Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Where Are The Nascar Moms?
Just in case you wondered, that trip the President took to Daytona last weekend was paid for exclusively by the taxpayers of America because the Bush White House deemed it not a political trip, but something more in the nature of a wartime President rallying the civilian population by placing himself in the same dangerous homeland situations that they face everyday, or NASCAR weekend, anyway, and I want to be among the first to say, "you're welcome, Mr. President."
Oh well, let us not be petty; please. (No reference intended to the great race driver of that name) George W. Bush is our President, he represents every last one of us, and if you don't think that's an exhausting mandate, you're just plain partisan. I do assume, though, that none of those photo shots will find their way into any campaign material later in the year, however tempted the campaign people will surely be, now that those fabulous shots of El Pre....Mr. President landing on that aircraft carrier are so less useable than it was once thought they would be. Is there anyone out there who'd like to keep track of that for all of us tax-paying citizens?
Something else I learned from this fairly sharp Mike Allen/Liz Clarke WaPo piece, the following items have been deemed "political incorrect" by whatever rather secretive body it is that keeps track of that kind of thing: which means that eschewal of them in any form marks one as among that despised tiny minority of "politically correct" Americans who wield such a disproportionate influence on American culture and from whom/which Nascar races are a "refuge": cigarettes, buckets of fried chicken, beer in 16-ounce cans known as "tall boys," pickup trucks, and Confederate flags. From this, I thnk we can assume that lung cancer, heart disease, liver damage, driving under the influence, and a certain chronic grumpiness about who won the war between the states are all similarly politically incorrect, utterly American, and beyond criticism. (Obesity is not on that list because it is a sign of personal lack of discipline in a way that smoking and consumption of sixteen ounces of beer at a time are not.)
Nascar drivers may be mainstream, (there is even a "Chicken Soup For The Nascar Soul" book, the most depressing item of cultural information I learned from the piece), but they are also lonely iconoclasts. Well, that fits, doesn't it.
That's what I like in a self-made man - brand loyality, though it's a long way from here to those rural dirt tracks and the brio of a Junior Johnson, who picked up his driving skill running moonshine for his Dad, as Tom Wolfe chronicled all those years ago in those awful mid-sixties. (A good movie from the seventies based on the Johnson legend, "The Last American Hero," with terrific performances by a wonderful cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Valerie Perinne, and Gary Busey, is available, I believe, on DVD).
Now we have corporatized race drivers and a corporatized sport proud to offer themselves as marketing tools. What does that make those Nascar dads, who sit down for dinner with their family and say grace - tools of marketing?
One of the points of the article is that there is some question about how monolithic are the political inclinations of the Nascar enthusiasts, these Nascar dads we'll be hearing about until the repetition will become vomit-inducing. Someone who assumes they are not is Senator Bob Graham, who has sponsored a Nascar truck, and since there is some possibility that Graham might be a Kerry choice for VP, check out this CBS roundup of his own run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
But where are the wives in all this? Allen/Clarke peg the Nascar fan base at 40 percent female, but you almost never hear about the wives; Laura appears briefly in the article to shake the hands of drivers and proclaim, "This is fun." (Remember the fuss that was made when Hillary wore a Yankees hat and posed with the World Series winners, and yes, growing up, she had been a Yankees and a Cubs fan, (or was it White Sox fan), but I'll assume that Laura wasn't LYING about having "fun.")
There are women drivers, not many, but this one, Tina Gordon, is described as "one of a number of rising stars in NASCAR, and she is well aware that her gender makes her one of its most valuable commodities."
I guess those of us on the left should be pleased that corporate sponsers are comitted to gender equity. I guess.
I wonder if Shirley Muldowney, the great dragcar racer, ever had lingerie sponsorship? (Check out "Heart Like A Wheel" if you've never seen it, only available on VHS the last time I looked).
I suspect that some of the most committed Republicans among those Nascar dads, the ones who will never be pried free Bush's base, aren't blue-collar at all, their upper-middle class suburban. And I suspect that not a few of their wives are soccer moms, care about the environment and their kids go to public schools. Some of them might even have found it necessary recently, to return to work to help maintain the family's life style. And I'll bet some of them vote differently from their husbands. And those of their husbands who run a small to medium-sized business will know what Kerry, or whomever is the Democratic nominee means when they talk about rising employee heathcare premiums, and I'll be some of them worry about the falling dollar, and wonder about those deficits. So by all means necessary, the Democrats should not be writing off the south, the border states, or anywhere else where dwell Nascar enthusiasts.
If there's a Nascar soul, and if it now has it's own chicken soup book, it's rooted in a mainstream culture, let's remember, that produced more votes in 2000 for Al Gore than it did for George W. Bush.
But the election-year agenda was clear from the magnificent presidential photo shots and the red, white and blue touring bus that the Republican National Committee deployed at the track for its "Race to Victory" voter registration drive.
Oh well, let us not be petty; please. (No reference intended to the great race driver of that name) George W. Bush is our President, he represents every last one of us, and if you don't think that's an exhausting mandate, you're just plain partisan. I do assume, though, that none of those photo shots will find their way into any campaign material later in the year, however tempted the campaign people will surely be, now that those fabulous shots of El Pre....Mr. President landing on that aircraft carrier are so less useable than it was once thought they would be. Is there anyone out there who'd like to keep track of that for all of us tax-paying citizens?
