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COLUMNISTS
TODAY'S STORIES
13.05.2008
Too Perfect to Make Up

So, as Carl Hulse reports in the New York Times's Caucus blog, the GOP has a new marketing slogan:

In a memo to be sent to Republican members today, the leadership hints at a new slogan building on the change message that has already been shown to have political resonance with a public unhappy with the nation’s direction. It looks like Republicans will counter the Democratic push for change from the years of the Bush administration with their own pledge to deliver, drum roll please, “the change you deserve.”

Unfortunately, as Jason Linkins at the Huffington Post notes, "the change you deserve" is already the slogan for the antidepressant Effexor XR. Personally, if I were going to pilfer a pharmaceutical motto to market the GOP, I'd probably go with "Safe for pets, murder on worms." But that's just me.

--Christopher Orr

Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:52 AM with 13 comment(s)

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ratnerstar said:

I dunno, I'd go for "Treat yourself right," a la Dr. Scholl's.  

May 13, 2008 10:58 AM

liberal reformer said:

This is a "change" year, no question about it. Enough with the vacuous sloganeering. Can we have some substance, please?

May 13, 2008 11:05 AM

icarusr said:

Dunnon - "The change you deserve" sounds more like a punishment than a promise.  Kinda like facing a brass-knuckle wearing thug in a dark alley, who tells you, "you want change, do ya?  well, let me show some change you deserve!"

May 13, 2008 11:32 AM

Rhubarbs said:

Y'all are reading this much too metaphorically. The slogan is actually meant literally. It describes the pennies per gallon of gas the GOP promises to save you for a few months each year. That's the change you deserve. GOP congressional candidates are going to start throwing pennies from their pockets at public gatherings.

May 13, 2008 11:50 AM

drdannyu said:

I believe Feliway's slogan "The secret to happy cats" would add a delightful, Dada-esque quality to a campaign that has already plumbed the depths of surrealism.

May 13, 2008 12:17 PM

dmorehous said:

It's the "change you deserve" for voting for Shrubby twice - which, as icarusr points out, reads like punishment.

May 13, 2008 12:28 PM

williamyard said:

If the GOP is going to rip off an existing tagline, why stop at Effexor's?

Courtesy my buddy Eric Swartz ("The Tagline Guru") and in recognition of Chris Orr's dual duties as political observer and film critic, here are a few movie taglines that provide the 'Pubs a certain je ne sais quoi they may have been lacking of late:

* Handcuffed to the girl who double-crossed him (from "The 39 Steps," 1935)

* Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. ("Army of Darkness," 1992)

* And you thought Earth girls were easy. ("Bad Girls from Mars," 1991)

* The monster demands a mate. ("Bride of Frankenstein," 1935)

* The snobs against the slobs! ("Caddyshack," 1980)

* Sometimes it's too late to tell the truth. ("China Syndrome," 1979)

* A tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, and seafood. ("A Fish Called Wanda," 1988)

* You'll wish it were only a nightmare. ("Friday the 13th," 1980)

* Lie. Cheat. Steal. All in a day's work. ("Glengarry Glen Ross," 1992)

* The man with the barbed-wire soul. ("Hud," 1963)

* In space, no one can eat ice cream. ("Killer Klowns from Outer Space," 1988)

* Nice planet. We'll take it. ("Mars Attacks!," 1996)

* They have a plan. But not a clue. ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?," 2000)

* They're back. ("Poltergeist II," 1986)

* Sooner or later, a man who wears two faces forgets which one is real. ("Primal Fear," 1996)

* Loved by children. Desired by women. Adored by bartenders everywhere. ("Shakes the Clown," 1991)

* This might hurt a little. ("Sicko," 2007)

* Once you stop screaming, then you'll start talking about it. ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre," 1974)

* Collide with destiny. ("Titanic," 1997)

* The future is history. ("Twelve Monkeys," 1995)

* You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl. ("Wayne's World," 1992)

The above list just scratches the surface. And then there are the corporate taglines...

(more at taglineguru.com)

May 13, 2008 1:08 PM

Chris Orr said:

Marvelous, Mr. Yard. As usual.

May 13, 2008 1:22 PM

fougasseu said:

I like the phrase that has been heard around New Orleans lately -

"Raise the drawbridge! Release the gators to the moat!"

That sorta captures the GOP posture/vision/attitude, towards the world, towards anyone who doesn't golf. Not a bad lyric either.

May 13, 2008 1:23 PM

stgla said:

Good comments above.  I agree that "change you deserve" sounds like it should be followed by "...after 8 years of an incompetent Republican President."

May 13, 2008 1:43 PM

emigdio said:

This post made me laugh from the gut. Delicious.

May 13, 2008 2:48 PM

emigdio said:

This post was delicious, Mr. Orr. Thanks!

May 13, 2008 2:49 PM

emigdio said:

dang...double post...

May 13, 2008 3:05 PM