read article is a piece by Victor Davis Hanson on the frighteningly barbaric and pre-modern behavior of so many in the fundamentalist Islamic world. This should serve as a stark reminder (espcially to liberals) that, no matter how technologically advanced the world has become, human nature has always remained the same, and the survival of the modern Western world is never a given. Only by actively defending our values can America and the West overcome the enemies of civilization.

VDH also discusses the war in Iraq...and why we must stay the course.

Meanwhile, both Front Page Magazine and noted Norwegian blogger Fjordman offer sensible prescriptions for winning the war on jihad overall. Anyone interested in Western civilization prevailing over Islamofascism (and I certainly hope that includes all of us) should find these pieces absolutely essential.

On a similar note, Malaysian civilization is fighting back as well; in wake of pressures to introduce Sharia law to the historically moderate Muslim state, many Muslims have simply decided to opt out of the faith. And the numbers are increasing.

Blog of the Day: I'd give it to Fjordman himself, but he no longer posts at his own site. Therefore, it'll have to be a prominent site where he guest blogs, the Brussels Journal.

October 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Leftism and Hollywood's Unprofitable Business Model

For the first time in recent memory, the upcoming holiday season will feature few big-name Hollywood films. Apart from a new James Bond title (which, with unknown actor Daniel Craig debuting as 007, is no certain hit), the Tinseltown slate appears quite low-key, with the young adult fantasy Eragon, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky sequel Rocky Balboa, and the animated penguin comedy Happy Feet emerging as the most prominent of an otherwise unassuming bunch.

Some may call this an anomaly (blockbusters did, after all, reign last year with King Kong, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and The Chronicles of Narnia all grossing upwards of $200 million), but a growing cadre of industry insiders actually believe it is the wave of the future. No less an authority than George Lucas, for example, has announced plans to save large sums of money by producing only smaller films.

So what is the Star Wars head honcho thinking? Larger productions are riskier because most Hollywood films actually lose money. The studios' hit-miss ratio is so poor, in fact, that fully 90% of all theatrical motion pictures fail at the box office. Profit comes only from the other 10%, which perform so stunningly well as to (ideally) both cover the other films' losses and generate profitable additional revenue. Sound like a solid business model? Countless spurned film investors would argue a resounding "no".

But while Hollywood has accepted this financial model for many years, it was not always the name of the game. Before the mid-1960s, a far larger percentage of films made money, primarily because many more Americans regularly attended screenings. In 1960, for example, fully 45% of all Americans went to the movies weekly.

Alas, however, this was not to last, as moviegoing nosedived dramatically in the late '60s to about 10% of Americans each week, a level that has remained consistent to the present time. Resultingly, most films can no longer command the audience numbers required to turn a profit. Even today's blockbusters depend largely on high ticket prices for much of their revenue; adjusted for inflation, the box office grosses of the modern era's most popular films lag far behind those of classics like Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz .

So what happened? Why have audiences deserted theaters in droves? Some blame the rise of alternative entertainment such as video games, DVDs, and the Internet. But really, the box office exodus began long before those media became popular (or were even invented).

The answer I believe, rather, is that starting in the late '60s, Hollywood films began to assume a leftist bent far out of touch with the average American's sensibilities. Industry critics loved it, but most moviegoers simply felt shunned and tuned out. This pattern has continued to the present day, with numerous leftist darlings (to name merely a recent few, the gay cowboy story Brokeback Mountain and the anti-Iraq war polemic Jarhead) regularly winning heaps of critical acclaim but flunking at the ticket counters.

Finally, however, it seems filmmakers and producers are taking note, and perhaps the tide is at last turning the other way. In addition to Mr. Lucas's new direction, family-friendly Disney has achieved tremendous recent popularity, certain production houses (such as billionaire Philip Anschutz's Walden Media) now specialize only in morally upright films, and conservative filmmakers have even launched their own festival. It's far from a complete makeover, but signs of a Hollywood renaissance certainly exist.

If the studios want to continue creating elaborate productions, then they must mitigate risk by catering to mainstream American tastes. Otherwise, the era of smaller films appears here to stay. And Luke Skywalker would not be happy.

October 26, 2006 in Media & Entertainment | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Walker Texas Writer: Chuck Norris on WorldNetDaily

I have a feeling WorldNetDaily's visitor traffic will dramatically increase in the coming days. For the independent news site has just added movie action hero Chuck Norris as a featured columnist.

Yes, you heard that correctly - the star of Walker Texas Ranger, former martial arts champion, and all-around butt-kickin' dude has now added a new title to his repertoire: writer.

And lest anyone views this as a lighthearted hoax (a la Christopher Walken's purported 2008 presidential run), Mr. Norris's new position really should not be unexpected. In addition to his films and athletic exploits, Chuck is a motivational speaker, is regularly recognized for humanitarian work through organizations such as The United Way and Make-A-Wish Foundation, greatly supports President Bush and the GOP, and has written both an autobiography and a self-help book. Contributing to WorldNetDaily seems like a very natural fit for him.

