Posted on 06/28/2014 7:38:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Consider this your Friday evening palate cleanser — and a very welcome one at that. As the ritual center-right circular firing squad gathers over the very ugly mess in Mississippi, I give you a delightful and clever web ad produced by an African-American conservative running for office in a neighboring state. Meet Darius Foster, a black Republican from the deep South who will not be pigeonholed:
“Now that you know a little about me, do I really fit in a box?”
The spot startles at the onset (is that her voice?), arresting the viewer’s attention. The middle section offers a fun, and at times stirring, glimpse into a Foster’s life. Viewers aren’t bombarded with slogans, campaign pledges, or ideology; they’re meeting a man. A man with normal interests, relatable quirks, a compelling life story, and a wife he’s crazy about. The ad closes with the intended upshot: Don’t pre-judge me based on my race or party. Give me a fair hearing based on who I am, and what I believe. “See you on the campaign trail.” Light, yet powerful. As conservatives grapple with the challenge of appealing to non-traditional voting blocs — an existential necessity for the GOP moving forrward — they’d be wise to pay attention to Foster’s approach here. Show up, be real, knock down unfair barriers to entry erected by self-interested liberals, then stick around and listen. I dearly hope ads like this, and not like these, represent the future of Republicans’ minority outreach efforts. If you’re interested in learning more about Mr. Foster, candidate for state representative, click through to his website. He’s a social conservative who supports school choice and advocates for prison sentencing reform. Here’s a brief statement of values, simply entitled “what I believe:”
This may be a bit unconventional for a campaign website, but I am going to share a brief story that will hopefully communicate what I believe. Like many others, while growing up, our family fell on tough times. Though my grandmother worked two jobs, and I worked part-time to help, one particular month, we could not make ends meet. My grandmother went to apply for social services, but when they told her that the amount she’d receive was equal to her working a few more hours a week, she declined the support. She decided that we would buckle down at home. She did not like being dependent; still doesn’t. I suppose she felt like there were people who needed the benefits more than us. From what I remember, though, that is not to say we would not have been justified in taking temporary help; we really needed it. Moving forward, my grandmother insisted we take better care of what we did have. She became tougher on me with keeping the inside and outside of the house presentable. That was standard for our block. Although none of us had much, all of the parents and grandparents on the block took care of it. We soon had one of the cleanest, most peaceful blocks in the neighborhood. Through their pride, responsibility, and dignity, my grandmother and the other parents that lived on our block showed me that communities thrive when the people who live there take ownership in them, no matter the economic circumstance. This is not only what I believe; this is what I know to be true.
Foster will face incredible odds in the fall: The unopposed Democratic incumbent (who just lost his primary) carried the district with…98.4 percent of the vote the last time the seat was up.
How utterly refreshing. And it is not surprising that he is an Alabamian. Alabama is Christian and conservative. Sadly, the dumpocrip party will set out to paint this MAN as a whitey wannabe, because the democrats don’t see him as anything but an uppity black person since he will not conform to their plantation of dependency. You see, striving to be self sufficient and self actualized is anathema to the party of the oligarchs.
Clever ad. He just might crack 10%.
That’s a really great ad.
Brilliant ad! Go Foster!
Creepy.
I’d probably still vote for him.
Creepy? How do you figure?
I don’t know anything about the guy but that is one seriously good ad. We need more of that type of creativity in conservative ads.
Yes! Refreshing is the word all right!
Right on...., but who is Little Wang?
I LOVE that! What a great ad, and what a great addition to the political arena. I hope and pray he wins.
Good production values for an ad done on a state rep campaign budget.
That’s something tea party groups should get together and do as a means of fighting back against the biases.
Just a bunch of different individuals introducing themselves simply.... “I drive a truck. I work in a factory. I am a grandmother. I build houses. Together we are the Tea Party.”
Looks like he might be a garden variety republican with a conservative leaning. He has chamber of commerce backing which doesn’t bode well for his immigration stance but he’s only running for a seat in the state legislature. The chamber backing probably explains the production value of the ad.
In any case its a great ad regardless of what he stands for.
That is an excellent idea cripplecreek!
Voice overs are usually creepy, even perverse, especially that woman at the start.
Sort of like a man in womens clothing.
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