By George Farris
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Are you tired of hearing, reading and seeing political attacks ads? Does it seem like it’s getting worse? It’s not. Insults and personal attacks have always been a part of American politics.
George Washington, considered the father of our country, was attacked so viciously in some newspapers – some even questioning his abilities as a leader – it hastened his retirement.
Alexander Hamilton’s ongoing personal political attacks against Aaron Burr resulted in Burr challenging him to a duel in 1804. Hamilton accepted and then died when Burr’s bullet hit him in the stomach. Hamilton’s bullet hit a tree.
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson was running against Barry Goldwater, whom Johnson characterized as an extremist who would push America into war. Johnson’s campaign ran a now famous TV spot just once. The spot showed a little girl counting the petals of a flower. Then a countdown by an adult male is heard and the scene changes to a nuclear mushroom cloud. Johnson won in a landslide.
In 1988, Vice President George Bush beat Michael Dukakis with the famous “Willie Horton” TV ad. Featuring mug shots and prison photos of convicted killer Will Horton, the spot went like this: “Bush and Dukakis on crime. Bush supports the death penalty for first degree murderers. Dukakis not only opposes the death penalty, but he also allowed first degree murderers to have weekend passes from prison. One was Willie Horton, who murdered a boy in a robbery, stabbing him 19 times. Despite a life sentence, Horton received 10 weekend passes from prison. Horton fled, kidnapped a young couple, stabbing the man and repeatedly raping his girlfriend. Weekend prison passes. Dukakis on crime.” Result: Bush garnered 461 electoral votes to 111 for Dukakis.
Before Bob Dole chose Jack Kemp as his running mate in the 1996 election, Kemp had some less-than-kind words about Dole. According to Kemp, “In a recent fire, Bob Dole’s library burned down. Both books were lost. And he hadn’t even finished coloring one of them.”
EFFECTIVE BUT WHY?
Attack ads are effective because they create high emotions and motivate people to vote. The sad part is, the voters are usually more interested in preventing a certain candidate from gaining office, rather than putting one in. They may be voting for Candidate A, but it’s really because they don’t want Candidate B to win.
Voters are more easily motivated by fear. Fear that a certain person, if elected will start a war, raise taxes, ruin the economy and more. So even voters who would probably skip voting all together, are suddenly motivated to get out and vote.
GET USED TO IT
It’s not going to change any time soon. So get used to it. You can’t have a duel with your opponent in response to an attack. And while the attack may not kill you, it can kill your chances of being elected.
George Farris is CEO of Farris Marketing.