Over the last four weeks, I’ve made four separate trips to St. Paul, always along the same route. I noticed on the first trip a number of large Bush-Cheney signs in Minnesota farmyards but that there were no Kerry signs.
Shorly before making the trip again Tuesday, I read the cover story of the October 11 edition of The Nation. It was a somewhat disturbing confirmation of what I saw. Among other things, it reported Kerry supporters in Minnesota were told the campaign didn’t print enough yard signs on the theory that “it was more important to be on television than to spend money on yard signs.” Vote for Change and television may work in the Twin Cities. But, as the article notes, large yard signs are a campaign staple in rural counties.
I finally saw two Kerry signs on this last trip. One was a “Firefighters for Kerry” and the other simply a Kerry-Edwards sign. While still outnumbered, at least someone driving Minnesota interstates isn’t left with the impression there’s only one candidate in the race.
The “sign problem” is not just in Minnesota. It appears here in SD too. Apparently just at the time most people are completely fed-up with political ads that appeal primarily to our ignorance, the Democrats dump most of their money into TV ads.
I doubt any sign or billboard with just a name and nice slogan on it changes much opinion, but the complete absence of such signs may be perceived as a problem for the campaigns. Prying signs out of the Democrat organizations around here has been tougher than getting truth out of Laura Ingrahm or Rush Limbough.
I guess we will know on November 2 what might have worked and what might not have worked.