Ad dissection: Strong

[Rev. Rye]

I was browsing TVTropes' So Bad It's Horrible Ads page, and I discovered this ad by Rick Perry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAJNntoRgA

Here's what they said about it:

Rick Perry's infamous Strong commercial. The ad is a rambling Author Tract regarding Barack Obama's supposed "War on Religion" (when separation of Church and State has been a major part of the government since its founding), and "knows there's something wrong when" his kids can't pray in school and can't openly celebrate Christmas, and complains that gays can serve in the military at the same time. The ad was disliked and bashed by hundreds of thousands of people (including Perry's own supporters), and may have been the catalyst for his decision to end his campaign.

I looked up and found that there was an old thread about this ad (no posts in three months), and, so I decided to start one of my trademark dissections on it rather than resurrect an old thread. Surprisingly, there's only six sentences in the 31-second ad, but Rick Perry packs so much bullshit in it that It's remarkable.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian,

I can see you're not, but, after all the shit that Republicans do in the name of religion, you're giving people more of a reason to be ashamed of admitting it.

but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country

I never go to church unless my parents drag me to a service, but I know that there's something wrong with this country.

when gays can serve openly in the military

I can't properly call him out on his bullshit when Bill Hicks has done it so eloquently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np6_b-72H3E
And besides, in the ancient world, homosexuality was common in armed forces.

but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas

What the fuck world are you living in? I remember that last December I couldn't turn on a television without seeing some ad for a Christmas special or a car radio without listening all Christmas carols, all the time. And, what does Christmas have to do with gays in the military.

or pray in school.

Actually, they can. They just can't disrupt the class in doing so, or be led by a teacher in a public school. Once again, I will defer to a comedian from the 1990s: "And if you truly think your kid's character depends on prayer, then damn it, pray with your kid -- at home! Stop fobbing off on the public school system your responsibilities as a parent. The schools are there to teach your kids to read, write, and add -- skills they will need if they're going to apply for and wisely invest their unemployment checks one day."
Dennis Miller.

As President, I'll end Obama's war on religion.

Obama's war on religion? The Republican Party has been bitching about these issues before anyone knew who Barack Obama was. Notice how I was able to deflect this shit using sources from the 90s.

And I'll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage.

UUGGGH!! Claims that America is a Christian Nation. Here's an article from RationalWiki that shows just how pointless it is to claim that it was a Christian Nation. Besides, even if it were, it wouldn't mean that it would be a good thing for America to be a Christian Nation today.

Faith made America strong.

Gee! And here I was thinking it was our military that made America strong, and it was just faith the entire time.

It can make her strong again.

Um, of all the developed nations in the world, America is one of the most religious. Meanwhile, China is growing stronger and stronger without the help of faith.

I'm Rick Perry and I approve this message.

Yes, Rick. We wouldn't know you approved of this message you gave unless you said it.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Sounds an aweful lot like our national embarrassment, Pauline Hanson,without the nail-on-blackboard voice. Rick is is also smarter.(no really)


The Wiki article is worth reading. Certainly gives new meaning to the aphorism 'a country gets the government it deserves'


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCBiPtqJA58




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Pauline Founded "One Nation". Here the Liberal Party is right wing.The current leader is a chronic Catholic who takes advice from cardinal George Pell, protector of pedophile priests.

One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. Pauline Hanson founded the party after being elected as an independent due to her disendorsement as the preselected Liberal Party candidate for the Australian House of Representatives. It gained 22 percent of the statewide vote translating to 11 of 89 seats in Queensland's unicameral legislative assembly at the 1998 state election. Federally, the party peaked at the 1998 election on 9 percent of the nationwide vote, electing one Senator in Queensland. The party has never approached these heights again, and while it nominally still exists it attracts a negligible percentage of the vote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Han...One_Nation