# Actual TV ad in Texas **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 1, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525 "2012-11-01T04:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/1 "2012-11-01T04:18:00Z")
I suppose this is technically about the election, since it’s a political ad. You know you’re in Texas when this is an actual ad: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HAIu8NBYUvE/hqdefault.jpg "Priority - TV:30") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIu8NBYUvE) For the youtube impaired: > [@](#): > > Mike Anderson, a tenacious prosecutor, he served as a chief felony prosecutor in the Special Crimes Bureau, prosecuting the worst of the worst, demanding justice for their victims. As a law and order judge, Mike Anderson handed down thousands of years of prison time, and signed orders sending murderers to death row. Because safer neighborhoods are Mike Anderson’s first priority. A prosecutor, not a politician. Mike Anderson for District Attorney. He’s running for Harris County District Attorney, i.e. Houston, Texas. I swear, this sounds like something SNL would do as a parody. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/2 "2012-11-01T04:29:11Z")
I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/3 "2012-11-01T04:30:07Z")
Maybe I’m missing something here but I’m not sure what you find so shocking. He is claiming to be a prosecutor who has been tough on crime and has fought to see the law enforced. He has pushed for the death penalty whenever possible. Since he’s running for office in a state that is _ **very** _ pro-death penalty and _ **very** _ law and order I don’t get what you find outrageous here. To me it looks like the sort of ad that could get you elected DA in Texas. And I say that as someone who lived in Texas, and the Houston area, for 22 years. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/4 "2012-11-01T04:59:49Z")
I don’t get it either. Well, I found it funny that he had a picture in his courtroom of a cannon with the phrase “Come and take it”. But since you transcribed the video, I assume that’s not what you were talking about. It seemed like a normal political ad to me. I was expecting some hootin’ and hollerin’. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/5 "2012-11-01T05:08:33Z")
It’s a perfectly normal ad if a bit blunt and to the point. Are you an actual person from Ireland and the hardcore punishment sensibilities of the ad shock you? ## If so, let me assure you that’s just a taste of how Americans like their justice served up. I just looked at your profile. You’re from _Texas_. and you find this surprising? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/6 "2012-11-01T05:14:18Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I just looked at your profile. You’re from _Texas_. and you find this surprising? I did the same thing. The location was the only thing I found surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/7 "2012-11-01T05:18:48Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Well, I found it funny that he had a picture in his courtroom of a cannon with the phrase “Come and take it”. It’s a symbol from the Texas Revolution and is on a lot of stuff in gov’t buildings there. Its sort of morphed into an NRA thing too, but I suspect that’s not the main reason it was in a Texas courtroom. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/8 "2012-11-01T05:22:12Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I suppose this is technically about the election, since it’s a political ad. > > You know you’re in Texas when this is an actual ad: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIu8NBYUvE&feature=player\_embedded](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIu8NBYUvE&feature=player_embedded) > > For the youtube impaired: > > He’s running for Harris County District Attorney, i.e. Houston, Texas. I swear, this sounds like something SNL would do as a parody. TEXAS is the most barbaric state in the union, and judging by the answers on this thread people are immune to barbarism. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/9 "2012-11-01T05:27:20Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > TEXAS is the most barbaric state in the union, and judging by the answers on this thread people are immune to barbarism. I thought Mississippi was the most barbaric state. Huh. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/10 "2012-11-01T05:34:31Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > TEXAS is the most barbaric state in the union, and judging by the answers on this thread people are immune to barbarism. The man is running for prosecutor. He boasts about successful prosecutions. Do you think a candidate for county cowboy should crow about all the cattle he mislaid? ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/11 "2012-11-01T05:39:59Z")
I don’t give a fuck if he’s running for dog catcher. I’m simply responding to the visceral response of the OP, incredulous at the ad. Barbarians like being who they are, but a lot of people think they’re creeps. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/12 "2012-11-01T07:22:06Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > I don’t give a fuck if he’s running for dog catcher. I’m simply responding to the visceral response of the OP, incredulous at the ad. Barbarians like being who they are, but a lot of people think they’re creeps. What, specifically, makes Texans barbaric? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/13 "2012-11-01T08:16:49Z")
> [@astro](#): > > What, specifically, makes Texans barbaric? As set out in the OP, “As a law and order judge, Mike Anderson handed down thousands of years of prison time, and signed orders sending murderers to death row.” That sure sounds like a person being elected for convicting rather than judging, sentencing based on incarceration rather than alternative measures, and of course promotion of the utterly barbaric and inexcusible death penalty, which occasionally results in the killing of innocent people. In short, the barbarity of a system that kills people, that incarcerates far too many people for far too long, and that does not result in a safer society. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/14 "2012-11-01T08:44:54Z")
You’d think that simply stating the number of convictions would be sufficient to justify being elected to DA, and I found the additional detail macabre and unnecessary. But, you know… Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/15 "2012-11-01T13:20:32Z")
