This ad from Chris Jones, a Democrat running in the primary for Governor of Arkansas, is really quite outstanding and stunning. Clearly, some big time money is putting a big bet on the guy to take out Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas eventually.
But high production value in politics does NOT translate as well as high production value in music. K-POP is a thing because what people like musically can be predicted and controlled – it’s why songs are produced. Similarly, a politician can be produced. It’s possible, and happens all the time.
But I’d argue that candidates who have a lot of production value behind them, particularly in state and local elections, are often not even close to the most authentic leader in the race. And, I’d argue that, while all the money DOES help these candidates win, sometimes, it often is of no use whatsoever.
For me, it’s a HUGE warning sign now whenever a bunch of democrats start talking about how awesome a new ad is from some new candidate in a red state. An awesome new ad does NOT equal an awesome new candidate for the people actually living in the state who have different values and different priorities.