So I guess the dust has settled a bit now, but a few months back the TV was chock full of terrible commercials “promoting” the Republican candidates. To tell you the truth… I have no idea what any of them actually stand for. Instead, I know more dirt about them then I’d really like. Waaaaay too much info! So what happened to our country? When platforms mean nothing and the goal of your campaign is to sling as much dirt as you possibly can. Worst yet… It’s their OWN TEAM! They’re all on the same side! What’s wrong with them all?
Though my favorite thing is that it IS their own team, and all that mud they’ve thrown around at eachother only works against them in the big election. I mean, don’t they think all that junk is going to come back on them? All the Democrats have to do is re-air all those commercials by that Rep’s opponents back in December. Sigh… I wonder if ol Lincoln had to deal with this… ACTUALLY, after doing some cursory digging, it seems this is nothing new! The first recorded (that I could find) was back in 1828 when John Quincy Adams handed out smear pamphlets about Andrew Jackson attacking his moral character and even calling his mom a prostitute. And the first radio smear campaign was in 1936 by the Rep. party. Oh, but don’t get all huffy, the Dems do it too! They all are jerks really. Someday, I suppose, we’ll get to a point where we’ll actually elect people with good ideas, not because of their mud… well, unless I become president, where I do away with elections and just have an all out mud wrestling brawl. Winner takes office! It’d be way more entertaining than what we got now… heck, it’d probably result in better presidents. Heh! So… I’ll see y’all in the pits!
(Further reading, some historic negative campaigns)
I LIKE IKE!
I FAWN 4 SHAWN!!
sigh… just doesn’t have as nice a ring to it…
or maybe…
I CAN’T SPELLEO TOMMELLEO!!! that’s it! I’ll have the presidency for sure with that one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va5Btg4kkUE
I heard a good chunk of the mudslinging, except, don’t remember who did what anymore. The jist of it seems to be that they are all jerks.
Sometimes I wonder, what’s the point anymore. The candidates these days seem so stupid on such basic levels, that when one of them does win, it’s really more like being voted prom king/queen. The winners are usually dumb as a sack o’ bricks, but they’re popular and people don’t want to be the person who doesn’t like the popular folks and thus further enable them to continue being stupid and boost their egos in the process.
sigh… I really wish it wasn’t just a popularity contest… like, you had to actually qualify to be in it… actually, that’s not a half bad idea! so every candidate would have to take examinations that would rate their problem solving skills, knowledge of international and domestic social histories, economics, and whatnot! then take some sort of personality profile to weed out all those sociopaths… and of course, there’s be a bikini contest I’d wager…
why we haven’t done this in the last, what, 100 yrs or so is beyond me!
Mudslinged is a very good tactic. Not only does it help get some of the people to vote for them, most importantly the media attention. Think about how many people would buy papers and articles reading about how “X called out Y on his immoral act of Z” or whatever. Gets some attention :P also, not so terrible for the one being insulted, gets him the most. In politics, aint no such thing as good or bad attention, just attention
Id like to remove the last sentence, because of further thought, its stupid :P
no, you’re right, any attention is good advertising! the more controversial the better, and if you can spin it right, you can make a bad situation into a springboard to your success.
They do it because it works because the majority of the electorate is uneducated/ill-informed/uninformed on both sides of the aisle; not having taken the time to educate themselves to the point that they are worthy to vote. If someone is going to vote but doesn’t take the time to adequately educate themself, you have to get them to remember something. It’s far easier to get that uneducated/ill-informed/uninformed voter to remember _____ DID _____ AND THEREFORE IS BAD instead of trying to get them to remember and understand your tax plan or your education reform plan or your spending cuts plan.
how much you wanna bet I could win the presidential election by legally changing my name to mickey mouse? I’d wager 90% of the people would vote cause of the name! XD
A majority of the electorate that is uneducated/ill-informed/uninformed quite possibly would.
or people like me who just don’t really like any of the other options >)
well, once someone was elected as governer or something (maybe like a preliminary election) of south carolina or north carolina or something, anyway, he had not the faintest idea what he was doing, and he won the vote because his name was first on the ballot.
see! there’s hope for me yet!
Smear campaign is as bad as overfloated Hype.
It is sad that people resort to such things but what’s more sad is….it works on people….
Personally I never watch those ”debates” where nothing good actually come off it.
so wait… are you trying to imply that my “everybody will be millionaires once I’m elected” campaign wont work?
More and more I’m thinking my conspiracy theory to get Obama re-elected isn’t too far off. I mean if This mess is the best the Reps have to offer?? Seriously??? They couldn’t find One guy/gal that Wasn’t a total horse’s ass Any Where?? REALLY?
Come on, there had to be at least One guy some where in the Ozarks that still had a brain cell working. Or did they bother looking in the Bayous and swamps around Louisiana?
Hell, I’d vote for a guy with that New Awlins accent any day. Give him a nice pair of merry dark eyes and thick dark hair and I’ll even campaign for him!
What? That’s superficial??
So’s the bull we’re Expected to care about [referring to all the bull they've been throwing at each other and the lies that even a deaf old granny would see through] and I don’t see a single piece of eye candy among’em. If I’m going to have to sit through B.S. platform after B.S. platform, you Damned well better give me something to look at! [mergles darkly]
ha, you know, I think you really might be on to something with all that!