SarahPAC, the committee “dedicated to building America’s future” by supporting “candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation” — or maybe TLC television hosts, it doesn’t really say — has an exuberant new commercial out celebrating the Republican victory in the midterms. The video, at times grainy and at times super-saturated, looks like what happens if you down three Red Bulls and then swallow an American flag. In just over a minute, the spot, called “Together,” manages to show Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon (as ridden through by the Marlboro man), the Statue of Liberty, the Constitution, a white picket fence, a lumberjack, a farmer, and a nod to Tom Cruise in Top Gun, all culminating in the most maverick image of them all: a roaring grizzly standing up on its hind legs. The quick camera cuts, propulsive rock, background cheering, and cliched images of Americana could easily call to mind a Pepsi commercial, so to distinguish itself, there’s also some empty political rhetoric thrown in for good measure.
“This is our movement, this is our moment, this is our morning … in America,” says Sarah Palin in a voice-over homage to Ronald Reagan’s famous 1984 ad in his bid for reelection. The original “Morning in America,” however, at least quoted some concrete statistics, like the fact that the 6,500 Americans getting married that afternoon could look forward to reduced interest rates. It’s unclear what the Gipper had to do with those blessed unions, but hey, at least it was something related to a policy and/or accomplishment. Palin just cheers, “We’re gonna stand up and we’re gonna speak out, and it may take some renegades going rogue to get us there.” Then again, what these roving rogues actually want to say when they get there has never been the tea party’s, or Palin’s, strong suit.
Together [SarahPalinAK, YouTube]
