Spooky TV

Talk about it

Turn on the tube this time of year and you’re sure to get the heck scared out of you, and I’m not talking about the ghouls and goblins associated with Halloween.

Spookier than any horror flick are the photos of North Dakotan senatorial candidates featured in ads run by their opponent’s campaigns.

Hard to believe the pictures of frazzled hair, bloated faces and sickly smiles belong to the same folks who posed for a glamor shots for their own ads.

Apparently in a political season beauty or lack thereof is in the eye of the producer.

Our fear should be based on more than just their frightening appearance in the constant 30-second clips.

Using only the attack ads and assuming that there is even a shred of truth in any of the accusations flying across the airways you might find yourself hoping the Mayans were right and come Dec. 21 the end of the world will keep either from getting elected. Wouldn’t that be justice, if the entire name calling, finger pointing and mega dollars spent and victory lost due to the end of the world?

Should their doomsday calendar prove as unreliable as past prophets and without actually knowing one of the candidates choosing to vote for one based only on what each campaign is saying about the other would be more about choosing the lesser of two weasels?

Whom to believe? How can you vote for a guy who hates farmers, and yet grew up in the farming community of Hettinger? According to the other side, he has forgotten his home town, state and has gone Washington? Don’t believe it, his opponent’s campaign has shown real pictures of him actually in D.C.

Still, how can you vote for a gal who is so enamored with the president it leaves her incapable of any independent thought? She too has forgotten has her North Dakota roots and marches in complete unison with the president.

There are photos of her looking like a starry eyed school girl with the president in her opponent’s campaign ads that hammer home those points. Unlike their opponent they each care about veterans, the middle class, environment, taxpayers and North Dakotans in general.

Worse yet, each campaign has invested enormous time and money to point out the other candidate is heartless with no concern for seniors on Social Security and Medicare.

Good grief, how do these fiends feel about puppies and freckle-faced kids?

Listen to the other campaign and you can’t help but wonder how did they possibly gather enough support to receive their party’s nomination. Hard to believe the Peace Garden State could produce not one but two such scoundrels.

Spend an hour watching television and it is hard not to assume the only thing their campaigns agree on is the impending nightmare if the other is elected, and victory will be guaranteed for who spends the most time and money scaring the heck out of voters with photos and tales of their opponent’s shortcomings and blemishes.

Brock is The Dickinson Press publisher.

Tags: opinion, column, columns, vote, election