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My small contribution to historic preservation

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* This is no surprise considering Gov. Quinn’s unpopularity with voters…

Gov. Pat Quinn is in office for at least two more years after this one, but he’s popping up as the villain in some Republican attack ads.

For example, in one YouTube video, since taken down, challenger Mark Minor’s campaign suggested State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, was in lockstep with the governor’s plan to close the supermax prison at Tamms. Forby wasn’t.

Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, says Quinn makes an easy punching bag because he’s unpopular, he’s not doing a very good job, and everybody knows who he is.

“If you’re a Downstate Democrat, you want to make it about the district,” says Redfield. “And if you’re a Republican, you’d like to make it about state politics.”

Wait a second.

Mark Minor’s campaign deleted the Hannibal Lecter ad?

Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That ad was a classic of the genre - with the genre being unbelievably amateurish and not even remotely clever campaign spots. It was so bad it was funny, but not in a good, cultish way. More like a “we’re laughing derisively at you, not with you,” or even a “Whatever it is they were ingesting when they were convinced they had a great concept and superb, um, execution, they’d better stop right now and maybe think about rehab” kinda way.

This must not stand. God-awful campaign videos like that one must be preserved for history’s sake.

* Fortunately for Planet Earth, I suspected that the Minor campaign might eventually come to its senses and pull the spot off the Interwebtubes, so I saved it to my computer. Thankfully, it’s now preserved for all to see. Let’s watch it again, shall we?…

Unreal.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:21 am

Comments

I want to gather these types of ads together and splice them in as commercial breaks to Battlefield Earth.

Comment by Colossus Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:25 am
This is the perfect example of something being SO bad it’s So Good!!!!

(scratching head) I dunno, why would you take this ad down?

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:27 am
Pretty cool ad. Hollywood is looking for the scriptwriter to bring the life of Johnny Rotten for the big screen.

Comment by Burning Down da House Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:27 am
I wanted to ask last time … do 3 Democratic donkeys make a Herd, or what? Why stop at 3, why not 4… or 5 … maybe have them bey, “Qwwwiinnnn”…

Maybe have the donkeys yell, “Shrek, Shrek! … ’cause you gotta have FRIENDS …”

I now love this ad. It’s all I want in MY party!

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:32 am
I was expecting Forby to be riding one of those Donkeys with Quinn and Madigan… being chased by Hannibal Lecter. Perhaps I am asking too much from the design team?

Comment by AngrySicilian Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:55 am
===Perhaps I am asking too much from the design team?===

Your idea would’ve been clever. There’s nothing clever about this ad.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:56 am
Nice. Eat worms and die, AKPD.

Comment by soccermom Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 10:56 am
In a meda charged culture and cheap cameras everyone things because they shoot something its good. At least they held the camera still.

Comment by Professor Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:01 am
Worse than a baptist dance off.

Comment by John A Logan Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:04 am
Rich, be carefull, as bad as it is it’s still someones property. You’ve taken video that’s copyrighted, made an electronic copy and distributed it on a commercial website. Not trying to be a jerk, just giveing you a heads up in case the hack who created this looks to protect his property and take a few bucks from you in the process.

Comment by That Guy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:04 am
The only thing that would make this better would be a copyright lawsuit to officially declare ownership in a court of law.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:08 am
“No, your Honor, I don’t claim ‘Ownership’, I just want everyone to stop watching it …”

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:11 am
Don’t be “that guy,” That Guy. They put it out there in the public domain, and Rich isn’t selling it. I don’t think they lawyers are coming after him.

Comment by Ray del Camino Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:12 am
I’m pretty sure that a political news site posting a campaign ad falls under fair use.

But beyond that: Rich’s description of how bad this ad is does not do justice to the horror. I like to think I appreciate the so-bad-it’s-good genre, but this . . . . this is in a class by itself.

Comment by the Other Anonymous Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:13 am
Don’t shoot the messenger.

