American Pride Strategies: The One-Stop Shop for Political Campaigns and Corporate Marketing

Oh, I do so love the AArkansas Democrat-Gazette! Yesterday it featured a guest editorial from Ms. Princella Smith, she who was once director of education (?) for Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin, entitled “Exceptional Nation,” which is one of the new catchphrases around conservative kaffee-klatsches these days.

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Earlier this year she had to resign her “educational” post after she was apprehended driving with a suspended driver’s license and no vehicle license or insurance.

She – and the ADG – pretty much did the same thing yesterday.

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The usual GOP talking points are in full flower – Obama’s “apology tour, and why Americans are so “patriotic” this year . . .

Beginning with her gushing praise of a recent GOP presidential debate – “There was much applause, laughter, groaning, ooohing, and aaahing during . . .” – she also got a dig in at those Silly People with a “There were no silly ‘If-you-were-a-tree-what-kind-would-you-be?’ type questions . . .”

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The rest is her love song to the candidates because they chose to emphasize “American Exceptionalism.”

She then goes on to list all of the reasons that she believes that the United States is exceptional.

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I’m not going to bash her on all of her points, because even though I stopped believing in American Exceptionalism some time back, we are a pretty good place to live, and she makes a couple of good arguments.

Her rabid dislike of the president leads her to make the same accusations and draw the same incorrect conclusions about what is in his heart that so many other conservatives make.

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And, yes, once again, we hear from someone about the “international apology tour.” Bleh . . .

But here is the really fun part about the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Ms. Princella Smith.

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At the end of the piece we read:

“Princella Smith has worked in politics since 2001. She is currently the owner of American Pride Strategies and the founder of American Pride PAC.”

Wow, I thought. I’ll just check out her site.

And that’s when my road to hell began.

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American Pride PAC? Yeah, well, she sells her political services with “American Pride Strategies: The One-Stop Shop for Political Campaigns and Corporate Marketing” in bold on top of the page.

American Pride Strategies? Oddly enough, it’s just a reworking of the same page, with the same ad atop the page. On the right there is a column marked “issues,” but if you click on any of them, you pretty much just go to her positions from her unsuccessful run for Congress.

On the left are some newer links, but none seem to go back more than a few months.

Even on Twitter, this political commentator just leaves sporadic posts. I couldn’t find a post late than September 21.

I like guest editorials; I’ve written a few myself. But this cobbled together piece of conservative talking points (sort of like Sarah Palin before breakfast) just looks like an ad for Ms. Smith’s political services, which – at least by how well her website is kept up – may not be doing all that well.

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Quote of the Day

The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues. — Elizabeth Taylor

rsdrake@cox.net

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