If you believe the Republican National Committee, San Francisco has a brand identity problem. It’s the city where liberalism has run amok, a liberalism best contained on that tiny peninsula.
Here’s what The New York Times is reporting:
In the waning days of a highly charged election season, Republicans near and far are united against a common opponent: San Francisco. In ads and stump speeches, the city is repeatedly flogged as a symbol of the kind of out-of-step liberalism that Republicans vow to banish if they wrest control of Congress from Ms. Pelosi and the Democrats.
Nationally, the Republican National Committee has begun a “Fire Pelosi 2010 Bus Tour,” and ads tying Democrats to San Francisco have proliferated. In Georgia, a conservative Democrat seeking to distance himself from Ms. Pelosi is running a commercial featuring gyrating hippies and warning: “Georgia is a long way from San Francisco.”
That conservative Democrat is Congressman Jim Marshall from Georgia’s 8th District. Here’s an ad tying him to Pelosi and his response to it.
You know what’s funny about Marshall’s attempt to distance himself from the subversive elements by the Bay in the above commercial? The man represents Macon, the birthplace of The Allman Brothers Band and Capricorn Records. There’s even a museum to honor the Brother’s cultural contributions to the city and the world. So, San Francisco is not all that far from Georgia, after all.
Bonus video from Fillmore East 09/23/1970: