Political Theater vs Informed Voters: GR Press & the new Mike Cox Ad

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox unveiled a new political ad today in his quest to win voters as the Republican candidate for Governor. The Cox ad begins by going after another GOP gubernatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra.

The ad uses the metaphor of building a bridge for the future of the state, a bridge that looks much like the Mackinac. However, Cox quickly turns his attention on two votes that 2^nd Congressional Representative Pete Hoekstra has made in recent years.

The first is a vote to support funding for a bridge in Alaska, which was later amended to be a bridge damaged in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. The legislation was dubbed “Bridge to Nowhere,” but viewers of the Cox ad would be hard-pressed to know this.

The ad then goes after Hoekstra’s decision to vote for the  $850 billion Wall Street Bailout and adds that Hoekstra voted to add “$1 Trillion dollars for new spending.” The ad’s narrator then states, “Congressman Hoekstra is making big government bigger.”

The political ad then transitions to a few positive notes about Cox, such as his fight against the national health care legislation, Governor Granholm and Blue Cross & Blue Shield. The spot ends by saying that Mike Cox is “tough enough to lead Michigan.”

Political Theater vs Informing Voters

The Grand Rapids Press today has a piece by Lansing-based reporter Peter Luke that looks at the Cox ad. Unfortunately, the Press article does little to critique the Cox ad or verify the claims made in it. Instead, the reporter chooses to get a response from Hoekstra’s campaign manager about the claims made against Hoekstra.

Hoekstra did vote for the Wall Street Bailout and his campaign manager doesn’t deny it, but responds by saying that if the bailout was not approved, “GM, Chrysler and our supply base would not be here today.” The Press reporter doesn’t question the response, because to investigate such a comment would detract from the political theater he wants to encourage. Luke adds to this theater by including more comments from Hoekstra’s campaign manager, which distracts voters from the issues.

The Press article then says that the Hoekstra campaign is claiming that the “Cox campaign is coordinating efforts with a group called Americans for Job Security, which apparently purchased $134,000 worth of ads in the Grand Rapids media market echoing similar anti-Hoekstra themes.” This is an interesting observation, but the Press doesn’t bother to tell us who the Americans for Job Security (AJS) are. According to Source Watch, AJS is a front group for the US Chamber of Commerce and an active opponent of the Employee Free Choice Act.

The remainder of the Press article is devoted to recent polling from the Rasmussen Reports, as well as “conflicts” between the two Democratic challengers Virg Bernero and Andy Dillon.

The Press would serve its readers better by investigating the claims of the candidates instead of posting stories about mud-slinging between candidates.