# Vote GOP 2018! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2018, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756 "2018-04-20T05:02:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/21 "2018-04-21T03:14:18Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I can’t see the posters at the moment (stupid firewalls) but in a “Helping!” effort will point you to [my own humble advertising campaign proposal](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20911477&postcount=19353). I noticed that! I liked it. I referenced that thread as the bit about righties being unreachable- it was claimed they could not be reasoned with or affected by ethical arguments. Well, there are only three classical modes of persuasion, and with ethos and logos crossed off the list, that leaves pathos. Because I _would_ like to reach them. Your approach is taunting. Mine is obviously ultra-critical, but it is very specific, no? I’m pointing out how shitty and ugly they can look. But it isn’t merely a taunt- they could always change some of those things, and then we could all go back to the Great American Kumbaya. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/22 "2018-04-21T03:21:35Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You know there’s a middle ground between “When they go low, we go high” (that was Hilary Clinton, BTW, not Michelle Obama) and ranting and raving, right? I remember that phrase mainly from Michelle Obama saying it in support of Hillary. And, I think you are interpreting the posters as “ranting and raving” because of your emotional reaction. And they _are_ intended as an appeal to pathos, but I think you are missing the message. Which is probably ok- if you get pissed off enough about something you will probably remember it, and that creates the opportunity for you to figure it out later. I’ll check out those links. I stopped watching those kind of shows a few years ago… ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/23 "2018-04-21T03:37:39Z")
**Gyrate** - I was posting from memory, and got your message confused with the covfefe thing. Which is why my response to you doesn’t make sense. **Chronos** - I guess you disagree with posts like [this one](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20911598&postcount=19354). I can respect your sticking with the rational approach whether it works or not. I’m not sure how many people will be swayed as that message isn’t entirely new, but who knows? Me, I’m branching out looking for something that mightyield more results, as previous approaches have left us with The Donald. Obviously cyber security against foreign powers is going to have to be part of the answer, but how do you fix that when the chief executive is captured? What if it is too late by any means? ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/24 "2018-04-21T08:32:13Z")
Good raw material. I think the #1 text should incorporate Family Values. #2 can be two separate panels, the long list of items is great (Support REAL Americans against: ) but Gunslinger Jesus deserves its own panel too. #3 could maybe use a MAGA hat. This was fun. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/25 "2018-04-21T12:47:19Z")
I also liked 2, but you need to add “Amazon Prime” in there, ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/26 "2018-04-21T13:03:30Z")
They look more like backdrops for ransom notes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/27 "2018-04-21T13:40:52Z")
It’s not that I don’t think there’s a place for emotional appeals. I just think that emotional appeals like the ones you’re making specifically are likely to be counterproductive. You have to figure out who your target is for any particular ad, and what emotions will influence them. In this case, you’re playing to fear. But Republicans are more motivated by fear than Democrats are. To a Democrat, the message that will be received is “You should fear Trump”, and that’s a useful message. But to a Republican, the message that will be received (even though it’s not the one you intended to send) is “You should fear Democrats”. And because Republicans are more motivated by fear than Democrats are, the message that you didn’t intend will be more effective than the one you did intend. Now, you could mitigate this by only sending your message to Democrats, or people you think are likely to be Democrats. But with a poster, in the Information Age, that’s impossible: Even if you only put it up in the solidest-blue areas, some Republican is going to see it, and take a picture, and spread it all over the Internet and other media. It could, however, work in one-on-one discussions, or in speeches to small groups. Or you can play on other emotions, which would have different effects. Your best bet here is to associate positive emotions with the candidates you like: That’s very difficult to corrupt. Tammy Duckworth, for instance, is doing an excellent job of this right now, using an even more emotion-based (and less fact-based) messaging: Right now, she’s associated with Motherhood, and Loving Babies, and everything that goes along with that. People are associating motherhood and love with Duckworth, and it’s tough to transform that into associating them with Trump, or to hating Duckworth, or to any other unintended message. And no, that’s not why she had her baby, but all the rest of us should still absolutely play it up to the max. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/28 "2018-04-21T14:01:37Z")
