General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIs anybody else fed up with candidates bashing opponents?
Yes, I know it's a long-standing SOP, but it seems the vast majority of political stuff we get in the mail (and we get a lot) consists of the candidate telling us how bad/dishohest/clueless his or her opponent is. To me, this is just a way of getting your name out there without saying anything about yourself. IOW, hot air. And a waste of money donated to the campaigns.
I first noticed this way back in college when somebody was running (I think it was Ted Kennedy), and it seemed like all he ever said was what a jerk the other guy was. It left a crappy taste in my mouth that keeps coming up.
I can't even look at this bashing crap anymore. It just goes directly from the mailbox to the recycle bin - althought sometimes I think it belongs in the garbage.
Submariner
(12,509 posts)I remember one of their despicable shit eating republican far right wing followers standing up in a Bush Town Hall saying John Kerry shot himself........ twice...... to get Purple Heart medals.
And what did Bush do.....he smirked and said NOTHING to correct that asshole republican's comment.
So you don't need to drop comments about who gives you a crappy taste in your mouth that keeps coming the fuck up, we know all about that crappy shit around here sport.
CatMor
(6,212 posts)ever just bashing the opponent and saying what a jerk he was.
I am fed up with trump calling everyone names and telling lies.
world wide wally
(21,755 posts)I have no idea who her opponent is or what she is running for. All I have heard is that she will raise our taxes by about 3000 %
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)Negative campaigning works in a culture of grievance.
So that's what the GOP does and Democrats are obliged to respond in kind, or look weak.
Revanchist
(1,375 posts)Things got ugly fast. Jefferson's camp accused President Adams of having a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman." In return, Adams' men called Vice President Jefferson "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father." As the slurs piled on, Adams was labeled a fool, a hypocrite, a criminal, and a tyrant, while Jefferson was branded a weakling, an atheist, a libertine, and a coward. Even Martha Washington succumbed to the propaganda, telling a clergyman that Jefferson was "one of the most detestable of mankind."
Jefferson Hires a Hatchet Man
Back then, presidential candidates didn't actively campaign. In fact, Adams and Jefferson spent much of the election season at their respective homes in Massachusetts and Virginia. But the key difference between the two politicians was that Jefferson hired a hatchet man named James Callendar to do his smearing for him. Adams, on the other hand, considered himself above such tactics. To Jefferson's credit, Callendar proved incredibly effective, convincing many Americans that Adams desperately wanted to attack France. Although the claim was completely untrue, voters bought it, and Jefferson won the election.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/19668/election-1800-birth-negative-campaigning-us
They've been proven effective
grumpyduck
(6,262 posts)kcr
(15,320 posts)It would at least be entertaining. Jefferson and Adams had a way with words.