Well Played: GOP Congressman Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon in Fun, New Campaign Ad

As I've mentioned many times in the past, since the Carter years I've watched elections like a lot of guys watch sportsball. In the process, I've become something of a campaign advertising critic. Some campaigns are good at producing print, television, and - now - video internet ads, and some aren't. Ronald Reagan's 1984 "Morning in America" ad may well have contributed to his 49-state landslide reelection. Kamala Harris's "Men for Kamala Harris" cringe-inducing ads are on the other end of the spectrum.

On Wednesday, out of the great state of Nebraska, Republican Congressman Mike Flood released a new ad showing him shooting a Chinese spy balloon out of the sky with what appears to be a "monster" revolver. Colorful, pithy, to the point.

Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., is running for a second full term in the House of Representatives, having first won a special election in 2022 to succeed indicted Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
The 30-second video clip emphasizes Flood’s record as a China hawk by using comments from the congressman himself, while emphasizing China’s imminent threat with a Chinese flag-covered balloon floating across the screen.
"China is our enemy. Plain and simple. The Chinese Communist Party hacks our computers, buys up land near military bases, and spies on our armed forces, even here in Nebraska," Flood says in the ad.
"That’s why I’m fighting to keep Chinese technology off our cell towers, stop China from buying Nebraska farmland, and protect Americans from Chinese spying and cyberattacks."

While this won't enter into the annals of Greatest Political Ads In History (If there isn't such a grouping, there should be), it's still fun. It shows Flood talking about China and issues that will resonate with Nebraskans - Chinese purchases of farmland, of land near military bases, of Chinese spy balloons being casually allowed to transit the entire United States. Then he unholsters his big, stainless-steel revolver and calmly pops a caricature of a Chinese spy balloon out of the sky. It's colorful, pithy, and fun. And, I have to say, a guy who can handle a major-caliber revolver would have my vote, especially when you compare him to the hapless Tim Walz in a strangely brand-new vest and cap struggling to figure out how to load a shotgun he's owned for some time.

Debates, ads, and all the back and forth of the political season are interesting, of course.

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Flood represents Nebraska's First Congressional District, which loops like a reversed comma in southeast Nebraska around the western suburbs of Omaha and includes the state capital of Lincoln, He's probably a safe bet for reelection. He's running for his first full term, after winning a special election over Democrat Patty Brooks by five points. Rep. Flood faces Democrat Carol Blood this year. He now has the advantage of incumbency and will probably carry the day on November 5th. But clearly, he's not resting on his laurels. That's a prudent move; one should never take these things for granted.

Here's the ad: