Political Candidates Bashing Their Oppononts Is Poor Campaigning

I'm sorry, did you say "politicians with integrity"? Are you sure you're talking about American politicians?

Hah!

Actually, there are a few of them out there - but they are few and far between. It's very sad that there isn't more integrity in our leaders, but I guess sometimes we have to vote for the lesser of the evils...

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I have noticed as well the number of political commercials that have been shown that is simply bashing of a candidate. I don't recall even seeing any commercials in which actually ask you to vote for one politician or the other; simply, its that the specified politician is supposedly a horrible person that votes against everything that America stands for.

I even saw a commercial that was bashing a candidate only for the fact that he supported the President! This commercial, I don't even remember which politician they were trying to smear. I can really only remember that the only basis they had for not voting for the man was that he agreed with George W. Bush in a few policies and morals. For one, I am a Republican even if I'm not old enough to vote yet, and this type of smear only made me roll my eyes, as it was just another bash at the President, to whom I revere as a great man.

Politics today are simply getting immature, which is rather disconcerting...

Oh yeah. A few months ago, all I ever saw were commercials from one party bashing the other. I just don't get the concept/strategy behind it. What is the American public, a bunch of five year olds bickering over toys on the playground or something? Isn't the majority of the country supposed to be over the high school-type "dramas"? It seems like that's the kind of audience the commercials are pitched towards.

What I see is a lack of valid reasons why we should vote for a certain candidate. If I'm sick of one party, I'd like to hear the solutions of the other. And so far, solutions aren't surfacing up, which makes me slightly apathetic to the whole election (I can't vote yet, but you get what I mean). It's pretty upsetting that it's coming to that kind of level in our nation's government system.

Yah. Wonder why politics turns off a lot of people. If all politicians are doing are trashing his opponents, then I'd rather be politically ignorant, thank you.

I just happened to write a blog about this subject before I viewed yours. It frustrates me that they will spend tens of millions of dollars on this kind of advertisement.

Anymore I just roll my eyes at them, but that is because I am so stong in my political views. But if i were not- I would totally be turned off to voting by these commericals.

Francesca Chambers

Bashers, Republicans or Democrats, do so because their own political history and opinions are weaker in swaying voters than bashing the other guy down. When Democrats toot that they are not Republicans as a great selling point, defining yourself as not your enemy is sad. When Republicans falsely toot that Democrats will help terrorism as a great selling point for their party, another sign of the death of politics is observed. Fear over actual messages of hope, improvement, or change except for more and more fear.

The major parties are having a difficult time explaining to voters why they should vote for them and not the other one. It is because there are few, if any, genuine reasons that they can find to back it up. And bashing your political opponent is the best thing they can do in place of presenting strong political visions besides fear and not-Republican.

Generally speaking, the Republicans and Democrats are mostly crony scumbags more interested in preserving their personal power and the power of their party than in preserving democracy of the people.

Citizen Press Revolution

Why should we have to choose between the lesser of two evils? Is that what the founding fathers intended when they started our countries as a beacon of hope and virtue? No, our founding fathers did not want there to be organized political parties, because they understood that the ideas at stake then would not be actual ideals, but would become the ideas of the parties, hence making a decision a choice between the lesser of two evils, which it should never be.

The more negative the ad, the more desperate the candidate. The idea is, when you've tried everything else, go super negative. At that point you're not trying to win anyone over. it's the opposite. The point is to leave such a bitter taste in voters' mouths that they don't even want to vote. Pretty clever, huh? No one ever gives up on a trick that works.

I think this is a product of our narrow, two party system. The two candidates are in direct competition with each other. They don't have to differentiate themselves from another candidate except by saying, "Look I am not them." If we had even a third party the parties would have to have much clearer borders and platforms so you could make a detailed comparison. THis kind of infantile diametrism doesn't work in a triangle.

I think that is why a lot of 3rd parties fail too. They don't establish themselves as a party. They tend to lean either Republican or Democrat and oppose themselves appropriately.

Res ipsa loquitur.
memor mori, mahalo.