American election campaigns are unique in many ways. Many other nations look to us as a beacon of hope for democracy, the gold standard for a republic, and the perfect example for elections and election campaigns. While we may be a beacon of hope and to some the gold standard, we are far from perfect in any regard – especially within our campaigning and election system. In the United States, campaign finance reform can seeming gain no traction in congress or the supreme court. There is always some loophole or workaround that allows the ultra-wealthy to heavily influence our election process. However, something that is also fairly unique to American election campaigns is how we advertise, names our heavy usage of negative and attack advertisements.
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Even though many of the advertisements are now funded by Super PACs and their access to seemingly unlimited donation money, political advertisements are something American election campaigns have essentially mastered. The most important of the many different variations of political advertisements in American elections though, is the negative and attack ad. A mastery of these types of advertisements gives a candidate a huge advantage over their opponent(s). Negative advertisements are primarily used to bring up questions about an opponent’s integrity, policy positions or qualifications. Common iterations include advertisements seeking to invoke fear and anger, or to make the opponent seem guilty on some charge, or to just simply make people laugh at them (Herrnson 222). Negative advertisements offer a candidate a sure fire way to damage their opponents image, in both political and personal terms. In fact, due to Super PACs having no legal ties to a specific campaign the amount of these types of advertisements have increased greatly, with only 25% of advertisements ben negative on the 1952 presidential race vs over 60% in the 2008 presidential race (West …show more content…
The United States often looked to as the paragon of excellence when it comes to democracy, and on the surface it would almost seems to be, having free elections and the ability for seemingly anyone to run for and win office. Americans need to address the problems of campaign finance, and put reforms in place to truly give everyone that wonderful opportunity to run for and win office. Not just someone who is backed by wealthy donors and wildly prosperous Super PACs. They need to recognize the power that political advertisements hold, especially the negative ones in order to remain or become more informed on the issues. Lastly, Americans need to work just as hard as they would at enacting proper campaign finance reform, at being able to discern and distinguish biased media outlets. Whether it be a liberal or conservative bias, the American electorate needs to work to distinguish what is truth from what is a journalist’s spin. The elections and election campaigns that Americans hold sacred are not perfect, but there are great aspects to them. With hard work on campaign finance reforms, a more honest media, and a more unbiasedly informed electorate, American elections and election campaigns can become what many across the globe believe them to be – the paragon of excellence or democracy, and a beacon of hope for republics
Even though many of the advertisements are now funded by Super PACs and their access to seemingly unlimited donation money, political advertisements are something American election campaigns have essentially mastered. The most important of the many different variations of political advertisements in American elections though, is the negative and attack ad. A mastery of these types of advertisements gives a candidate a huge advantage over their opponent(s). Negative advertisements are primarily used to bring up questions about an opponent’s integrity, policy positions or qualifications. Common iterations include advertisements seeking to invoke fear and anger, or to make the opponent seem guilty on some charge, or to just simply make people laugh at them (Herrnson 222). Negative advertisements offer a candidate a sure fire way to damage their opponents image, in both political and personal terms. In fact, due to Super PACs having no legal ties to a specific campaign the amount of these types of advertisements have increased greatly, with only 25% of advertisements ben negative on the 1952 presidential race vs over 60% in the 2008 presidential race (West …show more content…
The United States often looked to as the paragon of excellence when it comes to democracy, and on the surface it would almost seems to be, having free elections and the ability for seemingly anyone to run for and win office. Americans need to address the problems of campaign finance, and put reforms in place to truly give everyone that wonderful opportunity to run for and win office. Not just someone who is backed by wealthy donors and wildly prosperous Super PACs. They need to recognize the power that political advertisements hold, especially the negative ones in order to remain or become more informed on the issues. Lastly, Americans need to work just as hard as they would at enacting proper campaign finance reform, at being able to discern and distinguish biased media outlets. Whether it be a liberal or conservative bias, the American electorate needs to work to distinguish what is truth from what is a journalist’s spin. The elections and election campaigns that Americans hold sacred are not perfect, but there are great aspects to them. With hard work on campaign finance reforms, a more honest media, and a more unbiasedly informed electorate, American elections and election campaigns can become what many across the globe believe them to be – the paragon of excellence or democracy, and a beacon of hope for republics