I haven't yet read his columns (I don't know how often he intends to publish), but this looks a win-win move between Mr. Norris and WorldNetDaily. Perhaps it could also be the stepping stone to the news site's future emergence as a major-league media outlet.

Which naturally leads to a follow-up question - who will the next added columnist be? Stay tuned on WorldNetDaily to find out, and at TheSolidSurfer.com for our own reports on that and on news from around the globe.

October 23, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

300 Million Americans, Nuclear Japan, Borat and more

Plenty of news heading into the weekend:

This past week, the 300 millionth American was born. This places the United States third among all nations in population, following only China (1.3 billion) and India (1.1 billion). Many pundits believe that 300 million is too many, but I strongly disagree. Our population density is far lower than most of the world, and the growing numbers have given America an economic and cultural vibrancy far greater than that of the stagnating nations of Europe and Japan.

Speaking of the Land of the Rising Sun, by the way, Charles Krauthammer offers a military defense solution to its worries over North Korea: Allow Japanese nukes. Japan today is a friendly democracy that would wield nuclear weapons as responsibly as America or Britain, and its location near North Korea genuinely necessitates a strong deterrent.

Of course North Korea's Kim apparently now "regrets" his nuclear test. Right. And in other North Korean news, elephants owned by Kim started flying in the air today. I can't believe the news would conjecture something so obviously untrue like this.

Tired of all the talk on global warming? Victor Davis Hanson is with you, as he hammers eco-pessimists for their unproven views, and explains how they are merely the latest in a surprisingly long string of doom-mongers.

Palestinian in-fighting: Fatah gunmen fire on Hamas leadership motorcade. Yet more evidence (out of a mountain's worth) that the Palestinian leadership only wants power and has no interest in creating a free, prosperous state.

Should Israel offer the Golan Heights back to Syria in exchange for peace (or anything else)? Dr. Steve Carol, writing at Israel National News, says: No Way! I couldn't agree more.

And finally, on a lighter note: Kazakh officials invite "Borat" to visit the country. Borat, a fictional Kazakh journalist character created by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, has portrayed the Central Asian nation in, well, a less-than-flattering light. But the former Soviet republic wants to communicate its own genuine image to the world, and has invited Cohen to see for himself. No word yet on the comic's response.

October 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

North American Union? Terrible Idea.

Want to hear something crazy? Not just a little crazy, but something so outrageous and ridiculous it's hard to even believe?

Get this: Serious plans exist to merge the U.S., Canada, and Mexico into a single North American entity a la the European Union.

(Here's a pause for everyone's jaws to drop.)

Yes, that's right - our national sovereignity is in potentially serious danger right under our noses. The proposal, devised at American University (or should we now call it North American University?) by faculty subsidized by the U.S. State Department, calls for a similar entity to the EU, with a united economy, new currency (the Amero, which would replace the dollar), and collaborative militaries. This would not, of course, happen overnight, but rather over a gradual fifty-year integration process, similar to the beginnings of the EU.

This all may sound too far-fetched to be true, but be assured - it is genuine. Earlier this year, top American officials such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of State George Shultz, and former CIA director R. James Woolsey met with similarly high-ranking counterparts from Canada and Mexico to discuss the issue. Furthermore, American University's website exposes the agenda for all to see.

Now you may be asking yourself - what's the big deal? Surely such a move could not occur without majority voter consent in all three nations.

But while that is certainly true, the plan could sneak by more easily than perhaps thought. This point also reveals why such a merger would best benefit Mexico and most hurt the United States. America's per capita GDP stands well above Canada's and towers over Mexico's. And because the plan intends to achieve North American economic integration by funneling money from wealthier areas to poorer regions, hundreds of billions of our tax dollars will be taken to fund development in Mexico and Canada. Quite naturally, then, both Canadian and Mexican citizens may be inclined to vote for such a bill.

For ordinary Americans, however, it would be a tremendous loss. In addition to higher taxes, we would face an even larger government bureaucracy and all its significant shortcomings. Such an entity is currently ruining Europe, and it could easily drag down the dynamic individualism and grass-roots work ethic that largely underlie America's optimistic exceptionalism and phenomenal general success.

Nevertheless, a massive media campaign will no doubt be prepared in order to sway American voters. It worked in Europe, and like them, we could fall under the sway of a North American Union almost before we know it.

The battle, however, is far from lost. These developments can easily be halted in their tracks if the American people reject them. Given that the plan, if implemented, would erode our national identity at our own cultural and financial expense, I certainly believe most Americans would vote against it. And if we spread the word early enough, we can perhaps even prevent it from becoming a possibility.

A North American Union might work as, say, a sports league, but not as a political entity. The U.S., Canada, and Mexico have all functioned plenty well as separate countries, and there's no need to fix what isn't broken. Long live America...the United States of America.

October 17, 2006 in American Politics | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

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