Alexander Hamilton reportedly said something to the effect of, “When you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.” This is a textbook case: the only central value Republicans hold today anymore is greed.
An average of 123.4 million viewers tuned into the Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, outstripping last year’s record of 115.1 million. Super Bowl 58, the showpiece finale of the latest season of American football’s NFL, drew the largest recorded TV audience in US history. It was a spectacle made just for media consumption– from the hype to the advertising, to the symbolism of competition and let’s not forget the glitzy halftime show. It was a spectacle of commercialism from beginning to end and had less to do with sports and entertainment than it did with consumption.
The only event in the last four years to get an even bigger audience was the 2020 election between the Orange Man and Joe Biden. Out of approximately 240 million people who were eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election, roughly 66.1% of them submitted ballots, totaling 158,427,986 votes. And even this was its own kind of spectacle because of the kind of chaos the MAGA nut-in-chief creates on social media or anytime he opens his mouth. The Trumpster has figured out the key to media attention creating himself as the star of his own reality TV show in his own mind with courtroom drama, lawsuits, and criminal indictments, which all keep his name in the press ad nauseam. No wonder people think that he’ll never be convicted, and no wonder the polls keep his rating high he’s the bad news brand. President Biden on the other hand is just the normal Joe, just wants to do the job he was elected to without all the drama and arm waving.
Clearly, the 2024 election has echoes of being the Super Bowl of politics only the stakes are far greater. There’s no gratuitous halftime show but the amount of advertising on this spectacle will dwarf the money spent on an NFL playoff game. Be careful of the ads that you are watching.
Like all advertising (basically a form of propaganda), the game is to influence the consumer/voter to choose one brand over the other to justify rightness and/or party loyalty. Human psychology being what it is always justifies “being right.” Influencing via advertising only needs to push the number of undecided voters to just over the 50% mark and they will justify the other 49%.
The Super Bowl ads were staggeringly expensive: A 30-second slot cost about $7 million. Marketers live in fear of spending all of that money and not having a splashy ad to show for it but the political media consultants worry more about a brand than anything else – candidates become a brand. And yet beyond the market branding in politics and probably sports one has to discern who is the real deal.
Below are my recommendations for the people who I would trust.
The election is March 5. Everyone should have received a “mark at home/mail back in” ballot. DON’T FORGET TO COMPLETE. Of course, feel free to share information with friends and family.
Supervisor 4th District
Janice Hahn – Out of all those running for political office this year Hahn is by far the most trustworthy. Hahn has been an excellent supervisor. She will win this race with an overwhelming vote because she represents this large and varied district with extraordinary diligence supporting all her constituents in a progressive and thoughtful manner.
See RLn’s endorsement interview.
LAUSD School Board District 7
Tanya Ortiz Franklin
State Senator 35th District
Michelle Chambers, Democrat
See RLn’s endorsement interview athttps://wp.me/p3AltZ-cPo
State Assembly 65th District
Mike Gipson — he is running unopposed
State Assembly 69th District
Josh Lowenthal, Democrat
U.S. Representative 44th District
Nanette Diaz Barragán
U.S. Representative 36th District
Ted W. Lieu, Democratic
District Attorney
George Gascón — he stands for criminal justice reform and changing a system of “lock ‘em up forever” that has failed miserably and disproportionately punishes black and brown Angelenos. When he was elected Gascon stated: “It is time to change course and implement a system of justice that will enhance our safety and humanity. Today we are confronting the lie that stripping entire communities of their liberties somehow made us safer–and we’re doing it with science, research, and data. For decades those who profit off incarceration have used their enormous political influence–cloaked in the false veil of safety–to scare the public and our elected officials into backing racist policies that created more victims, destroyed budgets, and shattered our moral compass. That lie and the harm it caused ends now.”
One of Gascon’s major reforms was to support an end to cash bail: a system whereby those with financial resources could pay money and get out of jail while workers with even relatively low bail (for example $50,000 requiring a not-to-be-returned posting of 10% or $5,000) would sit in jail for months while losing their jobs, homes and even families.
See RLn’s endorsement interview at https://wp.me/p3AltZ-bWq
And of course for President — Re-elect Joe Biden, because the only other choice is the master of chaos and media spectacle.
Remember the curious part of this year’s ballot is that you get to vote for the U.S. Senate twice-once to finish off the unexpired term of late Sen. Feinstein and the other is the full term to replace her. The list is long but it really comes down to just two competitors in my estimation.
U.S. Senator — Short Term (Unexpired Term Ending Jan. 3, 2025)
Both Adam Schiff and Katie Porter have a lot going for them in this race. Schiff of course was the prosecutor for the first impeachment of Donald Trump and has become one of his many targets, which should get him elected, but then Porter has taken on the pharmaceutical industry and is far more progressive than Schiff. I am doing a split endorsement for both the full and short-term election —Adam Schiff or Katie Porter
U.S. Senator — Full Term
Adam Schiff or Katie Porter
Long Beach City (1) Vote Passage — Majority Vote (50% + 1)
Measure RW
“Long Beach Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Increase Measure. Shall The Measure Increasing The Minimum Wage For Qualifying Hotel Workers From $17.55 Per Hour To $23 Per Hour On July 1, 2024, Gradually Increasing Annually To $29.50 Per Hour By July 1, 2028, Applying Cost Of Living Increases Starting July 1, 2029, Clarifying “Wages” And “Service Charges” Paid To Qualifying Hotel Workers And Authorizing The Council To Make Future Amendments To The City’s Hotel Worker Minimum Compensation Standards, Starting June 1, 2029, Be Adopted?”
Supporters: Dr. Suely Saro; Naida Tushnet; Gary Hytrek; Rev. Cynthia Hoeger; Amelia Carillo Opponents: Los Angeles County Business Federation; Eastside Voice
Los Angeles City (1) Vote Passage-Majority Vote (50% + 1)
Measure HLA — vote YES as to whether the City of LA should redesign streets to be safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. Supported by the Sierra Club, LA County Labor Fed, Move LA, SEIU Local 721 and UNITE HERE. If you want to read all the details check out http://tinyurl.com/LATIMES-on-HLA.