Comment by That Guy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:18 am
===this is in a class by itself. ===

Yep. So bad it’s horribly pointless and stupid.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:24 am
Mark Minor looks like Robert Irvine on “Restaurant Impossible”.
Maybe this video would qualify for “Campaign Impossible”?
“If you have a failed campaign, contact me…”

Comment by KGB Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:28 am
“Silence of the Lambs” had a 118-minute running time. Anthony Hopkins, as Dr. Hannibal Lector, was only in the movie for a little more than 16 minutes.

Yet he won the Best Actor Oscar. And despite an impressive career on stage and film, it’s the role he’s most known for.

Kind of like Alec Guiness as ObiWan Kenobi.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:32 am
The ad would more interesting by including the following line…

“I ate his liver with some soy beans and a nice Chianti.”

Just sayin’…

Comment by Wensicia Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:33 am
Quid pro Quo, Minor Campaign Staff…

Quid pr Quo …

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:39 am
What if thet ran it with “Vote Me Maybe (Call Me Maybe)” in the background while Hanibal/Minor is holding a phone?

Comment by Belle Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 11:43 am
Wouldn’t it have been great if Minor played the Lechter role?

Comment by Stooges Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:07 pm
For some reason, Rich’s preservation of this particular political ad puts me in mind of the word “coprolite“.

For some reason…

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:23 pm
Interestingly, the GOP hasn’t gone to bat for Minor yet which is suprising given the amount of money they dumped into Burzynski’s campaign against Forby in 2008. Has the party written this one off???

train111

Comment by train111 Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:29 pm
“47th”. Are you OK with the pro-Obama super PAC commercial that suggests Romney played a part in a woman’s death from cancer after her husband lost his job and benefits when Bain closed down a steel plant?

Comment by Holdingontomywallet Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:48 pm
Have you ever seen something so bad that you’re embarrassed for the person responsible? That’s how I felt just now. I couldn’t even make it past 0:30.

Comment by Infidel Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:49 pm
Oops, wrong thread…

Comment by Holdingontomywallet Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:54 pm
It is in part the Flash Gordon of political threads

Comment by OneMan Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:58 pm
of political ads…. opps

Comment by OneMan Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:59 pm
Usually, when you see something so cheesy, it is spot advertising the next movie to be aired on the Svengoolie program.

Comment by Esquire Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 12:59 pm
===Usually, when you see something so cheesy, it is spot advertising the next movie to be aired on the Svengoolie program.===

Agreed.

There were a few mentions of the Svengoolie by me and other when it was 1st posted.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:56 pm
Let’s be cool on Svengoolie, or a guy from Berwyn might whack someone with a rubber chicken.

Svengoolie and Stooge-a-palooza are calculated cheesy, not unintentional.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:19 pm
wordslinger,

My Mistake. You are correct. That is “intended” and folly.

We know Minor’s Crew was not. Big difference.

Dear “Son…”

I apologize to “The Son of Svengoolie” for not making that difference apparent.

With kindest personal regards, I remain

Sincerely yours,

Oswego Willy

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:25 pm
Did Minor’s campaign go to a local junior high and get a freebie spot from the multimedia club? No, that wouldn’t be right, because they would do a better than this. Actually this may qualify as the worst campaign commercial I have ever watched.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:25 pm
(oops, hit ’say it!” on accident) Did Minor’s campaign go to a local junior high and get a freebie spot from the multimedia club? No, that wouldn’t be right, because they would do a better job than this. Actually this may qualify as the worst campaign commercial I have ever watched.

Comment by Devin Miller Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:26 pm
Colossus -

Make sure to add Neil Hartigan’s 1990 bumble bee in the Governor’s Mansion Rose Garden (for some strange reason, part of the work was being done with money from the Road Fund, and as SOS, Jim Edgar was responsible administrator).

And Martin Oberman’s 1986 primary ad against Neil Hartigan, where Diogenes was looking for Attorney General Hartigan to protect Illinois consumers and stand up to Commonwealth Edison (”Neil?”).

Comment by Anyone Remember? Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:30 pm
May the good Lord bless you for your foresight in preserving this campaign ad. What a near miss.

It must never die. It must be passed on through the generations. My kids have already seen it. Have yours?

I know it is one of many details to relish, but: the pretend prison is a parking lot.

Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 4:07 pm