Two Weeks to Go - Evaluating the Flyers

I can tell from reading Facebook comments that just about everyone is as fed up as I am with the shenanigans surrounding the November 2nd midterm election ... and there's still two weeks to go. Two weeks of robo-calls, floods of televised attack ads, radio spots featuring deep-voiced actors predicting the end of the world if (insert opponent's name) is elected, and a general rise in global warming from all the hot air.

How bad is it getting? I've started doing a little experiment surrounding one congressional race out of many.

I live in Virginia's 11th Congressional District, represented by Gerry Connolly, a Democrat. Mr Connolly is being challenged by Republican Keith Fimian.

I have been saving every piece of electoral material that has been mailed to me, handed to me on the street, or left stuck in my door. As of today, this is how it sorts out:

Democratic Material (favoring Connolly or opposing Fimian): 12. Of these:
Supporting Connolly: 1
Opposing Fimian: 11

Republican Material (favoring Fimian or opposing Connolly): 7. Of these:
Supporting Fimian: 2
Opposing Connolly: 5

Total numbers: 12 Democratic mailings and 7 Republican. The difference, thus far, is in the focus of the ads:

Of the 12 Democratic pieces, only one directly addresses Rep. Connolly's record and his future agenda, while 11 attack Mr Fimian without mentioning Rep. Connolly's positions on any of the issues being attacked.

Of the 7 Republican pieces, two address Mr Fimian's positions and plans; however, neither of them offers any specific examples of what he would do beyond the usual vague comments about "cutting waste" and "putting a stop to Congress's spending binge." Five of the Republican pieces attack Mr Connolly, but address Mr Fimian's positions only by urging the reader to visit his website for more information.

I'll have some analysis of the content in the coming days. For now, I need to get myself to work.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo