Cook: Did Conrad Reynolds Call French Hill A ‘French Poodle’?

On Friday, Republican Second District Congressional candidates Conrad Reynolds and French Hill released their first television ads of the campaign.

We’ll get to their respective ads in a moment, but I have to ask: Did Conrad Reynolds subtly call Hill a French poodle?

From Reynolds statement accompanying his TV ad announcement:

“With all of the problems in Washington, I think we need a bulldog in Congress, not a French poodle.”

Chihuahua could have worked in Reynolds statement, or even a Lhasa Apso. But Reynolds chose to say “French poodle.” Hmm… I think Reynolds did refer to Hill as a French poodle. Ah, snap!

Now for their television ads.

In French Hill’s first ad, the fact that Hill drives a car older than his children is used to illustrate his fiscally conservative ways.

The problem?  It’s a foreign-made Volvo. French Hill couldn’t buy a car made in the great old U.S. of A?!  Volvos are made in socialist Sweden, Communist China, Thailand and horror of horrors, French-speaking Belgium.  Moreover, does driving a Volvo really go over that well in Wooster or Judsonia?

Here’s another interesting angle on Hill’s car ownership: Pulaski County tax records show French Hill also owns a 2005 BMW and a 2007 Mercedes-Benz. Why didn’t Hill brag on those fine automobiles? And records show Hill’s Volvo is a 1998 model, which was before Ford bought Volvo in 1999. Which means French Hill definitely is the proud owner of a Socialist sled!

I want a Congressman who drives a pick-up truck and drinks beer, not some latte-sipping, BMW-driving banker who lives in the Heights.

Alright, I don’t know if Hill likes lattes, but the snarkiness is used to get to a larger point. Is a wealthy Little Rock banker named French going to play well outside of Pulaski County?

But it’s Conrad Reynolds’ ad that takes the cake. Take a look.

I can just imagine Reynolds’ ad team brainstorming on what should be in his first spot:

Ad writer #1: “Ok, let’s have him jump off the back of a pick-up.”
Ad writer #2: “Hey, you know, we should tots edit it so it’s in slo-mo.”
Ad write #3: “Make sure he’s wearing a white dress shirt while’s he jumping. Don’t forget to show him with a far-off stare, like he’s thinking about ‘Merica.”
Ad writers 1 & 2: “Genius!”

Between one candidate bragging about driving a foreign-made Swedish Volvo and another one jumping off the back of a pick-up, I think the bar is set low for Ann Clemmer to win this race without a run-off.