It isn't even Labor Day yet.
The oft-heard statement is a reference to the much earlier start this year of general election campaigns in Arkansas.
Labor Day may be the traditional start for fall campaigns, but the blanket of political advertising began months ago and has multiplied with each passing week.
Take it as a warning. What will come in September and October and all the way up to the Nov. 4 vote will be overwhelming.
Unfortunately, while it will influence the outcome of the general election, much of what we see and hear especially in the late stages will be dregs of our politics.
Projections are for cumulative political ad counts to reach well into the tens of thousands on television alone as record millions of dollars are spent in this state.
What we've seen and what we will see is mostly about the U.S. Senate race between the incumbent, Democrat Mark Pryor, and his challenger, Republican Tom Cotton. There are Libertarian and Green Party candidates and even a write-in for the office, but this is a Pryor-Cotton battle.
The gubernatorial race, which has no incumbent running, is claiming some of the airtime in Arkansas. But the Senate race is overshadowing, largely because both sides have limitless access to money for this critical seat.
Credit the U.S. Supreme Court for that development, now that corporations are "people" with the right to spend money to influence elections. It is what it is and we are about to be swamped with what unfettered spending can buy.
Nationally, partisans on both sides identify Arkansas as a key state in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate. To them, it isn't about electing a senator to serve Arkansas. It is about electing a man with a "D" or an "R" beside his name.
At least in official Washington, that's supposed to symbolize absolute allegiance to the party. It doesn't, at least not always; but, with control of the Senate hanging on this election, just amassing more than 50 senators who wear the label should be enough to alter the leadership.
The real villain to Republicans isn't Pryor so much as it is U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader Republicans detest for blocking their legislation. They can get rid of Reid if they defeat Pryor and a handful of other Democrats. That would put Republicans in charge of the Senate and presumably the House, too, where they already have control.
Now reverse that thinking and think like the national Democrats who want Pryor to remain in office. He may have strayed from party ranks from time to time, but he's a "D" in the senatorial head count and can help Democrats maintain control of the Senate. They're as afraid of a Republican majority leader as Republicans are of Reid remaining at the leadership helm.
Arkansas voters should probably just dismiss any ads that try to make the Senate race here about any politician other than the candidates themselves.
Even the ads about these candidates can be deceiving. Both Pryor and Cotton have already been subjected to attack ads, although their frequency and nastiness is bound to get worse as the election nears.
Neither man could be as bad as they are depicted in some of these ads, so here's a little election-season advice: Listen less to the ads and more to the men who want to represent Arkansas in the Senate. Figure out why they want this job and what they'll do with the opportunity and responsibility. Then choose who would best represent you.
Don't just accept this inescapable rush of advertising, particularly the negative variety. Ignore it, or at least most of it. Size the candidates up for yourself, rather than let advertisers manipulate how you think about the candidates.
Granted, the advertising the candidates themselves put up has somewhat more credibility than that from other sources. It comes with their direct approval. Notice that distinction as candidate-approved ads get mixed in with those from people who may be out of state and out of touch with Arkansas.
Also, listen to what the candidates themselves say in front of crowds at local fish fries and firehouse breakfasts, at watermelon festivals and the like. Look them in the eye, shake their hands and take their measure.
Tune in to debates where candidates must think on their feet and where questions can be unexpected and answers less rehearsed.
Read the newspaper accounts of events you don't attend. And take advantage of the many avenues of information the Internet opens to everyone.
However you do it, gather information for yourself and responsibly choose not just a "D" or an "R," but a senator.
BRENDA BLAGG IS A FREELANCE COLUMNIST AND A LONGTIME JOURNALIST IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
Commentary on 08/27/2014