The following Press Release was sent to various media today. I have received permission to post the statement in it's entirety.
Statement Concerning Recent Discourse of the McCain/Palin Campaign
October 22, 2008
This statement is signed by research faculty of communication programs from across the nation. We speak as concerned educators and scholars of communication but do not claim to speak for our home institutions.
We wish to express our great concern over unethical communication behavior that threatens to dominate the closing days of the 2008 Presidential campaign.
Both major campaigns have been criticized by fact-checking organizations for prevarications. We call on both campaigns to halt blatant misrepresentations of their opponent’s positions.
It would be misleading, however, to imply that since “both sides do it” there is no qualitative difference worth noting. In recent weeks, the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has engaged in such incendiary mendacity that we must speak out. The purposeful dissemination of messages that a communicator knows to be false and inflammatory is unethical. It is that simple.
Making decisions in a democracy requires an informed electorate. The health of our democracy and our ability to make a good decision about who should lead our nation require the very best in communication practices, not the worst.
Media investigations have debunked the notion that Senator Obama “worked closely” or “palled around” with “terrorist” Bill Ayers. Governor Palin cited a New York Times article that actually contradicts her claim by noting “the two men do not appear to have been close.” Nonetheless, the McCain/Palin ticket continues to repeat the canard, most recently with so-called “robocalls” in battleground states.1
The McCain/Palin ticket now describes the Obama/Biden tax plan with such terms as “socialist” and “welfare.” Such descriptions are false. Even if they were not, they would apply equally to the McCain/Palin tax proposals.2
The repeated use of “Joe the Plumber” as a symbol by the McCain/Palin ticket is more deceptive than truthful. Despite the fact that media reports have revealed that the person is not a licensed plumber, owes back taxes, and his current personal income tax would decrease under the Obama tax plan, the McCain/Palin ticket continues to take Obama’s words to Joe out of context to repeat the false claim that Obama would raise taxes on the middle class and thus hurt the American Dream.3
Such discourse is inflammatory as well as deceptive. Behind in the polls, the McCain/Palin campaign and its surrogates now appear intent on marking Obama as “other” to elicit racist fears. Senator McCain’s odd question “Who is Barack Obama?” is answered by Governor Palin’s assertion that Obama “is not a man who sees America as you and I do,” along with her comment “We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these 2 wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic. . . pro-America areas of this great nation.”
We see an effort to color code the election as between an urban, African-American Obama falsely linked to terms like “terrorist,” “unpatriotic,” and “welfare” versus small town, white, “patriotic” Americans like the mythical Joe the Plumber. “Intended” or not, the message is getting through, as reports have emerged of ugly scenes at some Republican rallies and racists hanging Obama in effigy in Oregon and Ohio. In an echo of McCarthyism, Representative Michelle Bachmann has called for investigations into un-American members of Congress, pointing to Senator Obama as the prime suspect. Speaking to warm up the crowd before a McCain rally, Representative Robin Hayes continued the theme: “Folks, there’s a real America, and liberals hate real Americans that work, and accomplish, and achieve, and believe in God.” The official website of the Sacramento County Republican Party compared Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and urged people to “Waterboard Barack Obama.” The October newsletter of the Chaffey Community Republican Women in California depicts Obama on a food stamp surrounded by a watermelon, ribs, and a bucket of fried chicken. The McCain/Palin campaign has not repudiated such actions taken on its behalf, nor has it done enough to respond to reprehensible behavior at rallies.4
The McCain/Palin campaign and its surrogates, of course, will deny explicit racism. But their purposeful repetition of inflammatory false statements is unethical and stokes the fires of racism.
The code of ethical conduct for the National Communication Association reads in part “We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication.”5 We believe the integrity of political communication in our nation is being seriously threatened and we call on the McCain/Palin campaign to put a stop to such efforts immediately.
In alphabetical order:Rosita Albert, Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department, University of Minnesota
Robert Asen, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin
Gayle Austin, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Georgia State University
Austin Babrow, Professor, School of Communication Studies, Ohio University
Jeffrey Bennett, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Georgia State University
Carole Blair, Professor, Department of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina
Arthur P. Bochner, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Communication, University of South Florida,
Ruth Laurion Bowman, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Louisiana State University
Michael S. Bowman, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Louisiana State University
Jackie Byars, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Wayne State University
James Cantrill, Professor & Department Head, Communication & Performance Studies, Northern Michigan University
Bryan Crable, Chair, Communication Department, Villanova University
David Cheshier, Chair, Department of Communication, Georgia State University
Kenneth N. Cissna, Professor and Chair, Department of Communication, University of South Florida
Lynn Clarke, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh
Ann L. Darling, Chair, Department of Communication, University of Utah
James P. Dillard, Head, Communication Arts & Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
David S. Domke, Head of Journalism, Communication Department, University of Washington
Rosa A. Eberly, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, Department of English, Pennsylvania State University
Renee Edwards, Chair, Communication Studies Department, Louisiana State University
Ted Friedman, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Georgia State University
Ronald Walter Greene, Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department, University of Minnesota
Larry Gross, Director, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
Lawrence Grossberg, Morris David Distinguished Professor of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina
Joshua Gunn, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, University of Texas
Claudia L. Hale, Director, School of Communication Studies, Ohio University
Dan Hallin, Chair, Department of Communication, University of California, San Diego
Jarice Hanson, Professor, Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts
