Super Bowl ads are well known for how much they cost, so it’s very important that the advertisers get their message across. Somewhere between talking babies, beer-fetching dogs, and Adriana Lima waving the checkered flag, one Michigan Senate hopeful thought it would be a good idea to air a smear ad targeting one of his opponent’s foreign policy stances during local ad time. Although Pete Hoekstra’s ad, which depicts a chinese woman in a rice field speaking broken English about how US spending is bolstering the Chinese economy, had mostly gotten the spotlight because of the racist tones throughout the 30 second spot, it has helped uncover one important issue: how globalization fears are affecting political discourse.
According to a poll from the Pew Research Center, around 59% of the American public sees economic competition with China as a direct threat to the well-being of the United States. Globalization has allowed easier access for China to sell their goods across the globe, and primarily with the US, and has helped to boost their economy. While we’ve enjoyed cheap products from China, the United States has racked up trillions of dollars in debt and has put domestic money in foreign hands. As a result, China has been able to buy up a lot of the US’s debt and now has a good deal of leverage over the US. As the single largest holder of government debt, China has the potential to cripple our economy, should they choose to sell off their debt holdings.
So, how does this play into political discourse? Mainly by the way many political candidates are working this issue into their debates and their ad campaigns. Like Hoekstra, many political pundits have argued that wasteful spending has led to more debt, which gives foreign entities, like China, more power over the United States. Although Congressman Hoekstra’s ad has seen a lot of attention lately, most likely due to the fact it aired on local MI stations during the Super Bowl, this topic has been seeping into political ad campaigns more and more. They prey upon the fear of the US economy collapsing at the hands of foreign powers. Some argue that these politicians are using last ditch efforts to capture votes and that US-China relations aren’t in the forefront of voters minds. Other’s demonize these campaigns because it lets China off of the hook and gives voters a reason to put blame on the US instead. Nonetheless, ad campaigns such as these have shown how globalization and fear of global powers has altered the political landscape.