Denise Ross: Campaign ads go on the attack

Rapid City Journal ^ | 08/24/2004 | Denise Ross

[SoDak]

Despite the cool temperatures, autumn is not yet upon us. But the season changed in South Dakota last Thursday. The day after the first debate in the state's U.S. Senate race, it became negative political ad season.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce began running ads critical of incumbent Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D. This week, the American Medical Association joined the chamber in complaining about Daschle's position on medical malpractice insurance.

Daschle's campaign found fault with the chamber's ads. The chamber is not from South Dakota — the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce is neutral in the race — and South Dakota boasts the nation's second-lowest medical malpractice premiums.

The chamber's $300,000 investment over two weeks outpaced the ad spending of either campaign, according to Daschle's campaign. Daschle's campaign workers pointed out a corresponding drop in Thune's own planned TV spending during the two weeks the chamber ads will run.

Daschle said his Republican challenger should intervene.

"If John does detest negative ads as much as he says, then now is the time to stand up for the people of South Dakota and tell his friends that South Dakota deserves better," Daschle said in a news release.

Then, Daschle's campaign sent out an e-mail, the ink smeared by tears over the deplorable ads, with a link for supporters to give money to Daschle's campaign so something can be done about this.

Then the Daschle campaign put up its own ad, with a string of Republicans decrying negative ads and one calling directly on Thune to "stop running negative ads." Then Thune's campaign manager called Daschle a liar.

"John Thune has not aired a negative ad. They are lying and run their own negative ad when they accuse him of doing so," Dick Wadhams said.

You can see how this follows a predictable path.

But get this. Associate political science professor John Glover says we like it. No, we demand it.

"The idea is that people are more likely to vote against something than for somebody. We're looking for dirt. It's the mentality that we don't have any good candidates, so we're picking between the lesser of two evils," Glover of Black Hills State University said. "If the question is, where is this stuff coming from, it seems to me we're asking for it."

Combine the American pastime of looking for flaws in anyone above us on the status ladder combined with the reality that candidates aren't all that different, and you've got an environment ripe for such ads, he said, citing a 1998 study of negative ads. It is easier to whip up doubts or fears about your opponent than it is to try to explain the subtleties of public policy and why your plan for farm/health care/trade policy is better than your opponent's.

"You can say something nasty a lot quicker than you can say something nice," he said.

The candidates aren't different? Not when you compare them to Gandhi or Stalin or Marx. Place Daschle and Thune on the full political spectrum, and they won't fall too far apart from one another.

Modern political campaigns spend more on TV and radio advertising than their past counterparts, not to mention the third-party groups.

In 1952, campaigns spent an average of 5 percent of their budget on paid ads. Now it's 40 percent or more, with about a third of that devoted to negative ads. Campaign ad budgets grew to 15 percent in 1972 to 20 percent in 1988, Glover said.

In Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential race, it took the leap to 40 percent, probably because Clinton was largely unknown and served as governor of a state that didn't immediately bring to mind sophistication and success, Glover said. Clinton needed to introduce himself to voters and highlight his successes.

"He really cracked it open," Glover said.

In South Dakota, the ad juggernaut was the 2002 U.S. Senate race between Thune and Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D. By this time during that campaign cycle, the state had endured an escalating back and forth for six months.

This time, the duration will be shorter, but the intensity probably will be heightened.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the outfit that recruits and supports Republican Senate candidates, has reserved $2.4 million in television ad time between now and the Nov. 2 election. Combine that with the U.S. chamber's buy — and that goofy "You're Fired" ad — and there's $3 million worth of ads attacking Daschle, his campaign says.

So far, Daschle's strategy is to try to use the existence of these ads against Thune, since voters grew so tired of such messages two years ago that many now plead with candidates not to do it again. Some threaten to vote against whoever goes negative first.

The question is, will voters distinguish between the third-party groups that support Thune supporters and Thune himself?

If Wadhams is right, it won't matter. He believes outside groups that support Daschle will soon be airing ads against Thune, thus neutralizing any advantage to be had by not running attack ads.

"This guy has the same political team that ran Tim Johnson's campaign and thought it was fine and dandy when all his liberal buddies came rushing in to South Dakota and spent millions of dollars beating up John Thune," Wadhams said. "You did not hear a word out of them."

Glover doesn't offer any hope that destiny will lead us out of this thicket.

"I don't think negative advertising will ever go away. We have to be honest with ourselves and not blame the candidates," he said. "We as a society seem to demand it."

[SoDak]

Folks, Daschle is in trouble this year, unlike anytime since perhaps the 70's. The Chamber Of Commerce ad is very damaging, and Daschle has nothing to counter with. There simply won't be enough reservation votes to save his oily hide. He's ducking debates, crying about negative ads that don't exist, and the rumour is he's maneuvering to somehow give Wind Cave National Park back to the Sioux. Desperation and paranoia.

[MarkeyD]

That's why I'm bypassing donating directly to Bush and am spending my money on Thune and the Swiftvets.

[jojodamofo]

>>>>> That's why I'm bypassing donating directly to Bush and am spending my money on Thune and the Swiftvets.

Ditto. The dirtier the ad, the better it works. We cannot deny that this is the world we live in, some may like it some may not. We need the upper hand, and I like that the 527s can do the dirty work without the President's motives being called into question.

[OSHA]

[rushmom]

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