New Ron Paul Ad Mocks “Etch A Sketch” Meme

Say what you might about Ron Paul, but he’s the only one who seems to have a proper view on the idiocy of the “Etch A Sketch” meme:

FILED UNDER: 2012 Election, US Politics, ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. So Doug, is it your position that this ad does not in fact include an Etch A Sketch?

    (The art of it is that it uses it, while also setting itself apart.)

  2. Hey Norm says:

    Ron Paul has the proper view of the idiocy.
    And you’ve now done two blog-posts on the Etch-a-Sketch.
    Looks like you are having a mighty hard time living up to the ideal set by the Libertarian standard-bearer.
    Don’t be ashamed. Just keep trying to do your best.

  3. Or Doug, is it your position that this ad represents a Romney endorsement?

  4. The ad makes a simple point. People are talking about an idiotic and ultimately irrelevant meme instead of talking about real issues

    But I suppose it’s easier for politicians, pundits, and cable news to act childish than do anything substantive

  5. @Doug Mataconis:

    But I suppose it’s easier for politicians, pundits, and cable news to act childish than do anything substantive

    Well, do you think this GOP primary cycle has been aimed at the sort of slow, thoughtful, and informed voters who would react well to anything substanative?

    Paul himself has some good idea, combined with complete economic fantasy, which in a substantive world would eliminate him from consideration.

    It is 2012, we cannot end the Fed, nor go to a gold standard, without ripping our entire economic system out by the roots, and re-planting. That is an attractive fantasy for some, but that’s all it really is.

  6. PJ says:

    I wonder what Romney promised Paul.

  7. Brummagem Joe says:

    Doug, for a sophisticated guy you can be incredibly blinkered at times. Etch a sketch is a bit of shorthand for a candidate’s alleged character deficiencies. A bit like cigars and Clinton’s philandering. You’re so obviously in the tank for Romney you can’t see this. The reason it’s getting all the play is because as others have observed it’s very much a Kinsley gaffe that just reinforces widely held perceptions of Romney, not least by conservatives. Whether it has legs remains to be seen but Klein in that Time piece puts his finger on how it may. The moment Romney attempts to tack back to the middle out will come the etch a sketch meme. Not that I think he has much room to tack back to the middle because it’s likely to produce uproar on the right. But there it is. Whether you like it or not Romney’s campaign has made a major error that we’re likely to be hearing about right up to November. The fact it revolves around a toy is entirely irrelevant.

  8. @Brummagem Joe:

    I don’t even support Mitt Romney. Tune in for once

  9. Brummagem Joe says:

    @Doug Mataconis:

    I don’t even support Mitt Romney. Tune in for once

    Yeah right Doug

  10. @Brummagem Joe:

    It seems to me like your problem with me is that I don’t support Obama either.

  11. @on this:

    Do my down-voters actually think an end of the fed, or a gold standard, could work?

    Try to find a non-fringe madman who maps out the transition. Saying things like “end fractional reserve banking” or “set the price of gold at $30,000/oz” are self-refuting. It isn’t that they couldn’t exist, in some parallel world as a steady state, it’s that you can’t get there from here. Not without bankrupting many of America’s largest companies.

  12. Brummagem Joe says:

    @Doug Mataconis:

    It seems to me like your problem with me is that I don’t support Obama either.

    Doug, instead of focussing on the minor asides that might or might not explain your myopia why not focus on the substance of my critique of your obliviousness to issues of character and the power of emblems in defining candidates.

  13. @Brummagem Joe:

    The next time Mitt Romney says something that is relevant to that issue we can talk about it. That isn’t the case in this situation.

  14. @Doug Mataconis:

    You are a funny guy, Doug. You probably are arguing “a pox on both your houses,” but of course you allocate those pox carefully ;-). One pox for the GOP, ten for “Barack Obama is God-Walking-On-Earth”

  15. An Interested Party says:

    The ad makes a simple point. People are talking about an idiotic and ultimately irrelevant meme instead of talking about real issues

    In case you didn’t know, the ideological views and political philosophy of a potential president are hardly irrelevant but are real issues…

  16. AIP,

    The evidence is fairly clear that the vast majority of American voters are NOT ideological voters. How much of a “movement conservative” Mitt Romney might be isn’t going to matter in November

  17. Hey Norm says:

    Real issues Doug has not written about while he’s pretending to be disgusted by the Etch-a-Sketch meme and posting three articles about it:
    BOA-Merrill Lynch revised their Home Prices estimate to steady as opposed to a 3% decline. Have we finally hit bottom?
    The Sanford, FL kid and the Castle Doctrine. Pretty much everyone predicted this. The NRA still won. Now what?
    Obama’s awkward stand on part of the Keystone pipeline.
    Boehner backs out of the Sequestration deal. Can he control his own caucus? Can Republicans be tructed to deal in good faith?
    Romney now says Bush and TARP saved the economy. Can he change every single Republicans mind re: TARP?
    Jim Yong Kim.

    Be the change you want to see in the world Doug…actions speak louder than words.

  18. @Hey Norm:

    Yea it’s too bad I haven’t written about the Trayvon Martin case, the verdict in the Rutgers spycam case, the building war with Iran, the Joint Tax Committee’s report on the Buffett Rule, and the rumors about Russian troops in Syria.

  19. Herb says:

    @Doug Mataconis:

    “People are talking about an idiotic and ultimately irrelevant meme instead of talking about real issues”

    Here’s the problem with that: Asked to talk about the issues, the Republicans squander the opportunity by talking about contraception and firing people.

    The idiotic and ultimately irrelevant meme is a reflection of the idiotic and ultimately irrelevant candidates in the GOP race.

  20. Brummagem Joe says:

    @Doug Mataconis:

    The next time Mitt Romney says something that is relevant to that issue we can talk about it.

    Doug, you just demonstrated your myopia again. It doesn’t matter that Romney didn’t personally say it. Compris?

  21. Brummagem Joe says:

    @Doug Mataconis:

    The evidence is fairly clear that the vast majority of American voters are NOT ideological voters.

    The bases of the Republican and Democratic parties represent around 75% of the electorate…..so clearly a majority of American voters ARE ideological voters.

  22. An Interested Party says:

    How much of a “movement conservative” Mitt Romney might be isn’t going to matter in November

    Nor did I ever write that it did…what will matter though, is if Romney is perceived as someone who has no ideological core and who will say or do anything to get elected…granted, many politicians have this problem to a certain extent, but in Romney, it seems to be all that he is, hence, Mr. Etch-A-Sketch is a perfect and effective label for him…