Teresa M. Harrison, Chair, Department of Communication, University at Albany, SUNY
Stephen John Hartnett, Chair, Communication Department, University of Colorado, Denver
Ekaterina Haskins, Associate Professor, Department of Language, Literature, and Communication, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Gerard A. Hauser, College Professor of Distinction, Communication Department, University of Colorado at Boulder
Michael Hecht, Distinguished Professor, Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
Robert L. Ivie, Professor, Department of Communication and Culture, Indiana University
Anita C. James, Associate Professor, School of Communication Studies, Ohio University
Sut Jhally, Professor, Communication Department, University of Massachusetts
Christopher L. Johnstone, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
Susanne Jones, Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department, University of Minnesota
Lisa Keranen, Assistant Professor, Communication Department, University of Colorado at Boulder
Celeste Lacroix, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, College of Charleston
Randall A. Lake, Associate Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
Christopher Lamb, Professor, Department of Communication, College of Charleston
Judith Yaross Lee, Professor, School of Communication Studies, Ohio University
Kwan M. Lee, Associate Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
Brenton Malin, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh,
Richard Maxwell, Chair, Department of Media Studies, Queens College, City University of New York
Brian McGee, Chair, Department of Communication, College of Charleston
Robert D. McPhee. Professor, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University
Marian Meyers, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Georgia State University
Katherine Miller, Professor, Communication Department, Texas A&M University
Michael Morgan, Professor, Communication Department, University of Massachusetts
Charles E. Morris III, Associate Professor, Communication Department, Boston College
Robin Nabi, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
Lester C. Olson, Professor, Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh
Della Pollock, Bank of America Honors Professor, Communication Studies Department, University of North Carolina
William K. Rawlins, Strocker Professor of Communication Studies, Ohio University
Shanara R. Reid-Brinkley, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh
Angelo Restivo, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Georgia State University
Ronald E. Rice, Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
Felicia D. Roberts, Associate Professor, Communication Department, Purdue University
Heidi M. Rose, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Villanova University
Edward Schiappa, Chair, Communication Studies Department, University of Minnesota
Matthew W. Seeger, Chair, Department of Communication, Wayne State University
Herbert W. Simons, Professor Emeritus, Communication, Temple University
Joseph W. Slade III, Professor, School of Media Arts and Studies, Ohio University
Cynthia Stohl, Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
Michael S. Stohl, Chair, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
Nathan Stormer, Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine
Patricia A. Suchy, Director, Program for the Study of Film and Media Arts, Department of Communication Studies, Louisiana State University
Scott Titsworth, University Professor, School of Communication Studies, Ohio University
Monique Mitchell Turner, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Maryland
Mary Douglas Vavrus, Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department, University of Minnesota
Niklas Vollmer, Associate Professor, Communication Department, Georgia State University
Barbara Warnick, Professor, Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh
James Watt, Professor, Department of Language, Literature, and Communication, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
René Weber, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
Merrill D. Whitburn, Louis Ellsworth Laflin Professor, Department of Language, Literature, and Communication, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Kirt H. Wilson, Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department, University of Minnesota
Roy V. Wood, Chair, Human Communication Studies Department, Denver University
Emory H. Woodard IV, Associate Professor, Communication Department, Villanova University
David Zarefsky, Professor of Communication Studies, Northwestern University
Media ContactsMembers of the media are free to contact any signatory they wish. Email addresses can be
obtained from Edward Schiappa. In the interest of minimizing the risk of abusive emails, contact
information is not included in this document except for the following individuals, who have
agreed to serve as initial media contacts:
Edward Schiappa, Chair, Communication Studies Department, University of Minnesota
(612) 624-2808 or Schiappa@umn.edu
Larry Gross, Director, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
(213) 740-3770 or lpgross@usc.edu
Herbert W. Simons, Professor Emeritus, Communication, Temple University
(215) 204-1880 or hsimons@temple.edu
Michael S. Stohl, Chair, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
(805) 893-7935 or mstohl@comm.ucsb.edu
Endnotes1 See:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/17/ST2008101702930.html. The NewYork Times article can be accessed here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/us/politics/04ayers.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin2 See:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_welfare.html; http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iE2JCSH5p9r2GBkQWS9TWAMzmuvQD93T0HGO0 and
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/DNcampaign_19pol.ART.State.Edition2.4a77412.html3 Unlicensed:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081016/NEWS09/810160418. Taxes would decrease:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_welfare.html. Back Taxes owed:
http://apps.co.lucas.oh.us/onlinedockets/Docket.aspx?STYPE=1&PAR=LN200701803-000&STARTDATE=01/01/1900&ENDDATE=01/01/2100&PARTY=D,1. Taking Obama’s words “spread the wealth” out of context:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/18/fact-check-obama-said-he-would-spread-hiswealth-around/#more-25366. Factcheck.org has repeatedly debunked the McCain/Palin misrepresentations of Obama/Biden’s tax plan and its effect on the middle class.
4 Bachmann:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESdA52S4Dbg. Sacramento:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/15/politics/main4525005.shtml. Food Stamp:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_buck16.3d67d4a.html. Examples of the failure to repudiate offensive behavior at rallies have been collected (with video evidence)
at a partisan website:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Not-Repudiated-Hate-Talk-Express-McCainPalin-Hate-Every-Day5
http://www.natcom.org/Governance/lc/nov99/ResCredo.htmPlease give this a K and R on behalf of the Educators noted above who have called on the McCain/Palin campaign to STOP their unethical behavior. :kick:
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
