Cookie Mom: Sometimes a Very Bad Notion
My good friend Margherite sent me this darling link.
It seems that Priorities NH (yes that stands for New Hampshire) is looking for an actress to play Cookie Mom at political functions, here is the job description:
“Cookie Mom will be the face of that project. The campaign is looking for an actress between the ages of 35 and 55 who can portray a wholesome, non-threatening image. Cookie Mom will attend Presidential candidate events in costume (an apron, button-down shirt and slacks), hand out special Priorities cookies (iced and labeled like our Priorities budget pie pin) and pens, and talk with attendees, reporters and candidates about sensible budget priorities. She will need to be able to conduct short interviews with reporters and to stay in character and maintain composure in high-tension situations.”
As James Caan said in the original Slither, “Who are these guys?” Not the right-wing nut jobs you might think. According to their website, they are,
“a nonpartisan big-tent organization that promotes grassroots community involvement in the democratic process in New Hampshire. DFNH works to protect the foundations of our democracy and the integrity of our political process and supports fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates who speak honestly about policy choices.”
And their website is decorated with links to the likes of Colbert and Olbermann. No links to NOW though…
If you don’t have anything better to do and happen to be in a really pissy mood, feel free to drop these unevolved folks a note and tell them to get a clue–June Cleaver doesn’t live here anymore.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Atrocities
As anyone who has tried it knows, it’s very difficult for an issue campaign to break through the hubbub and clutter that is the NH Presidential Primary. Campaign events can be controlled and constricting, news reporters are narrowly focused on the “hot� issue of the day, and issue campaigners are viewed, at best, as party crashers.
So if you’re trying to inject an issue into the campaigns, particularly an issue the candidates don’t want to talk about because none of them are on the right side of it, what do you do? How do you create a buzz that will leave voters with an impression that is memorable, fun and informative?
Well, one of the things PrioritiesNH is doing is creating a character who is friendly and welcoming, as well as politically plugged-in and savvy. A character based – literally – where people live, who can connect the needs of regular families and communities with misplaced federal budget priorities. And our character has an entrée – gingersnap cookies frosted with the pie logo of the Priorities campaign – that is in equal measure informative, unique and yummy.
We work hard to make our Cookie Mom character neither a stereotype nor archaic. Ours is a mom who knows what’s going on in her community, from the schools to Town Meeting (still the predominant form of govt here) and knows how those things are affected, or could be, by federal priorities. She’s not swayed by a candidate’s charm or personality, but is listening for the “how are you going to pay for it� details behind the vague promises – and encouraging others to do the same.
At the same time, she exudes the kind of warmth, patience and kindness that we all remember from the neighborhood kitchen where we most liked to gather as kids.
There are thousands of people at some of these events, and dozens of issue campaigners vying with the main attraction for attention. You need to stand out. Cookie Mom does. We invite you to come out to a campaign event and meet her.
BTW, the link and the mission statement in the original post are those of Democracy for New Hampshire, a group that posted our info about Cookie Mom. PrioritiesNH info is available to www.PrioritiesNH.org.