By Stu Johnson
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-932005.mp3
Frankfort, KY – The political advertisements began in earnest late this summer. And they will run until voters cast their ballots Tuesday. Much attention each election is given to the tone of political ads. In another Kentucky Public Radio report, Stu Johnson speaks with one area political scientist who says there's much to be gained from negative advertising.
Negative or attack ads as they are called are a deeply rooted part of Kentucky's political process. Here's a sample taken from the mayoral race in Lexington .
Such commercials attract strong criticism, but, University of Kentucky political scientist Stephen Voss claims such commercials are a lot healthier than people perceive..
"There are studies suggesting that when candidates attack each other it serves a more educational role than when they send positive messages about themselves. People learn more about the candidates and what they stand for through the back and forth of attacks than they do from puff pieces supporting the campaign itself."
Voss gives an example of how he believes attack ads offer insights on opposing candidates
"You know usually an exchange of ads will go like this, That jerk I'm running against is going to undermine this policy you care about' and then the opponent comes back and says my opponent is misrepresenting my position on that policy. Here's what it really is.' Well at the end of that exchange, even if there were somewhat deceptive claims on both of the attacks, voters do come away with a better idea of the stakes of the contest in terms of who leans one way, who leans the other on the policy. They come away with a clearer idea of what their choice is."
However, a veteran political scientist at Transylvania University says such tactics do not create an informed electorate. Don Dugi says it also leads to more political divisiveness within governing institutions like Congress.
Early commercials, according to Dugi, were designed to enhance a politician's reputation. But, times and political philosophies have changed over the years.
"As political parties have increasingly overlapped in terms of their policy agendas and there's a lot more overlap than people realize it becomes increasingly difficult to build affect."
So, about 30 years ago, Dugi says politicians changed their tactics and produced commercials that create a negative image of their opponents. Attacks ads are often effective, Dugi says, because the average voter is not well informed..
"One of the facts, the sad facts of US political life is that American voters are pretty ignorant about the facts and that being the case they are susceptible to disinformation."
Still, there are drawbacks to attack ads not all are effective. Some of the mud stick, some doesn't and some of the mud ends up on the politician slinging. And, over time, UK's Stephen Voss says the truth surfaces.
So, why are upbeat, positive ads not seen more often or considered effective? Voss says voters may see through self- promotion. Also, he says specific, innovative cures to policy problems can't be properly explained in less than a minute..
"Not that many people will be exposed to and even fewer will process through your nice detailed plan for why your innovative idea could help the system it's much easier to come back with a simple three four sentence attack on the innovative idea to show what a loony tune your opponent is."
Another impact of negative ads is turnout. Voss says fewer voters turn out when an election gets ugly. That's also a positive result for some politicians. A low voter turnout can rob an opponent of much needed support.