There are a lot of rhetorical tricks a political candidate can use to try to stand out in a crowded pack: Personal attacks. Gimmicky jingles. Good policies, clearly stated. (Pause for laugh track here.) Sometimes, though, the simplest option is still just to go blue, something exemplified by city council member and New Mexico 1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Pat Davis, who recently ran a campaign ad in which he declared “Fuck the NRA.” That’s not figurative, either; Davis didn’t say “The NRA is bad” or “Let’s get some sensible gun control laws on the books,” and then we, like, re-interpreted it. Dude dropped the F-bomb, the bad one you’re not supposed to say, a swear so R-rated that his own YouTube upload of the video doesn’t even spell it all the way out.
The most interesting thing about Davis’ comments, though—which, laudable as they are, aren’t terribly far removed from large swathes of what you could see on Twitter any time there’s been a recent mass shooting, i.e., pretty much whenever—is when and where he managed to get it run: On Albuquerque local TV, in the middle of the gosh-darn day.
Admittedly, the 15-second spot ran with a pretty hefty disclaimer, as local CBS affiliate KRQE made it very clear that it didn’t endorse Davis’ message, and that it was “obligated” to run it under the rules governing uncensored political messaging on television. Still, though, even if Davis loses, he’ll always be the guy who got a swear on TV without his mom even yelling at him.
There’s no word yet on whether the ad has affected Davis’ chances in the crowded district; the NRA has, of course, responded to his ad with some attacks of its own, but honestly: Fuck them.