I hope Democrats understand the difference between doing something that is actually effective versus than doing something that simply makes you feel good. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/29 "2018-04-21T14:19:19Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I hope Democrats understand the difference between doing something that is actually effective versus than doing something that simply makes you feel good. As we found out, many Dems can’t be bothered to get off their fat ass and vote. We need to fix that before we do another thing. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/30 "2018-04-21T16:48:24Z")
Your first one looks like some unhinged nutjob made it. It doesn’t have visual appeal, except for the naked mudflap girls. Its message is “You should hate Republicans.” Liberals already do. Conservatives will look at it as an another example of how liberals have no Christian/family values and spread more horror tales about it. Voters who are on the fence won’t be swayed by it. If anything, they’ll vote Republican out of spite for you. The second one will just alienate Christians and southerners and make them feel like they’re being targeted. You have to understand the power of ads - designers want viewers to have a positive experience looking at it. This looks dangerous, like a ransom note, and has no appeal. You’re preaching to the anarchist choir and won’t win over many ambivalent voters. The third one looks like a poster for a punk show. It might draw a few “Hey look, it’s the Joker” comments, but then viewers will see the political stuff and walk on. It also makes China look like the bad guys instead of Trump, and the nationalists might think it supports their views. Overall, I don’t think these will start the enlightened political movement you’re looking for. All they do is express your negativity, and won’t make a dent in voting outcomes. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/31 "2018-04-21T17:33:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Posters like this will make the Republicans feel like they’re under attack, which will make them more engaged and likely to get out and vote. I fear you might be doing more harm than good. > [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Maybe. But guess what? YOU and ME are under attack. Can you explain the justification for $1 trillion deficits in the current economic climate? That is an excellent point. Can you explain how any of your posters address that? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/32 "2018-04-21T18:24:38Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > [Vote GOP 2018! Poster #1](https://i.imgur.com/wQiHaFA.jpg) > > [Vote GOP 2018! Poster #2](https://i.imgur.com/lGLBfzL.jpg) Poster #1 will attract more Trump votes then it turns away. Vote for Trump and he will send a porn star to your apartment. Who cares if the porn star has Nazi tattoos if she does anal? Great minds must think alike since I almost posted something like #2 just now in a GD thread about guns. What does it matter whether Scotus defends guns 5-4 or 9-0? The 2A didn’t come from FFs, it came from Jehovah. It’s pretty clear Jesus and his disciples had semi-automatics that night in the garden of Gethsemane and could have held off the soldiers if it weren’t for some libtard restriction on magazine capacity. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/33 "2018-04-21T19:12:24Z")
HA HA HA HA! Can someone remind me why we’re supposed to be against “the post office” again on Poster #2?? That is so funny. I mean, I think we can all unite on “hookers who blab”, but… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/34 "2018-04-21T21:39:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Posters like this will make the Republicans feel like they’re under attack, which will make them more engaged and likely to get out and vote. I fear you might be doing more harm than good. If they didn’t look like they were slapped together by a mental patient during mandatory arts and crafts time, then you’d be rightly worried. As it is, more laughable than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/35 "2018-04-21T22:39:41Z")
Here are some of the examples I was talking about: [The 53 Funniest Signs From the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear](http://www.funnyordie.com/articles/4e561641f4/the-funniest-signs-from-the-rally-to-restore-sanity-and-or-fear) A [google-image](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&tbm=isch&q=rally+to+restore+sanity&chips=q:rally+to+restore+sanity,online_chips:signs&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjn0YCpsszaAhVuoFkKHSo9DzgQ4lYIKigC&biw=1536&bih=727&dpr=1.25) search for the same. See, subtley and humor tend to work best. I’m not saying you have to use any of these, but it’s a good example of what you might want to aim for. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/36 "2018-04-21T22:58:27Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > This thread is about the three political campaign posters linked below. You really ought to save your comments until after you have viewed them. There is no nudity, profanity or blood in them, but nonetheless they may be NSFW if you work someplace sensitive to, oh, I dunno, controversy? We try not to talk politics where I work so I personally wouldn’t open these images there, but at previous workplaces I would have yukked it up. So, use your judgment. I think it’s nice that they’re letting you use scissors. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/37 "2018-04-23T00:52:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s not that I don’t think there’s a place for emotional appeals. I just think that emotional appeals like the ones you’re making specifically are likely to be counterproductive. You have to figure out who your target is for any particular ad, and what emotions will influence them. > > In this case, you’re playing to fear. But Republicans are more motivated by fear than Democrats are. To a Democrat, the message that will be received is “You should fear Trump”, and that’s a useful message. But to a Republican, the message that will be received (even though it’s not the one you intended to send) is “You should fear Democrats”. And because Republicans are more motivated by fear than Democrats are, the message that you didn’t intend will be more effective than the one you did intend. > > Now, you could mitigate this by only sending your message to Democrats, or people you think are likely to be Democrats. But with a poster, in the Information Age, that’s impossible: Even if you only put it up in the solidest-blue areas, some Republican is going to see it, and take a picture, and spread it all over the Internet and other media. It could, however, work in one-on-one discussions, or in speeches to small groups. > > Or you can play on other emotions, which would have different effects. Your best bet here is to associate positive emotions with the candidates you like: That’s very difficult to corrupt. Tammy Duckworth, for instance, is doing an excellent job of this right now, using an even more emotion-based (and less fact-based) messaging: Right now, she’s associated with Motherhood, and Loving Babies, and everything that goes along with that. People are associating motherhood and love with Duckworth, and it’s tough to transform that into associating them with Trump, or to hating Duckworth, or to any other unintended message. And no, that’s not why she had her baby, but all the rest of us should still absolutely play it up to the max. I see the point you are making. I am not sure I agree. I am targeting GOP voters for sure, to dissuade them. It is ok with me if they feel like they have to fear Democrats- the movie title, “I Am Coming to Get You, Sucker!” comes to mind (at the ballot box, exclusively). I am inclined to believe that Dem voters will see these posters and be like, “_shrug_, I don’t have that problem, this isn’t meant for me. But… hur hur.” Full disclosure, I don’t see myself as a “liberal” or even a Democrat, I’m an Independent, but I am taking up the cause of the Democrats for as long as the GOP promotes inferior ideas. Could vary depending on individual candidates &etc. You have given me an idea for a pro-Dem poster, but you will have to give me a little time, I am pretty busy as it is and the queue keeps getting bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/38 "2018-04-23T00:58:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I hope Democrats understand the difference between doing something that is actually effective versus than doing something that simply makes you feel good. Yes. There may be some of that going on with these posters. Do you ever get an “art ache”? This happens to me- I was a musician for many years when I was younger. I had a lot of audio/musical ideas, and if I ignored them completely they would sort of start to bug me. Producing some piece of musical art would cure the issue and so I had a little hobby without ever actually being some kind of rock star or what have you. Well these days I get different artistic ideas, they are more literary and, most recently, things like the posters. The first one especially- I ignored the concept for awhile until it started to bother me, so I slapped it together to put an end to it. The original idea was not to put it on the Dope or maybe I would have taken a little more care to make it look organized. Anyway I do feel better, but I also think there is more to it. I’ve been observing the political situation for some time now and am convinced there is a place for a different approach. Maybe what I’m doing can be improved upon, but you must admit it is different. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/39 "2018-04-23T01:39:02Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Maybe what I’m doing can be improved upon, but you must admit it is different. Yeah, in the way beginner’s art class projects stapled to bulletin boards is different. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756/40 "2018-04-23T01:41:06Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Your first one looks like some unhinged nutjob made it. It doesn’t have visual appeal, except for the naked mudflap girls. Its message is “You should hate Republicans.” Liberals already do. Conservatives will look at it as an another example of how liberals have no Christian/family values and spread more horror tales about it. Voters who are on the fence won’t be swayed by it. If anything, they’ll vote Republican out of spite for you. What if I cleaned it up a bit? I could certainly do a V2.0 that addresses the sloppiness, but maybe that isn’t really your problem with it. Let me know if it will help at all before I go to the trouble. Don’t get the wrong idea- I don’t have some kind of yen for working with swastikas and Confederate flags, it is just that those elements are _totally applicable_ to the current