Voting + Conservative + Pizza + YouTube = GOP Propoganda?
Call me cynical, and maybe I'm reading way too much into this, but I found the way that the first student mocks the "change" message we're seeing this election cycle a little disturbing. Why would you mock the #1 reason young people are turning out?
Equally strange was the follow-up line "I could use more change in my pocket." My first response to that was to ask if that was code for "we need more tax cuts."
And let's face it, to use a bad pun, that commercial is totally cheesy. It feels like a half-hearted attempt if anything.
So I went on Open Secrets and did a little digging. Pizza Hut is owned by Yum! Brands, Inc. Yum! Brands also happens to have a PAC of the same name. Here's what their donations look like from the last 4 cycles:
| Cycle | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 |
| Expenditures | $94,773 | $112,157 | $84,500 | $17,500 |
| % Republican | 70 | 79 | 82 | 54 |
| % Democrat | 30 | 21 | 15 | 46 |
That's a whole lot more money going to Republicans than to Democrats. Even now, when a Democratic victory looks pretty good, they're only barely hedging their bets, and Republicans are still getting more money.
Does Pizza Hut really want you to vote? Or do they want you to vote Republican? Or would they rather you just stay home and eat pizza?
The ads are on the air in Nevada and South Carolina.
2008 Youth Vote in Context
The following charts and graphs are meant to contextualize the unique role that young voters played in the 2008 election, and their increasingly important role in a winning electoral coalition:
2008 Youth Electoral Map

2004 Youth Electoral Map

Youth Vote Partisan Advantage: 2000 - 2008

Youth Vote Historical Support: 1976 - 2008

Breaking News
Political Wire:
Poll Shows Obama Expanding Lead NationallyA new a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/16/fox-news-poll-obama-pulls-ahead-romney-as-presidential-race-heats-up/"Fox News poll/a finds Presdent Obama leading Mitt Romney by seven points ...Think Progress:
New York And Los Angeles City Councils Approve Responsible Banking OrdinancesCity councils in the nation’s two largest cities have approved laws aimed at forcing banks to invest more in their local communities. The Los Angeles city council unanimously passed its ...Political Wire:
RNC Will Bypass Nevada GOP"Fed up with an inept and self-destructive GOP apparatus in Nevada, the Republican National Committee and the Mitt Romney campaign have decided to erect a 'shadow state party' in this critical swing ...Think Progress:
CHART: Wages For Young Colleges Graduates Haven’t Grown In A DecadeAccording to data from the Economic Policy Institute, “between 2000 and 2011, the wages of young college graduates [aged 21-24] dropped 5.4 percent (1.6 percent for men and 8.5 percent for ...The Plum Line:
Greg Sargent: Happy Hour Roundup* Dylan Byers can’t get the Sunday shows to explain why they refuse to discuss the too-hot-to-handle Mann/Ornstein thesis that, yes, one side is far more to blame for what’s gone wrong in ...
Featured Video
Recent Blog Posts
-
This post was originally published for the 2010 election cycle. I thought it would be valuable for campaigns in 2012 who may have missed it. INTRODUCTION TO PEER-TO-PEER Peer-to-peer campaigning is ...by: Kevin Bondelli | 0 comments
-
The College Republican National Committee, Young Republican National Federation, American Crossroads, and the Republican State Leadership Committee have launched an independent expenditure superPAC, ...by: Kevin Bondelli | 0 comments
-
Romney and the GOP have made some motions indicating they want to make a play for the youth vote, but today's block of the Democratic bill to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling is ...by: Kevin Bondelli | 0 comments
-
The Young Democrats of America have announced the dates and location of their 2012 Summer National Conference. It will be held in Philadelphia, PA at the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel from June 29 to ...by: Kevin Bondelli | 0 comments
-
So much has been written about the youth vote in the last week as the President has been on his college tour talking about more affordable higher education. Mitt Romney also has tried to keep up ...by: Sarah Burris | 0 comments
Blogroll
- Ablogistan
- Apophenia
- Bad Subjects
- Burnt Orange Report
- Campus Progress
- Campus Vote
- College Democrats
- Culture Blog
- The Daily Background
- The Daily Taylor
- Ezra Klein
- Everyday Citizen
- For Which It Stands
- Generation Next
- Got Democracy
- It’s Getting Hot in Here
- Kevin Bondelli
- Kid Oakland
- Kossacks Under 35
- Left in the West
- Liberal College Kid
- The Low Post
- Matt Ortega
- Michigan Liberal
- Michigan Youth Political Alliance
- Millennials Changing America
- Open Left
- Penn Progress
- Planting Liberally
- Policy Farm Team
- Political Teen Tidbits
- Prose Before Hos
- Pullman Progressive
- Pushback Network
- The Raw Story
- Rethinking Youth
- Rock the Vote
- Scoop 44
- Tapped
- Think Youth
- Young Democrats
- Young MO Politico
- Young People For
- Young Philly Politics
- Young-Politics
- Youth and Politics
- YouthinkLeft
- WireTap
- Wonkette
If you have a blog written by or for young progressives, and you would like to be listed, contact Mike.
Young Progressives
- 21st Century Dems
- Black Youth Vote
- The Bus Federation
- Campus Climate Challenge
- Campus Progress
- Campus Wellstone
- Center for Progressive Leadership
- College Democrats
- DNC Youth Council
- DMI Scholars
- Forward Montana
- Future 5000
- Generation Change
- Generational Alliance
- The League
- Kossacks Under 35
- Lose the Label
- Minnesota Youth Caucus
- New Era Colorado
- Oregon Bus Project
- Progressive U
- Roosevelt Institution
- Run For Office
- Students for a New American Politics
- Swing Semester
- USSA
- Washington Bus
- Young Democrats of America
- Young Elected Officials Network
- Young People For
- Young Voter PAC
Cultural Capitalizers
- All Ages Movement Project
- Billionaires for Bush
- Drinking Liberally
- Free Culture
- Head Count
- Hip Hop Summit Action Network
- Ironweed Films
- Justice Through Music
- Laughing Liberally
- Lokahi Outreach
- National Hip Hop Political Convention
- ONE Campaign
- Progressive Book Club
- Rock the Vote
- Screening Liberally
- Vera Project
- Youth Movement Records




















Weak Sauce
That's a really bad commercial. Like, painfully bad.
The rub
Yeah, there's the rub. Is it JUST a really, really bad commercial? Or something more. It's kinda hard to tell . . .
thumbs down
bad ad. they just sound like assholes.
they should get Budweiser to do the Vote ads. there'd be record turnout for sure.
So Obvious
Great research on this. In my opinion the ad takes a direct swipe at Obama and a blatantly advocates lower taxes. And yes, the acting was awful. Is this story getting coverage elsewhere?