Tuesday, October 26, 2010
An Anti-Politician Politician?
We've discussed this campaign ad in class briefly. How do you think it relates to polls? How does this ad reflect the widely reported anti-incumbent mood in the United States this election season? Could it be that political polling actually increased this sentiment over the past few months? Make connections between this campaign in which anti-incumbent Ron Johnson has a lead over Russ Feingold or other national campaigns across the country. How do you see polls reflecting American opinion, and where you view polls influencing public opinion?
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polls are related to campaign ads because they are the closest representation (other than the election itself) of how successful the ads, as well as the rest of the campaign, are in influencing public opinion. this ad represents the anti incumbent mood because of ron's pretty direct statement that most of the senate is made up of lawyers, and that is a bad thing and should be changed. Political polling could be a contributor to the anti-incumbent sentiment because when people see that a large number of people are against the incumbents, it could affect their own opinion of the incumbents because of a widely held perception that the majority opinion has more influence and is correct most of the time, and it can snowball from there. This campaign is related to any other campaign in which an inexperienced candidate (for example, Scott Sipprell of the 12th congressional district) is providing serious competition or even a threat to an incumbent candidate (for example, Rush Holt, Sipprelle's opponent). most polls reflect public opinion, because that is their main purpose, but the same polls can influence public opinion, for the same reason i listed before where a significant rise in support of an opinion (for example, a preference for a republican controlled congress or even anti-incumbent sentiment) can influence people. Now, for a couple side notes. In my opinion, ron johnson is a puppet of the republican party who is trying to gloss over the fact that he has no political experience or expertise by marketing it look like a positive quality of his campaign. I believe the main advantage Ron Johnson has over Russ Feingold is that Ron Johnson looks exactly like the pillsbury dough boy (which is why I assume he has so many supporters, the pillsbury dough boy is just too damn cute to vote against). But honestly, if a political ad like the one above can have any positive effect on public opinion, it is only a matter of time until we see ads that say 'Hi, my name is Billy Jack and I spend my weekends beating my kids and watching pornography. Elect me to be your senator.' If people like Ron Johnson and Christine O'Donnel win seats in this midterm, I'm moving to Canada. No, scratch that, I'll move to hell because over there the policies enacted by these idiots wont have any effect on me...
ReplyDeleteWell as always Firas hit just about every single facet of the question, and thats pretty tough to follow. But polls do play a vital roll in campaigns because they are basically the only statistical feedback as to how the turn out is leaning. And as well as interpreting the public opinion, it can also influence it, swaying the undecided voeters. This specific ad shows the anti-incumbant mood with Johnson showing that we have a lawyer dominated senate, and that isn't working for us. Polls add to this point because with the more undecided's see people be against the incumbant, the more likely they are to vote against them as well. As we discussed in class, this is becoming far from abnormal. Having the lesser experienced fresh candidate actually stands a decent chance. IT's seen as less experienced, yes, but its also less to scrutinize which makes campaigning less messy. Personally, maybe its just the majority of politicians at this time of year, but they all come off as slimy spineless morons acting like a bunch of middle school girls playing off rumors they can start about their opponant. It leaves me feeling like i'm being given a choice between a hick who can barely tie his shoes and some egotistical lawyer who can only see dollar signs. Neither of which do i want to represent me and my economical future. It comes down to the lesser of two evils, and a short list of Pro's and a ridiculously long list of Con's.
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ReplyDeleteSorry I was having trouble posting so I had to test it first.
ReplyDeletePolls relate to campaign ads because they inform the candidates on how to advertise themselves by giving them a rough idea of public opinion. Because of the anti-incumbant mood, the ads are going to focus on how "ordinary" the candidates are-how they are just like the voters. I get the anti-incumbant sentiments, because it's good to have fresh faces and ideas, but all I can think about when the ads come on and they say "I'm just your average guy," is how all the ordinary people I know would be awful politicians. I don't think just anyone can be a good politician. Also, they say straight up, "i'm not a politician." Okay, what are they doing running for office then? I mean, most of the people I know aren't politicians either, aka they know nothing about politics or government. Anyway, I get why they say it though-like Firas said, it gives the inexperienced candidates an advantage over the veterans, and because of the information from the polls, they can take advantage of the public's anti-incumbant sentiments. I think polls influence voters to some degree, especially like Katie said, for the undecided voters. And it is understandable that polls swing some voters a certain way, because you don't want to throw your vote away at someone who only has a 10% chance of winning. But I also think that the people who watch polls the most are probably politically active and pretty firm in their decision.
