By Matt Thacker
For campaigners across the country, this week will decide whether months of hard work paid off. For the rest of us, this week will finally provide some relief from the inundation of political ads.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a political news junkie. I just can’t stand to watch anymore meaningless negative ads. I could give many local examples of fairly dishonest tactics which candidates have used, but I’m sure you have seen them over and over again.
The Associated Press reported last week that political parties have spent about $160 million in negative ads against congressional candidates compared to about $17 million in positive ads.
Dr. Laurie Rhodebeck, associate professor of political science at the University of Louisville, said people always tend to think that elections get nastier each year, but they have always existed. She said the difference now is quicker impact with new forms of media.
Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mon.) knows about new technology all too well. One of his opponents reportedly sends a guy with a video camera to all of Burns’ events hoping to catch him slipping up. Burns fell asleep during an agriculture meeting, and a video of him sleeping appeared on http://www.youtube.com. The video has more than 100,000 hits.
Despite their annoyance, theoretically negative ads serve a purpose. Voters only find out about real problems from the media and other candidates, and opposing candidates will look for dirt with more vigilance than even the media.
Candidates twist voting records and facts so far, the ads become meaningless. Certainly, some ads affect potential voters, but that only hurts the process if those ads are based in deception. Then, the race comes down to who has more money to produce more negative commercials.
Ideally, with both sides arguing with equal means, the truth will eventually get out. However, that would be true only if both sides were arguing based on truth.
With presidential and congressional approval ratings at all-time lows, a new wave of candidates could have taken the opportunity to win over the American people and lead the country in a new direction. Instead, Republicans and Democrats alike have focused on the ineptitude of their opponents rather than their own merit. The Democratic rallying cry has been, “Are you tired of Republicans? Then vote for us.” Considering how many people are tired of Republicans, the strategy might work this time. But once they take office, no one will trust them.
Instead maybe the nation would not be so bad off with an independent like Robin Williams’ character in “Man of the Year”running for president in 2008. That might force the major parties to start trying to win rather than just be better than their opponent. Sure, Williams’ character might have some eccentricities and no experience, but at least he’s not a Republican or Democrat. Judging by this year’s political strategies, that might be enough.
