Mixing Bowl Politics
Photo Courtesy Connaughton for Governor campaign
Sean Connaughton is thinking big. Really big. And he's made the connection between politics and traffic. So what better way for the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor to campaign than to hang a huge -- really huge -- banner on the side of a high-rise in the middle of the Springfield Mixing Bowl.
The Connaughton For Lt. Gov. sign is 60 feet wide and 36 feet tall and hangs near the top of an office building where tens of thousands of commuters each day can't help but see it. Will it help Connaughton, who is locked in a battle with State Sen. Bill Bolling for the Republican nomination in the June 14 primary?
Perhaps on June 15 we will know whether size really does matter.
By Michael Shear |
May 18, 2005; 2:10 PM ET
| Category:
Republicans
Next: Jerry "Darth" Kilgore?
Posted by: Omar | May 23, 2005 03:00 PM
Might Mr. Connaughton have thought to make the banner small enough to fit on one side of the building? As it is now, it wraps around the bulding, cutting off the first and last letters of his name when viewed by the average motorist. Hardly helpful for name recognition.
Posted by: Jamie | May 23, 2005 10:16 PM
With a name like CONNAUGHTON (11 wide letters), maybe it wouldn't fit on just one side.
Posted by: yo | May 24, 2005 09:05 AM
I drive past this banner every day in the Springfield mixing bowl area. It's had no impact on me whatsoever, except for inspiring one thought: "what an over-the-top, in-your-face, obnoxious way to campaign -- I can't wait to vote AGAINST this guy!!!"
Wonder if that's the impact Connaughton is looking for?
Posted by: Zippy | May 24, 2005 03:42 PM
Signs are neccessary, and encourage you to investigate the candidates and choose the one who best represents you. If one votes based on obnoxious signs, no one in Northern Virginia would be in office.
maybe we should pave the medians...
Posted by: NOVA Mike | June 10, 2005 10:09 AM
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Candidate Earley posted a similarly large banner on the building in 2001, when I briefly volunteered for his campaign (I was a moderate Republican back then). Needless to say, he lost the race.