Polls, a survey of public opinion, relate to campaign ads because of the influences campaign ads have on the public’s opinion of candidates. The results of polls can then be reflected in campaign ads to promote a candidate or denounce the opposing one. Based on poll results from this election season, re-election of an incumbent for office is at an all- time low. This ad reflects the widely reported anti-incumbent mood by condemning Russ Feingold and advocating himself, Ron Johnson. He states how he is an accountant and manufacturer, knowledgeable about budgets and creating jobs, which encourage the development of our economy. Political polling could have definitely increased the sentiment of anti- incumbency. As pollsters see results promoting anti- incumbency, it could sway their decision based on majority vote. A reason Ron Johnson has a lead on Russ Feingold, the incumbent of this election, is because of polling. Polls reflect public opinion because they are, in fact, a survey of public assessment, but polls can be unreliable because of many factors. These include: not everyone responds to polls, some people who respond aren’t knowledgeable about the candidates, the wording of polls can sway a pollster one way or another, and sometimes the posted results of polls are only the results that favor the candidate the poll was intended for. Polls can then influence public opinion because if people see that a candidate is doing well, based on poll results, they may be influenced to vote for that candidate because the majority is. Many times people, knowledgeable about the candidate or not, go with the flow of majority opinion. Polls do influence public opinion.
ReplyDeletewell... first of all,campaign ads are obviously related to the polls because they help people learn and make opinions about the candidates. This affects the polls. In this ad, Johnson is pointing out how most of the senators are lawyers and we need change. This is part of the anti-incumbent movement because he is saying how we need change, and electing new senators is the only way to accomplish this. As already pointed out, the polital polling can inhance this anti-incumbent movement because people can see that others are changing their opinions so they might change their opinion based upon what the polls are saying..and these polls often affect peoples opinions. also the undecided voters may look to polls for an assureance. When polls are conducted properly they do most often accurately reflect public opinion.. These polls influence public opinions because they show what everyone else is thinking. and people might not vote for someone just because they think or see in a poll that they dont have a chance of winning becasue they want their vote to matter and instead they might vote for a different canidate just because they have a chance to win. the end.
ReplyDeleteThis add is very anti incumbent because it states directly that we need people who arent lawyers in the government. Ron Johnson thinks that he would do a better job than people who have been in the white house for a long time because he will bring in better ideas on how to fix the economy. Polls are showing that the majority of Americans want the incumbents out of office. Campaign adds such as this one probably have increased that sentiment because they make people more aware of the anti incumbent attitude and then the people think, oh yea, thats a good idea.People are polling based on what they hear on adds, and people who see the poll results are changing their minds based on what poll results show. However, as we learned in class, polls are not alwas accurate and people may change their minds to somebody with a little more political experience. Because, basically, anti incumbant politicians are saying that they are proud to not know very much about politics..
ReplyDeleteCampaign ads can be connected to polls because polls can help influence public opinion, and polls can represent our views on things in general if they are accurate. Campaign ads can affect people's views and can change the outcome. They could do this by changing the habit of the non-voters. Non-voters could see this, form a negative opinion of the candidate and actually go out and vote for someone else, and polls can do the same thing if citizens see that a person does not represent their views. This ad reflects the anti-incumbent mood because it just shoots incumbents in the senate down, and helps form an mood towards voters of a anti-incumbent view. This is formed because of the negative energy that is put on the spot, I believe most people have totally different views of voting for incumbents after watching this. Now the polls show that Americans are a wee bit mad with what's happening with the country and the voters are ready to take charge! The republican voters that are actually are going to vote have the democrats outnumbered by 49 to 40. When people see that the majority of public opinion is against incumbents it can really shake up their opinions. However, polls can be inaccurate. This is because there are a lot of diverse people in this country and the polls have to reflect the view of 250 million people. The people how have the input in the polls can be ignorant and not even put in a honest response. However again, people often will change their opinions on the polls and majority opinion will change. Ron Johnson shows how incumbents are lawyers and shows us that we don't need lawyers, what we need are more manufacturers and accountants. This sentiment shows that lawyers don't know how to balance a budget, Johnson puts the pressure on the incumbents. This shows people that change is needed and in order to do this they basically need to vote anti-incumbent or which is basically republican for now. The polls show that people who voted for the incumbents are lazy and won't vote, and the people who want change are going to vote for change. This ad gives a boost to those who are inexperienced and Johnson helps his own cause by explaining why we need to change our ways. I see polls reflecting American opinion in a variety of ways. They do this by showing by presenting information based on a small amount and presenting it to a large population. Polls reflect American opinion by showing public