Something else I learned from this fairly sharp Mike Allen/Liz Clarke WaPo piece, the following items have been deemed "political incorrect" by whatever rather secretive body it is that keeps track of that kind of thing: which means that eschewal of them in any form marks one as among that despised tiny minority of "politically correct" Americans who wield such a disproportionate influence on American culture and from whom/which Nascar races are a "refuge": cigarettes, buckets of fried chicken, beer in 16-ounce cans known as "tall boys," pickup trucks, and Confederate flags. From this, I thnk we can assume that lung cancer, heart disease, liver damage, driving under the influence, and a certain chronic grumpiness about who won the war between the states are all similarly politically incorrect, utterly American, and beyond criticism. (Obesity is not on that list because it is a sign of personal lack of discipline in a way that smoking and consumption of sixteen ounces of beer at a time are not.)
Nascar drivers may be mainstream, (there is even a "Chicken Soup For The Nascar Soul" book, the most depressing item of cultural information I learned from the piece), but they are also lonely iconoclasts. Well, that fits, doesn't it.
Fans are drawn by the sport's drivers, self-made men who kiss their wives in victory lane. They root for the American-made cars. They cheer the military flybys. They doff their caps for the pre-race prayer.
They are also uncommonly brand-loyal -- three times more likely to buy the brands of motor oil, laundry detergent, beer and cereal that sponsor race cars than other brands. Fans are sufficiently devoted to specific drivers that they will buy Earnhardt 12-can coolers, Mark Martin splashguards for their cars and Gordon dog leashes.
That loyalty is what Bush is courting this election year.
The 2002 champion, Stewart, of Rushville, Ind., admits he doesn't really follow politics but said he has made up his mind about this campaign. "Bush is my guy, and that's the end of it," said Stewart, 33. "Even in politics, the politicians are smart enough to realize how big of a marketing tool that NASCAR is, and the cars and drivers are."
That's what I like in a self-made man - brand loyality, though it's a long way from here to those rural dirt tracks and the brio of a Junior Johnson, who picked up his driving skill running moonshine for his Dad, as Tom Wolfe chronicled all those years ago in those awful mid-sixties. (A good movie from the seventies based on the Johnson legend, "The Last American Hero," with terrific performances by a wonderful cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Valerie Perinne, and Gary Busey, is available, I believe, on DVD).
Now we have corporatized race drivers and a corporatized sport proud to offer themselves as marketing tools. What does that make those Nascar dads, who sit down for dinner with their family and say grace - tools of marketing?
Sunday's pre-race festivities were cloaked in patriotism. Air Force One made its grand approach, banking over the speedway and buzzing one of the grandstands, as the 43 drivers were introduced on a giant stage. Soon after, the presidential motorcade pulled majestically down pit road, and the crowd cheered when Bush emerged from a black Suburban 2500 and waved. The president visited with drivers on pit road and peered inside several of the cars, including one sponsored by the National Guard.
One of the points of the article is that there is some question about how monolithic are the political inclinations of the Nascar enthusiasts, these Nascar dads we'll be hearing about until the repetition will become vomit-inducing. Someone who assumes they are not is Senator Bob Graham, who has sponsored a Nascar truck, and since there is some possibility that Graham might be a Kerry choice for VP, check out this CBS roundup of his own run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
But where are the wives in all this? Allen/Clarke peg the Nascar fan base at 40 percent female, but you almost never hear about the wives; Laura appears briefly in the article to shake the hands of drivers and proclaim, "This is fun." (Remember the fuss that was made when Hillary wore a Yankees hat and posed with the World Series winners, and yes, growing up, she had been a Yankees and a Cubs fan, (or was it White Sox fan), but I'll assume that Laura wasn't LYING about having "fun.")
There are women drivers, not many, but this one, Tina Gordon, is described as "one of a number of rising stars in NASCAR, and she is well aware that her gender makes her one of its most valuable commodities."
Tuesday, Gordon announced a major sponsorship deal with Vassarette...Vassarette makes women's undergarments - bras and panties - and sells millions of them through its three principal retail partners - Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target.
(edit)
"The potential market out there with our female fans is tremendous."
I guess those of us on the left should be pleased that corporate sponsers are comitted to gender equity. I guess.
I wonder if Shirley Muldowney, the great dragcar racer, ever had lingerie sponsorship? (Check out "Heart Like A Wheel" if you've never seen it, only available on VHS the last time I looked).
I suspect that some of the most committed Republicans among those Nascar dads, the ones who will never be pried free Bush's base, aren't blue-collar at all, their upper-middle class suburban. And I suspect that not a few of their wives are soccer moms, care about the environment and their kids go to public schools. Some of them might even have found it necessary recently, to return to work to help maintain the family's life style. And I'll bet some of them vote differently from their husbands. And those of their husbands who run a small to medium-sized business will know what Kerry, or whomever is the Democratic nominee means when they talk about rising employee heathcare premiums, and I'll be some of them worry about the falling dollar, and wonder about those deficits. So by all means necessary, the Democrats should not be writing off the south, the border states, or anywhere else where dwell Nascar enthusiasts.
If there's a Nascar soul, and if it now has it's own chicken soup book, it's rooted in a mainstream culture, let's remember, that produced more votes in 2000 for Al Gore than it did for George W. Bush.
