Brownback/davis Comparison and Contrast

Jesse Patrick

Ms. Jamie Durler English Composition I 30 Sept. 2014

Brownback/Davis Comparison and Contrast

Kansas residents are currently being inundated with political campaign ads from all

media spectrums. The candidates employ numerous techniques to persuade the voters to vote their way. The techniques range from the use of catchy jingles that will get stuck in the voter’s head, to old fashioned mud slinging. Political candidates all use the language of puffing, or the act of putting themselves up to make their advertisement sound superior to their opponents. This paper will highlight specific examples from the heated campaign between Paul Davis and Sam Brownback for the office of Governor of the State of Kansas. I will examine the similar diction Governor Brownback and competitor Paul Davis use in their ads, and investigate the differences used through selection and omission; specifically how Davis/Docking use this to not only make themselves sound better, but attempt to make Governor Brownback sound inept.

Throughout two specific ads that Paul Davis and Sam Brownback have submitted in to the public, they both offer similar diction. When reading through both of these advertisements one may get the feeling of hope. Each candidate offers a bright future for voters if they choose to cast a vote for them. For example, Paul Davis’ ad for governor states, “They (Davis/Docking) will continue to fight to restore funding for our schools and invest in our state’s future leaders, innovators, teachers, and entrepreneurs” (Davis). In Sam Brownback’s ad he states, “Yet we (Kansans) still have a growing demand for skills and knowledge that our current workforce in

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unable to meet” (Brownback ad). It is obvious both candidates agree that our school systems need work. While the candidates may use similar diction, there are large differences with how the candidates choose to deliver their messages, specifically by what they choose to include and what to leave out of their advertisements.

Selection and Omission is the biggest difference between the two advertisements. Throughout Sam Brownback’s political advertisement, he chooses not to explain how he plans to do things that he proposes, but rather gives bold statements with no substance. For example, when discussing the education topic and the myriad of problems within Kansas schools, he simply just says, “We can and must do better” (Brownback). This does not at all explain how he plans for Kansas to “do better”. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Paul Davis’ ad states, “They (Davis/Docking) will continue to fight to restore funding for our schools...” (Davis ad). This part of Davis’ ad explains that they will attempt to get more money to the school