This is an example of how not to court swing voters as a conservative. You don't do it by alienating your base.
He probably had to say something because the other leaders are going to (and being the one party leader who doesn't is a great headline), and the media for sure already had their "Look how racist O'Toole is for [applauding/not applauding] the [not guilty/guilty] verdict" articles written before the verdict even came down.
The only way to win in instances like this is to not play at all. You have more to lose by making the wrong reaction in the eyes of swing voters than you have to gain by virtue signalling to your base with something inflammatory (like there's pretty much nothing he could say here that would gain him conservative voters, but plenty he could say that would lose them, and also plenty he could say that would lose swing voters).
This is one of those issues that's it's better to just sidestep with deference. "Yeah, great, justice was served. All's well that ends well". Something like that. A token conciliatory statement. Just enough so the media can't say you didn't make a statement.
What you don't do is go all-in with full throated enthusiasm, screeching "racist" and so forth. You say just enough to take the wind out of the media's sails, but not enough to convince your base that you really mean it.
It should but won't. If the other two are going to make statements, then you open yourself up to attack by being the one that doesn't make a statement.
You have to play the game as dirty as your opponent is, or you'll lose.
You also have to recognize that:
The vast majority of voters get all their information from the MSM.
If you're a conservative candidate, the media are circling above you 24/7 just waiting for your to say (or not say) something that they can use to convince the voters that you're racist. And these voters are stupid, but they're not that stupid. They'll believe the media's spin, but only if the media's got some semblance of evidence. The only way to not fall prey to this is to not give the media anything at all they can spin into a believable racism accusation.
It is not an even playing field but that's how it is.
They are low-thinking con-artists. They can not help themselves. If he DIDN'T comment, he would be regretting it for weeks. The other politicians would accuse him of being racist for not commenting.
Politics has devolved into a particular specialization of a job. Conning the rubes. You've got to be a shameless psycho to compete. The media helps with this.
This is an example of how not to court swing voters as a conservative. You don't do it by alienating your base.
He probably had to say something because the other leaders are going to (and being the one party leader who doesn't is a great headline), and the media for sure already had their "Look how racist O'Toole is for [applauding/not applauding] the [not guilty/guilty] verdict" articles written before the verdict even came down.
The only way to win in instances like this is to not play at all. You have more to lose by making the wrong reaction in the eyes of swing voters than you have to gain by virtue signalling to your base with something inflammatory (like there's pretty much nothing he could say here that would gain him conservative voters, but plenty he could say that would lose them, and also plenty he could say that would lose swing voters).
This is one of those issues that's it's better to just sidestep with deference. "Yeah, great, justice was served. All's well that ends well". Something like that. A token conciliatory statement. Just enough so the media can't say you didn't make a statement.
What you don't do is go all-in with full throated enthusiasm, screeching "racist" and so forth. You say just enough to take the wind out of the media's sails, but not enough to convince your base that you really mean it.
It should but won't. If the other two are going to make statements, then you open yourself up to attack by being the one that doesn't make a statement.
You have to play the game as dirty as your opponent is, or you'll lose.
You also have to recognize that:
The vast majority of voters get all their information from the MSM.
If you're a conservative candidate, the media are circling above you 24/7 just waiting for your to say (or not say) something that they can use to convince the voters that you're racist. And these voters are stupid, but they're not that stupid. They'll believe the media's spin, but only if the media's got some semblance of evidence. The only way to not fall prey to this is to not give the media anything at all they can spin into a believable racism accusation.
It is not an even playing field but that's how it is.
And if they do it with no evidence, they make fools of themselves.
They are low-thinking con-artists. They can not help themselves. If he DIDN'T comment, he would be regretting it for weeks. The other politicians would accuse him of being racist for not commenting.
Politics has devolved into a particular specialization of a job. Conning the rubes. You've got to be a shameless psycho to compete. The media helps with this.