Yo! Calling all rubes

"Yo, what's the big fucking deal" sounds like a rap star. "Y'all", sounds like southern cooking maven, Paula Deen. Who will ever forget the sound of former president, John F. Kennedy, from Massachusetts, whose resonating speech patterns were as much a part of his appeal as his eloquence.

Think of a Californian and many Americans equate it with "hippie's and stoners or ex-actors playing politics; the Midwest conjures images of a farmer on a tractor plowing the fields, Texas, cowboys, Florida, land of an elderly population of retirees, New Yorker's bear an easily recognizable speech pattern, often associated with a New York state of mind.

Today's political news includes the reporting of a campaign ad, aired by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that was pulled from television due to the inference of an "insulting" depiction of West VIrginians. The story carries reports and subsequent denials that a "casting call" for actors with a "hicky, blue collar look" were recruited for a political campaign ad for television titled "Stop Obama", whose purpose was to link Governor Joe Manchin and President Obama.

The requirements for this gig were middle-aged men attired in jeans, work shirts, Dickie type jacket, denim and flannel shirts, down-filled vests and "not new" John Deere and trucker hats. Regardless of the verbiage, the concept was clearly to depict several working class men in a political debate about the candidates.

The wars wage on, with Governor Manchin chastising GOP candidate, John Raese for what he terms a smear campaign. Manchin states "John Raese and his special interest friends have insulted the people of West Virginia and need to apologize immediately". Gov. Manchin accuses Raese of lies and distortion and "we can new see once and for all what he and his friends really think of West Virginia and our people".

The ads began airing this week and are reportedly being pulled from rotation. Recent polls suggest a tight race between Manchin and GOP candidate John Raese.

Manchin said the ads were a clear indicator that Raese was out of touch with the working class of West Virginia.

“It’s offensive and it only proves that John Raese has spent too much time in the state of Florida, living in his Palm Beach mansion, and doesn’t know, understand or respect the great people of this state, and what we stand for,” Manchin stated.

Raese’s campaign, of course, says they are in no way affiliated with the ad and deems it ridiculous. Raise's campaign manager further states, “As a matter of fact, we asked that it be taken down long before it went public. But this campaign isn't about TV ads, it's about the 7,169 West Virginia seniors who are being told they are losing their health coverage because of Obamacare that Joe Manchin rubber stamped.”

The 30-second ad features two men telling a third man at a diner about the difference between the Manchin of West Virginia and the Manchin of Washington. A link to the ad on YouTube, posted by Politico (a multimedia political news source based out of Washington, D.C.), was removed Thursday morning.

The script, a back and forth between two of the actors, reads:

“Obama’s messin’ things up. … Spending money we don’t have. … Stimulus. Obamacare. … And Joe Manchin supported it all. … Joe’s not bad as governor, but when he’s with Obama, … he turns into ‘Washington Joe.’ … And ‘Washington Joe’ does whatever Obama wants. … Yeah, well, we’d better keep Joe Manchin right here in West Virginia. … Away from Washington. … Yep. It’s the only way we’re gonna stop Obama.”

The ad ends with the slogan, “A vote for Manchin is a vote for Obama.”

Now begin the denials as to any association in the creation, content or approval of this ad. According to the e-mail provided to Politico, Jamestown Associates requested a male around the age of 55 and a male around the age of 45 that would reflect the middle-class and “represent the middle of the country… Ohio, Pittsburgh, West Virginia area.”

“No one at the NRSC, or associated with the NRSC, had anything to do with the language used in this casting call,” NRSC spokesperson Brian Walsh told CBS. “We do not support it, and suffice to say, we would encourage our contractors to never work with this outside agency again.”

All the money spent on this ad, not only flushed down the toilet, but the predictability of the denial of accountability creates the rampant mistrust by the American people in our government. The lies, the cover-ups, the schemes, the non-transparency of everything political reeks Washington D.C.

Personally, I find the stereotype of the working class West Virginian a hell of alot more admirable than the stereotypical "snake in the grass" slithering through Washington D.C.

And so it goes...