Can the AG build border wall? Bush political ad assumes you’re dumb enough to fall for that
Plenty of political ads are stupid.
But the ones that stand out are the ones made on the assumption that you’re stupid.
George P. Bush, the Republican aiming to move up from land commissioner to attorney general, has a new TV spot that asserts he has a plan to “finish Trump’s wall.”
It doesn’t say what the plan is. Nor does it explain how the attorney general — the state’s top civil attorney, consumer protection chief and child-support enforcer — can get into the construction business.
The claim comes in an ad that targets rival Eva Guzman. If incumbent Republican Ken Paxton is to be drawn into a primary runoff, it’s likely to be against either Bush or Guzman, and they’re increasingly battling each other for that second-place slot.
To be fair, Bush is far from alone in campaigning this way.
Matt Krause, the Fort Worth state representative who wants to be Tarrant County district attorney, says in his mailers that he’ll take on critical race theory in schools and, naturally, border security.
He doesn’t say a thing about prosecuting crime. But then, Krause probably doesn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he’s never been anywhere near the criminal justice system.
Bush, Krause and the like are responding to what they (and their campaign strategists, of course) think GOP primary voters care most about. They’re not wrong; in poll after poll, Republicans call border security and immigration their top concerns. Even Comptroller Glenn Hegar feels the need to talk about what he’s done about the border while serving as the state’s bookkeeper.
It’s too bad, though. There are plenty of conservative priorities to be addressed in each of these positions, ones that are legitimately tied to the offices the candidates seek.
Plus, when voters hear every politician vow to secure the border, and then it doesn’t happen to their liking, it adds to cynicism about our government and politics. Breaking promises is bad, but making promises you can’t possibly keep is arguably worse.
And maybe, if more politicians campaigned for the job they actually seek, they would educate some voters along the way, too.
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This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 5:05 AM.
