Clicking on banner ads enables JWR to constantly improve
Jewish World Review Sept. 11, 2000 / 10 Elul, 5760

David Limbaugh

David Limbaugh
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Debbie Schlussel
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


The virtues of
going negative


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- I'M SORRY, but I'm growing a bit weary of all this negative talk about negative campaigning. I think it's time we started being positive about this gloriously negative American tradition.

Who says negative campaigning is negative? Don't you agree that it's a positive force in a democratic society -- OK, a "constitutional republic" for you nitpickers? Let's consider the principles involved.

First, it is generally a good thing for voters to be informed, on the theory that informed voters make better choices. Underlying this premise, though, is the corollary assumption that the candidates should provide reliable information to the voters -- being informed with erroneous data obviously is not desirable.

Next, shouldn't we come down off of our collective high horses and squarely face the truth that being informed means knowing about as many facts as possible, negative as well as positive? As participants in a democratic society, we all have an obligation to contribute information to the political discourse. Even if you don't accept that idea, surely you will agree that, at a minimum, the press has that obligation. Wasn't that one of the driving forces behind the First Amendment?

Yes, you say, but how do you combat disinformation? How do you counteract lies? I'm glad you asked because that brings me to the point about being negative, which is a positive. When candidates or their surrogates are disseminating false information either about themselves, their opponents or the issues, they must be exposed. If we keep our eyes on the big ball, we will understand that such negative exposure is a positive. Is it negative campaigning? Yes, but remember: Negative campaigning is not a negative. Negative campaigning is talking negatively about your opponent, his programs, his character, his record or his lies. There's nothing negative in being negative about negatives. In fact, it's a positive step toward properly informing the voters.

It is just plain silly to suggest that there's anything wrong with a candidate going positively negative in this manner. If he is truly interested in improving society -- and if he isn't, that's surely a negative thing -- then he must tell on his opponent when he misbehaves, even though tattletales are generally seen in a negative light.

We probably would not be obsessing about so-called "negative campaigning" if we were not knee-deep in this regrettable Clintonian age of semantic and linguistic confusion (please excuse the double negative). However, we live at a time when words -- through misuse, overuse and abuse -- have sometimes lost their meaning.

The word "negative," of course, has a negative connotation. However, in the context of campaigning it shouldn't. Properly defined, negative campaigning is affirmatively positive.

So what should be out of bounds in the world of politics? Is everything fair in this cynical age? No way, not no how. What is not fair is lying about your opponent, his programs, his character or his truths -- it is not fair to characterize the truth as a lie. And while we're on this point, let me add that I don't want to hear any nonsense about the relativity of truth. Yes, there are gray areas, but facts are facts, and it is not OK to distort the facts. Lying is bereft of positive qualities.

We mustn't call these negative practices "negative campaigning" anymore. Carvillian propagandists have seen to it that this phrase no longer has any meaning. The confusion allows them to avert legitimate criticism by accusing their opponents of being negative when they are just trying to inform voters. Henceforth, we must insist that "negative campaigning" has a positive connotation. Instead, let's call those unsavory practices "dirty campaigning."

What's even worse than dirty campaigning is when the media assists a dirty campaigner to do his dirty deeds by establishing moral equivalency between his dirty campaigning and his opponent's mere negative campaigning. That allows the dirty campaigner's dirty campaigning to be seen in a less negative light, and there is nothing positive about that.

So, when Bill Clinton and Al Gore join to shut down the government in October and then blame Bush and the Republicans, that will be dirty governance and dirty campaigning at their finest. Then, when the media conspires to falsely blame the Republicans for the shutdown, we must remember to come out with our guns blazing. In pointing out the lies, we must be most negative. I'm positive about it. Anything else would be positively unpatriotic, which is unacceptably negative.



JWR contributor David Limbaugh is an attorney practicing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and a political analyst and commentator. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