opinion, and they can be influenced through people disagreeing through public opinion. Polls influence people to go with the crowd most of the time, and the more uneducated votes assume that the majority's opinion is the best. However what the majority's opinion on things may not necessarily be whats best for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this ad directly relects the anti-incombent mood, because Ron Johnson is specifically addressing the fact that there are so many senators that are lawyers in our government and its just not working for us. An he's getting at the whole "pick me because im new, im not a lawyer, and change is a good thing" method.Which obviously for some people, really works because they like to believe that new is always the best bet. Especially since Johnson is differentiating himself from Feingold by saying that he's an accountant. and since our economy right now is really one of the major concerns for the people, it makes him seem like he's got an advantage, and more experience with economical issues therefor can fix everything better then a lawyer (Feingold) can. The polling now is showing that people want a change. and they'd rather have a new face around then an incombent. Like we talked about in class, peoples opinions affect polls just as much as the polls affect peoples opinions. A people vote, obviously the results of the polls change, but as the results change, it may affect the option of the people who have not yet voted. say the polls show one candidate up by 9% or more, considering the slight inaccuracy, you could be pretty certain that that candidate is likely to win. and if you were one to vote for the other candidate, and you see the poll, you might think "what's the point?" In this campain, it shows that Ron Johnson probaby has the slight advantage because he is "the change" and people who dont like how things are running now usually just go for change even if it may not be the exact change they are looking for. I think this is sort of like the whole McCain-Obama thing because after Bush, and the many years of Republican presidents, people wanted a change. and most likely democrats were going to win whether it was Obama or some other democratic president just because the people saw what they didn't want anymore, and went for the "change" or the other candidate. But anyway, i think polls are important beucase not only do they give a representation of how the end results may be, they play a roll in who gets out there and votes. If its a close race between 2 candidates, its probably more likely that people who might not have voted if the polls showed the results leaning one way, would vote. especially since we have a strong sense that we (the people) have a say in what goes on in our govt.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that everyone has almost the same thing, I'll just restate it in my own way. This campaign ad relates to the polls because many americans are anti incumbent. More and more americans are wanting politicians that are like them, rather than incumbents and people who were lawyers. The americans want a person who has experienced what they are experiencing and can thus relate to them more. The polling in these past few months has made more americans realize this. This is why many politicians are leading over the incumbent, in not only Wisconsin, but also in states such as Alaska, where the incumbent actually lost the Republican nomination and may win by a write in. The polls are reflecting the opinion of the minority voters who have this opinion, yet these ads could possibly change the views of many, and the majority of people may then vote for the incumbent.
ReplyDeleteThis ad campaign relates to polls in that Ron Johnson is trying to appeal to the anti incumbent sentiment that the polls are showing. He basically says that too many senators are lawyers that don't care enough. These ads might prove effective in increasing anti incumbent sentiment. I think that the polls are both reflecting the majority opinion and influencing it.
ReplyDeleteRon Johnson created this ad in reaction to the polls. Feingold is a lawyer and has been the WI senator for several terms. This ad wasn't made to influence the polls, but as a result. Johnson is trying to get to people who are tired of the current senator but probably won't vote. He's saying that he isn't just another lawyer who's trying to move up the ladder to get more money. He's just an average citizen (with a little more money than the rest of us...) who wants to do what he thinks is best for everyone. Johnson currently has the lead over Feingold because of this anti-incumbent mood that is present in more states than just WI. Generally, these ads have a decently sized impact on the polls. This one may push the polls one way or another a little bit, but I think, most likely, it's just reflecting the mood that can be found in many places across the nation.
ReplyDeleteCampaign ads obviously relate to polls because they educate voters and how effective the ads are can be shown by polls. In this ad Ron Johnson is showing that the majority of senators are lawyers and we need a change, this reflects the anti-incumbent mood, that people like change and are always looking for a change in how things are done in our government. Polls both reflect and influence public opinion in America. They reflect it by obviously showing generally how Americans are voting and they influence public opinion, because some people may change their vote based on how the general public are voting.
ReplyDeleteI think it relates to the polls because econmy is the biggest factor in the upcoming elections, and Ron Johnson says why he can fix it. It reflects the anti-incumbent mood by talking about how the people it the senate don't how to create jobs and balance a budget. The polls could be affecting it because like Mark Twain said there are very few original ideas. This like other campaigns that are attacking incumbents because people don't like where the country is headed and they want someone new. I think polls reflect who they ask, not america. I think polls influence opinions because people form their opinions on a variety of things including polls.
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