Under oath, when an ordinary citizen deliberately communicates a blatant and provable falsehood to an elected politician it is called perjury. Over mass media, when that same politician communicates a spun half-truth or an out and out bald-faced lie (or directly benefits from a dark money group choking the airwaves with tall tales on their behalf) to a community, state or nation, it is called campaigning. It is no accident that the sooner is done at the risk of a stiff legal penalty and the latter is done seeking endorsement via vote. This has been the bane of the two-party American political system since the founding of the Republic. Mass communications over the past hundred years and especially more recently with the advent of social media, the dirty part of campaigning has been taken to a whole new level.
Regular readers may recall the post from earlier this year, . I must reiterate one point from that piece:
“Attack ads, however accurate or devoid of things factual, are mean and cruel for a reason. They work.”
Depending on the desperation level of any given candidate, the more bombastic, over-the-top and far-fetched an attack ad may be, it is usually directly proportional to the degree of difficulty in closing their sale with undecided voters or in some cases enough voters to matter. What’s more, nothing seems off limits especially in the era of chaos government where conventional norms are violated at will with usually little if any negative sanction or consequence. It is important however to not let attacks go unchallenged. Kudos to those who are able and employ the rapid response. At this point the majority of those intending to vote in the 2018 General Election have already made their decision regarding how they will mark their ballot. The competition in the final days of the campaign is for a relatively small percentage of voters who remain undecided. In vying for these voters, all of us must suffer wading through the mud regardless of what the truth may be.
As with everything else in free-market capitalist America, politicians and ideas like state questions are sold wholesale in the public square. Protected under the penumbra of “campaigning,” any amount of factual contortion, distortion or untruth is fair game. Moreover, nothing gains attention, motivates or sells like FEAR. There is ample amount of it being sold going both ways. We can only hope that in the end the majority of buyers of such a marketed intangible will purchase that brand which poses the most clear and direct threat their own lives, like the very real prospect of losing actual necessities. It is no secret that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and any number of employee and consumer protections are being placed on the table to reign in the burgeoning budget deficit created by the recent round of GOP-sponsored tax cuts favoring the very wealthy. Such things are a much greater threat to John & Jane Q. Voter than any immigrant caravan could possibly ever be.
The broad national message is a clear cut presentation of fear and loathing of “Any Democrat” and is currently being aired before the backdrop of a week where twelve prominent Democratic politicians, Democratic donors and media outlets were recipients of mail bombs and the occurrence of the worst attack on the American Jewish community in U.S. history. The contrast between the “threats” in the ad and what has actually occurred in real life could not be more stark.
In Oklahoma we are being fed a steady campaign diet of contempt for all things Liberal and Progressive. To see some political TV ads one would think that socialism, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Bernie Sanders are the ones responsible for all the policies that have all but destroyed a once-solvent, sound and prospering state. To believe some ads one would have to swallow the assertion that an honorable public servant is somehow dishonest or unethical for accepting a pension for his years of public service. It wouldn’t be so bad if so many smear attempts were not so insulting to the intelligence of educated voters, but that is not who its appeal is aimed at convincing. Seriously, the office of Attorney General has no input or control of tax policy. Indeed, get the facts!
As alluded to above, the number of undecided voters a week out from Election Day is relatively small and getting smaller. Because of the nature of our politics, negative ads and narratives must not go unchallenged. Often the truth is helpful in clarification of facts, especially when it can be used in a public forum. Sadly, many election outcomes are determined by who can scare more voters the most effectively.
We can only hope that all the maligning of Liberals and Democrats by the usual sources has the same result as all their scaremongering did for back in June. Who could forget the “Vote No on 788” ad forcing the query, “Do we really want the most liberal marijuana law in the nation?” As I said back in June, it remains to be seen if the 57% in favor of medical cannabis is a mere aberration or outlier or if it is really an indication that there may be more liberal leaning voters in Oklahoma than the party registration numbers may indicate. The results we receive on Election Night might give us a clearer picture. For those of us working on the campaigns of any candidate seeking to provide a viable option to the voters of their district or state in an effort to improve the quality of life of all concerned, we must press on through the mud, stay on message and go the extra mile in helping all registered voters of all or no party stripe make the most informed decision possible at the polls. This is an all hands on deck evolution until 7 PM on November 6th. So, to paraphrase William Shakespeare, once more unto the breach my dear Democratic friends, once more; or we close up the wall with our campaign defeats!
Great job, Stan. Glad Oklahoma has you!