If you find the 100% completely fake advertisement above offensive and outrageous (outrageous:adjective: shockingly bad or excessive), then haha it worked!! See how easy it is to elicit an emotional response by using images of people in military uniforms?
Now, perhaps, you may be getting an inkling of what many South Dakota military veterans felt when they were confronted this past week with this ad from the out-of-state big money group pushing Amendment H >>>
As a non-veteran myself, I can only imagine the deep insult that our friends feel when a political organization uses the sacrifice, pain and loss of our heroes to further their cynical and deceptive agenda. From a marketing standpoint, one must admire the cunningly effective use of manipulation in this propaganda; as they employ imagery, words and vocals to pull at the heartstrings of decent folks in the Heartland who are likely to feel sympathy for veterans who are being mistreated. The problem, of course, is that the messaging is completely false. No one is being “left out” of the process. If you want to be a part of choosing the best Republican candidates, you simply register as a Republican. And if you want to help pick the best Democrat, you can register either as a Democrat or an Independent. And if you want to run as an Independent candidate, YOU GET TO SKIP THE PRIMARY PROCESS COMPLETELY.
Fortunately, these ads are so over the top ridiculous, and our vets are quite savvy to the ways of the world; so all the millions of dollars that the YES on H crowd is spending is only going to backfire and do untold damage to their campaign. And Lord willing, this attempt to destroy our primary system will go down in flames in a few weeks.
Since these ads were so obviously fake and full of lies, I reached out to a few of my ACTUAL military veteran friends to get their opinions on what they thought about them. This is just a small, but telling, sample of the anger that SD vets are feeling about the propaganda:
"As a veteran we took an oath to defend the Constitution, the 1st Amendment protects people's freedom of speech. Even if that speech is deemed misinformation or disinformation. I trust the good people of South Dakota can decipher this political ad for what it is; propaganda to push a narrative on the back of veterans.” - Justin McNeal, NAVY Retired
“Why do you hate veterans Joe? Joe Kirby clearly underestimates both our veterans' understanding and the intelligence of South Dakota's citizens if he believes this manipulative ad for open primaries will resonate. Veterans are well-informed voters with a vested interest in the political landscape. We’ve had skin in the game and many of us have children who serve. The games that are played in the political underworld, the throne of lies upon which the uniparty rests, and their tangled web of deceit are coming through “loud and clear” with this effort. Veterans understand and recognize how "big money" can adversely affect governance in our state and nation. Open Primaries will destroy this state. War, and politics in general, are a profit-driven enterprise, and those seeking a piece of that wealth will resort to any tactic to maintain their power. Don’t be misled. Vote NO on Amendment H.” – Nichole Braithwait, USAF Retired
“This is complete garbage!
If so many Veterans want this, I am sure they could have found actual Veterans to put their photos on this postcard. Instead of this guy with a jacked up uniform collar and an unshaved face. Absolute disgrace to the uniform! People die wearing that uniform and these fools place dress up with it for a bogus agenda. Shame on you Joe Kirby!” - Adam Long, NAVY and USAF Retired
South Dakota veterans of all political persuasion are rightfully outraged by the spectacle of seeing the uniform they wore - that their fallen brothers and sisters wore - being used as props for dishonest and cynical advertising campaigns. And nor should any decent American!
If you too think these YES on H ads are offensive and manipulative and beyond the pale, please reach out and let the local frontman for this shadowy group, Joe Kirby, know your feelings. Tell Joe that in South Dakota we don’t take kindly to disrespecting the honorable men and women who serve in our military. I’m sure he’d appreciate the feedback!
You are absolutely correct, Chris.
The web site listed in the "paid for" box is https://www.articlefour.org/ It doesn't show who provides the grants that they hand out to mess with state voting systems. Or who pays for the "hands-on support to local, state-led campaigns and policy initiatives..." and what that support looks like. There are no names on that web site of the people promoting this radical revolution that seeks to undermine and overturn our self-governance. Secret money will support popularity contests unconnected to policy in a much more absolute way than the current 2-party system.
Great article, Chris! You took the words right out of my mouth. As a vet, I am incensed about the false advertising of that clown's campaign regarding vets. We are all smart enough to know that it's up to us as individuals to operate within the current system if we wish to engage in politics. We don't need a California system installed here. How's that working out for the Californians? I fled there after decades because the place is lost.