Negative Advertising

Let's be real clear about this: IT IS NOT NEGATIVE ADVERTISING IF YOU CALL A POLITICIAN LIBERAL WHEN HE IS IN FACT LIBERAL.

A mud slinging negative campaign is one where misrepresentations about someones character or associations are made, suggested or alluded to, e.g. calling someone a 'blackguard' or a thief or a philanderer. In addition to being fabrications, such tactics are always irrelevant & immaterial to the issues at hand, generally falling into the logical fallacy of the 'ad hominem' variety.

What we want in our politics is not personal attacks but a true discussion of the issues. But a persons political sympathies, including how he has voted on similar issues in the past, is quite germane to the issues. After all, what is more telling about how a person might behave in office, what he tells you or how he has actually voted in the past? Clearly the latter.

But in every election since 1975 or so, the Dem's have always succeeded in labeling entirely appropriate points as 'negative campaigning' or a 'refusal to discuss the issues.'

John Kerry was a rich northeastern anti-military liberal. Why was it not appropriate to call him such? Because in a time of war, John Kerry could never win election to the presidency if such was commonly known to the public. So the Democrats had to keep the Republicans from talking about it, & they were very effective at doing so.

But only b/c the Republicans let them do it. It's time for the Republicans to step forward on this issue. The Democrats have not won a national election running on what they truly believe since before Jimmy Carter - who ran as a Southern conservative for goodness sakes!

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