WND

Up

09/06/00: On a mission for marriage
09/04/00: Al Gore's 'Trivial Pursuits'
08/30/00: Lieberman and the paradox of liberal 'tolerance'
08/28/00: A campaign divided against itself
08/23/00: Al Gore's trickle-down populism
08/21/00: Prosperity without a clue
08/16/00: AlGore can run but he can't hide
08/14/00: When hate speech is OK
08/09/00: Bush: The pundits' enigma
08/07/00: GOP convention: Live or Memorex?
08/02/00: The first attack dog
07/31/00: The Cheney taint?
07/26/00: The anti-gun bogeyman
07/24/00: The raging culture war
07/19/00: Is Hillary 'Good for the Jews'?
07/17/00: How dare you, George?
07/12/00: Jacoby's raw deal
07/10/00: The perplexities of liberalism
07/05/00: Big Al and big oil
07/03/00: Partial-birth and total death
06/28/00: Some questions for you, Mr. Gore
06/26/00: Supreme Court assaults religious freedom
06/21/00: Waco: We are the jury
06/19/00: "Outrage" just doesn't quite cut it anymore!
06/14/00: Al Gore: Government's best friend
06/12/00: Say goodbye to medical privacy
06/07/00: Elian: Whose hands were tied?
06/05/00: Who, which, what is the real Al Gore?
06/01/00: Legacy-building idea for Clinton
05/30/00: Clinton: Above the law or not?
05/24/00: Not so fast, Hillary
05/22/00: Gore's risky, fear-mongering schemes
05/17/00: Can Bush risk pro-choice running mate?
05/15/00: Right to privacy, Clinton-style
05/10/00: Patrick Kennedy and his suit-happy fiddlers
05/08/00: Don't shoot Eddie Eagle
05/03/00: Congress caves to Clinton, again?
05/01/00: The resurrection of outrage
04/28/00: A picture of Bill Clinton's America
04/19/00: President Clinton: Teaching children responsibility
04/17/00: Elian, Marx and parental rights
04/12/00: Elian, freedom deserve a hearing
04/10/00:The fraying of America
04/05/00: Noonan: End Clintonism now
04/03/00: Bush: On going for the gold
03/29/00: Phantasma-Gore-ia
03/27/00: Treaties, triggers, tobacco and tyrants
03/22/00: Media to Bush: Go left, young man
03/20/00: Stop the insanity
03/15/00: OK Al Gore: Let's go negative
03/13/00: Deifying of the center
03/08/00: The media, the establishment and the people
03/01/00: McCain's coalition-busting daggers in GOP's heart
02/28/00: Bush's silver lining in McMichigan
02/24/00: A conservative firewall, after all
02/22/00: Bush or four more of Clinton-Gore?
02/16/00: Substance trumps process
02/14/00: The campaign finance reform mirage
02/09/00: President McCain: End of the GOP as we know it?
02/07/00: From New Hampshire to South Carolina
02/02/00: SDI must fly
01/31/00: Veep gores Bradley
01/26/00: The issues gap
01/24/00: GOP: Exit, stage left
01/20/00: Nationalizing congressional elections
01/18/00: Do voters really prefer straight talk?
01/12/00: Media's McCain efforts may backfire
01/10/00: Conservative racism myth
01/05/00: Just one more year of Clintonian politics
01/03/00: McMedia?
12/27/99: Al Gore: Bullish on government
12/22/99: Bradley's full-court press
12/20/99: Bush: Rendering unto Caesar
12/15/99: Beltway media bias
12/13/99: White House ambulance chasing
12/08/99: Clinton's labor pains
12/06/99:The lust for power
12/01/99: In defense of liberty
11/29/99: Are Republicans obsolete?
11/24/99: Say you're sorry, Mr. President
11/22/99: Architects of victory
11/17/99: Trump's tax on freedom
11/15/99: GOP caves again
11/10/99: Triangulation and 'The Third Way'
11/08/99: Sticks and stones
11/03/99: Keyes vs. media lapdogs
11/01/99: Signs of the times
10/27/99: The false charge of isolationism
10/25/99: A matter of freedom
10/20/99: Clinton's mini-meltdown
10/18/99: Senate GOP shows statesmanship
10/13/99: Senate must reject nuclear treaty
10/11/99: Bush bites feeding hand
10/06/99: Jesse accidentally opens door for Pat
10/04/99: Clinton and his media enablers
09/29/99: Reagan: Big-tent conservatism
09/27/99: The Clinton/Gore taint?
09/22/99: Have gun (tragedy), will travel
09/20/99: Hillary's blunders and bloopers
09/15/99: GOP must remain conservative
09/13/99:Time for Bush to take charge, please
09/10/99: Bush's education plan: Dubya confounds again
09/07/99: Pat, savior or spoiler?
09/02/99: Character doesn't matter?
08/30/99: Should we judge?
08/25/99: Dubyah's drug question: Not a hill to die on
08/23/99: Should Dubyah start buying soap ... for all that mud?
08/16/99: 'W' stands for 'winner'
08/11/99: The truth about tax cuts
08/09/99: Hillary: Threading the needle
08/04/99: What would you do?
08/02/99: No appeasement for China
07/30/99: Hate Crimes Bill: Cynical Symbolism
07/26/99: It’s the 'moderates', stupid
07/21/99: JFK Jr. and Diana: the pain of privilege
07/19/99: Smith, Bush and the GOP
07/14/99: GOP must be a party of ideas
07/12/99: Gore's gender gap
07/08/99: Clinton’s faustian bargain: our justice
07/06/99: The key to Bush's $36 million
06/30/99: Gore: a soda in every fountain
06/28/99: 'Sacred wall' or religious barrier?
06/23/99: GOP must lead in foreign policy
06/21/99: Crumbs of compassion
06/16/99: Compassionate conservatism: face-lift or body transplant?
06/10/99: Victory in Kosovo? Now What?

© 2000, CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.