I haven’t watched the ad at Youtube. Nor have I seen it on TV. I’m against the death penalty & tend not to vote for Republicans. But Mike Anderson has expressed other opinions. From the [Houston Chronicle](http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Mike-Anderson-for-district-attorney-3903859.php): > [@](#): > > Anderson…says his objective as DA would be to “make the office predictable, where the rules are the rules and the office follows the law.” He asserts that there are questions about the conduct of the office, dating back to the days of disgraced former DA [Chuck Rosentha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Rosenthal_(district_attorney))l, and that there shouldn’t be… > > We heard what we think is one of the candidate’s best ideas for gaining public confidence and respect during Anderson’s screening with the _Chronicle_ editorial board. He made reference to the language of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, which says: “It shall be the primary duty of all prosecuting attorneys, including any special prosecutors, not to convict, but to see that justice is done.” > > Amen. Too often, there is a feeling that being a prosecutor is a race to the top won by the person who can collect the most scalps, justice be damned. The office had that reputation for too many years, and we don’t want to go back there again. When appealing to the Texas Yahoos, he’ll count up them convictions & executions. Otherwise, he’s not all that bad for a Republican. Alas, here’s his opponent: > [@](#): > > The Democratic hopeful, Lloyd Wayne Oliver, has admitted that he files for office mostly to get his name before the public in order to drum up law business. That attitude is beyond shameful. If you really want to get upset about a Texan,[pick this guy:](http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/12901/romney-considering-texas-attorney-general-greg-abbott-for-epa-administrator) > [@](#): > > News has leaked about who Mitt Romney is considering for his cabinet posts. The National Journal has a great exposé on the findings, making the point that Romney clearly feels indebted to Republican Party loyalists (who double as 1950’s loyalists minus the high taxes on the rich). > > Four Texans pop up on the list. The most disturbing news is that **Romney is considering Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to head the Environmental Protection Agency**. Why’s that so disturbing? Because Abbott’s career as Texas Attorney General has been largely defined by his opposition to any and all EPA regulations. > > Imagine next Thursday. If Romney wins the presidential election, he may well announce his imminent appointment of a pollution-supporting corporate whore to head the U.S. government’s entire environmental protection arm. We would have to say bye to being able to breathe without getting sick, drink water without contracting disease, or feel any hope for the earth we will leave behind for our children. I’m not exaggerating. The man doesn’t believe that America’s federal government has a role to play in protecting the environment. That is an\*\* insane\*\* position. > > Abbott is a radical extremist on everything. He has compared Planned Parenthood to a terrorist organization, spent millions of Texas dollars on a fruitless lawsuit against Obamacare and defending Texas’s unconstitutional Voter ID laws in court, and he’s exposed millions of Texans’ social security numbers. He’s insane, wasteful, and dangerously sloppy… ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/16 "2012-11-01T20:27:38Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Maybe I’m missing something here but I’m not sure what you find so shocking. He is claiming to be a prosecutor who has been tough on crime and has fought to see the law enforced. He has pushed for the death penalty whenever possible. Since he’s running for office in a state that is _ **very** _ pro-death penalty and _ **very** _ law and order I don’t get what you find outrageous here. > > To me it looks like the sort of ad that could get you elected DA in Texas. That’s the point - the ad seems like a preposterous exaggeration when so blatantly bragging about sending people to Death Row, yet this is exactly the kind of ad to get elected in Texas. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I haven’t watched the ad at Youtube. Nor have I seen it on TV. Well, I did give a verbatim transcript. Except I didn’t mark the emphasis. > [@](#): > > I’m against the death penalty & tend not to vote for Republicans. But Mike Anderson has expressed other opinions. From the [Houston Chronicle](http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Mike-Anderson-for-district-attorney-3903859.php): Those comments are much more reasonable. That would be the kind of thing to stress in an ad that would get my support. Rather than emphasizing his use of Death Row. > [@](#): > > Alas, here’s his opponent: Yeah, that guy is pretty despicable. Thanks for the heads up. > [@](#): > > If you really want to get upset about a Texan,[pick this guy:](http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/12901/romney-considering-texas-attorney-general-greg-abbott-for-epa-administrator) I know what you’re saying. Greg Abbott was leading the charge in suing against the EPA. The claim is that Texas has its own environmental control board and already has strict enough controls, we don’t need no stinking feds to come in and tell us how to protect our air quality and all that. His belief is that the EPA is not acting just to reasonably control pollution, but to stifle industry and power production. It’s a fairly common opinion in Texas, and judging by Romney in other states. This is Texas, where the Republican Primary for the Senate had a race between David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz. Dewhurst is the Republican Lt. Governor of Texas under Rick Perry. Ted Cruz is a Tea Party supported candidate who is also a lawyer. They got into a nasty negative campaign. The worst accusation about Cruz: he’s a lawyer who defends a Chinese company for violating US patents and putting an American company out of business. The worst accusation against Dewhurst: he’s a _moderate Republican_, so-and-so calls him a _moderate_ Republican, elsewhere he was called a _moderate_ Republican. Guess who won the primary? By the way, Ted Cruz was Soliciter General under Gregg Abbott. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/17 "2012-11-01T20:48:37Z")
> [@astro](#): > > What, specifically, makes Texans barbaric? The unkempt mullets, the comically accented English, the barely-suppressed homoeroticism… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/18 "2012-11-01T20:56:44Z")
Bar-B-Q, pecan pie and Willy Nelson. 'Nuff sed. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/19 "2012-11-01T21:20:44Z")
I’m from Montreal, and I can’t see what’s so shocking or even especially Texasy about the ad. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525/20 "2012-11-01T21:21:39Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > The unkempt mullets, the comically accented English, the barely-suppressed homoeroticism… On the other hand, I hear good things about the amount the courts can bench-suppress. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-tv-ad-in-texas/639525.md?page=2)