administration. I am hoping to convict GOP voters. You have probably read articles in which some religious figure from some local community gets an education about, say, climate change, and goes back to his church and explains to the people, like he is some kind of magical Bible-beater-whisperer, the reasons why climate change is a genuine phenomenon and why accepting small specific bites of that liberal scientific mumbo jumbo will not offend The Lord. The subtext is that outsiders can’t communicate with them in the first place, and certainly can’t _convict_ them. Well I disagree, I believe I can. > [@](#): > > The second one will just alienate Christians and southerners and make them feel like they’re being targeted. You have to understand the power of ads - designers want viewers to have a positive experience looking at it. This looks dangerous, like a ransom note, and has no appeal. You’re preaching to the anarchist choir and won’t win over many ambivalent voters. They _are_ being targeted. Not Southerners so much- do you realize it is not coincidence that the Confederate flag takes the form of a cross? I think the GOP has dusted off some of the philosophy behind that and leveraged it for votes, and while those ideas have more of a Southern heritage than anything, I don’t think they are really localized to the South in the modern era. A lot of people on the right subscribe to a raft of destructive and stupid ideas, and I intend to drag that out into the light and demand that they change. I am glad that more than one person thinks it looks like a ransom note- that seems appropriate this year, though I am not prepared to write an essay explaining why at this time. > [@](#): > > The third one looks like a poster for a punk show. It might draw a few “Hey look, it’s the Joker” comments, but then viewers will see the political stuff and walk on. It also makes China look like the bad guys instead of Trump, and the nationalists might think it supports their views. Yeah, I am not sure it is clear that the headlines in that poster are directly attributable to the current GOP regime- they totally are, of course, but does the poster really convince the viewer of that? I was happy to find this particular image of the Joker for this one. The original idea was different, but when I saw this one I realized I could tie in the GOP’s weird gun obsession through the whole set. Here’s a madman with a gun, things are a little blurry and the headlines aren’t good, it isn’t clear how all this ties together but you better hurry up and focus or BANG! that’s it for you. This administration already seems to be wielding a lot of destructive power, seeming almost to be taking pot shots resulting in the things indicated by the headlines. I really like how this aspect of it came out. Why is the GOP so obsessed with guns that they want people with mental illnesses or criminal/terrorist histories to buy and keep them? “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” are also rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and it is understood that these kinds of things can be in tension with each other and in need of balance, and that it is the government’s role to do that because, yanno, that is what the Constitution is _about_… It is not that I am a zealot on guns- far from it, gun policy is close to the bottom of my priority list. My personal proposal is to license and register guns similarly as cars. You need a license to buy a gun. You need to register your guns. If you turn out to be the wrong kind of criminal or terrorist, make threats or \_\_\_\_\_\_, you can forfeit your gun rights because the rest of us don’t have to put up with the risk of you shooting us for no good reason. Everyone else gets to have however many guns and kinds of guns as before. Thing is, some people are freaked out by a gun registry, and I can respect that. Some people want to ban AR-15s, and I can respect that. I don’t really care which sides wins those battles. What jumps out at me is the GOP’s obsession with guns. They are all but hysterically conspiratorial about the issue. I’m not even a “liberal”, but no, I do not think liberals are out to take away people’s guns, I think that is a fringe position with little traction. Yet the GOP is loony about guns. It is almost as if they are distracting from the unreasonableness of their positions on all those other things listed on the posters by pushing their base’s emotional buttons on this one, over and over and over again. It seems like they don’t much care that thousands of people are being killed. And that’s fucked up. > [@](#): > > Overall, I don’t think these will start the enlightened political movement you’re looking for. All they do is express\*\* your negativity\*\* Despite my commentary, I think all of your criticisms have more merit than the bolded part. I really don’t think this is MY negativity. If I were going around spraying swastikas on overpasses and alley walls, that would be one thing. But when it comes to the GOP today, it fits. I am merely reflecting that. Mirrors? Don Quixote? I’d guess I’d like to take this time to challenge my, heh, critical mass of critics to point out which specific elements of the posters are untrue or not rightly attributable to today’s GOP. > [@](#): > > and won’t make a dent in voting outcomes. Hard to say about the results at this point- are you some kind of clairvoyant or soothseer? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vote-gop-2018/812756.md?page=3)