Rick Scott's campaign people aren't going to listen to me -- heck, my own kids don't even do that -- but here comes my advice anyway: Go on an all-out, total-market sweetness offensive.
Yes, you heard right, sweetness.
For the last three weeks, no more Charlie-Crist-from-Hell ads. Dump the dark stuff, emerge from the undergrowth and just tell the great story of Gov. Scott's accomplishments in the last four years.
You never have to mention Charlie's name again.
Scott said it himself in Orlando in March 2013. He told the top leaders of the Florida Republican Party, When we go to the polls in 2014, it's absolutely our fault if we don't have the votes. This is the party of opportunity. This is the party of jobs. This is the party of families. If we talk about what we're doing, every day, we will not lose.
Now that's what I'm talking about.
This is a governor who loves his job. He doesn't have to mention that Charlie Crist didn't. He has a good news story about creating jobs, about lowering the state's debt dramatically, about the economy generally. He cut taxes and tag fees. He personally pushed the expansion of state ports so Florida can win the high-stakes, highly competitive Panama Canal container ship business.
Scott has made it easier for families to afford a college education. He pushed teacher raises. He promoted tuition tax credits so parents wouldn't have to keep their kids in a failing school if they didn't want to.
He's picked up the pace of restoration in the Florida Everglades, resuming construction of the A-1 reservoir as part of Restoration Strategies. Under his watch,the state passed a nearly $900 million plan for the Everglades, with annual funding guaranteed.No need to mention the mess Charlie left the Everglades in after his U.S. Sugar land deal imploded.
Sure, reckless spending and poor management practices -- not just a deep national recession -- forced Scott to take draconian action in some areas. But, again, the governor needn't mention Crist's name at all. Just create ads that show Florida has emerged stronger, more energetic, in a better position to improve life for Florida families.
In a Washington Post commentary, "Five myths about campaign ads," Ted Brader puts "Negative ads are more effective than positive ones" at the top of the "myth" list.
"We respond emotionally to things we care about," says Brader. "Political advertising arouses the strongest reactions in those who care and know the most about politics. ..."
In 1984, President Ronald Reagans Morning in America ads featured uplifting music and bright images of happy workers, American flags and weddings. Says Brader, "They established a standard for feel-good advertising that candidates of both parties have copied ever since."
See? Nothing wrong with a little happy hoopla. The issues have disappeared in the muck of the campaign. Time to celebrate the governor's role in them.
Three weeks ago John M. Stipanovich, longtime Republican political consultant, told The New York Times, "The winner of this race will have a 19 percent approval rating and the loser 17 percent."
Put another way, that means the winner will take office without the majority support of the citizens he represents. He won't legitimately be able to cite the will of the people in anything he proposes.
Negative ads served their purpose for Scott. They got into voters' heads -- they know now the real Charlie Crist isn't "the people's" anything. And yes, he's happy to "do the right thing" for Florida if it works for him personally.
But ... in an exchange of negative ads over who's the bigger crook, Scott will lose. He hasn't got a chance. He will never be able to out-dirty Crist.
The reason why is obvious: Scott has the full weight of the Florida media against him. They continue -- as the Scott campaign's Greg Blair has said -- "to report on baseless, decades-old accusations" as if they're brand new, as if they never were decided in a long, scrupulous federal investigation.
How do the media handle accusations against Crist? They dismiss them.
The media have wiped Crist's slate clean. He's a Democrat now, automatically qualifying him for an ethics mulligan. All his sins of the past are forgiven, never mind that the past in question was while Crist held the two highest offices in state government -- attorney general and governor.
To repeat: Remind voters why Rick Scott is the governor they want in office. Do it soon and do it often.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
