Some political campaigns need copy editors
July 27th, 2008 by Alex Pickett in Our GovernmentGot this from the Darden Rice campaign for Pinellas County commissioner:
Darden asks Rene, “Where’d ya get that yard sign?”
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Yard signs are among the most visible parts of a campaign – and so are their hiccups. The Darden Rice campaign posted a picture today of her opponent’s misspelled yard sign …
“There are just some details you have to get right,” said Darden Rice. “Especially the name of the job you’re asking voters to hire you for.”
Here’s that photo:
Now, do you think former St. Petersburg City Councilmember Rene Flowers has to pay for those signs?
But the real question I have is this: Is a misspelled yard sign really that big of deal to voters? As a Pinellas County resident — with all the issues facing us like taxes, crunched budgets, crime — would a yard sign really make or break your support for Flowers? Or does it make Rice look petty?
July 28th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Well you would immediately suspect me to be biased, of course, because I designed the sign and provided CORRECT art work (went out of my way to verify this after my heart stopped beating). How the sign printer went out of his way to make this error, I have yet to understand (giving him some time to recover before asking).
But to answer your question, as I would tell ANY CANDIDATE, signs don’t win elections.
Additionally, mistakes do happen in campaigns and are corrected.
To your point, yes, I think it fairly petty of the opponent to try to make this a campaign issue, and MAYBE something of a reflection of her character. I know that if she had fallen victim to the same error, I firmly believe René Flowers would have thought nothing of it, said nothing about it, and gone on with her campaign, stressing her substantial credentials that no other candidate offers in this race (OK, sorry, that ws campaigning).
Really, people vote as much on emotional impressions of candidates as they do on experience and positions. What impression does this leave on an uninformed voter? It can certainly go either way, but that, in itself, is a failed strategy, because you really only want IT to go your way.
Does that answer your question?
July 28th, 2008 at 10:36 am
PS No she didn’t pay for the bad signs. And if it had been my fault, I would have paid for them, no questions asked. Really, mistakes happen. Blame is counter-productive. You simply fix the error and move on. No harm, no foul. Really, someone is making far too much of this. Yard signs are not what are on voters’ minds. You know this better than anyone, Wayne.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Just to clarify, Wayne didn’t write this post. And thanks for the response.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I kind of think it is a big deal. Not big enough to make or break the campaign, but come on! I think it does reflect poorly. Mistakes usually do. Yeah everybody makes them, but in situations like this, it’s not something thats so easily overlooked.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
This is just one of many things that create doubt in my mind about Rene Flowers. She isn’t working hard. She doesn’t want to work hard. She just wants a job.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Don’t try to hide that yard sign in your pants at the airport, they will find it.
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