Ok, how about a post that has nothing to do with Sarah Palin?
I live right on the border between AL02 and AL03 (and, indeed, work in AL02). As such, I am paying quite a bit of attention to the AL02 race as (unlike my district) is an open seat and is quite competitive.
First, I see that USAT has a story on the race, which highlights one interesting aspect of the race, the fact that the candidates (Sate Rep. Jay Love (R) and Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright (D)) are both deacons at Montgomery’s First Baptist Church:1 Dueling deacons: Baptists vie for Alabama seat in U.S. House.
The race itself is quite interesting, as I think that there is a high probability that Bright will capture the seat, making him the first Democrat to hold the seat (currently held by Terry Everett) in 44 years.
Bright is clearly a “Blue Dog” Democrat, and has publicly stated (on numerous occasions) that he will not fall into line with Pelosi if elected (and avoided the DNC altogether). Indeed, I have noted a number of signs along the following around the district:
Taken on US 231 in Troy, AL.
What is especially interesting, I think, about these signs is that when viewed from a distance one only sees “Bright, Republican” and I don’t think that that was an accident.
Meanwhile, I found the following Jay Love sign to be of interest:
Taken on US 231 near Pine Level, AL.
First, I find the “Drill Now” slogan to be most interesting, and certainly underscores the saliency of the issue this election. (It should be noted that Bright, along with Rep. Artur Davis (D) has come out in favor of drilling as well).
Second, I have found Love’s usage of the add-one signs to be interesting, and unique to the current race (and not something I recall seeing in the past). His campaign first tacked on the following when the issue of religion was raised in the primary campaign:
Taken on Vaughn Road in Montgomgery or Pike Road (not sure about the lines)
- Montgomery’s FBC is quite the political hotbed, as the Mayor of Pike Road (where I live), Gordon Stone is also a member, which is relevant because Montgomery and Pike Road have had a number of legal battles over annexation and Bright and Stone have squared off in the press. [↩]
September 4th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I have found Love’s usage of the add-one signs to be interesting, and unique to the current race (and not something I recall seeing in the past).
Great pictures. Yeah, that is new. Are the “add ons” literally added on (e.g. stapled/taped)? Or is it all one piece of paper just cut to look like an add on?
If I were around there, I don’t think I would be able to resist stapling a “Tomatoes 5/$1.00″ appendage or something of the sort on to one of Love’s signs! They deploy that tactic at my local supermarket!
September 4th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
No, they are definitely actual add-ons. I know for sure that the sign in the bottom picture was originally just the signs sans the “Christian Conservative Values” addition. That one was added during the primary portion of the race when one of the other candidates started touting their Christian bona fides. I think, but am not 100% certain, that the sign with “Drill Now” was actually a sign that had been put out during the primary with the “Drill Now” portion added only in the last couple of weeks (the primary was in June).
September 4th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
This election has possibly the best pair of candidate names ever.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
[...] the only drama here is the aforementioned AL02 race. addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.poliblogger.com%2F%3Fp%3D14160′; addthis_title = [...]
September 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
[...] this piqued my curiosity as it struck me that Palin would likely play quite well in AL02, and so was wondering as to how prominently Palin was featured in the [...]