New Media from a Journalism Veteran
Blog entries | Rising Out of the Muck
Back when I ventured into the Dark Side (otherwise known as politics), the rule of thumb for elections was that “if you go negative, go positive in the closing days.†That meant no matter how much mud you threw during the campaign, you always closed on a positive note, running feelgood ads during the last 72 hours.
Here in Virginia, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore forgot that old adage and I’m inclined to think we won’t be Governor Kilgore because of it.
Just a few months ago, Kilgore enjoyed a comfortable 10-point lead in the polls. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato called the race “Kilgore’s to lose.â€
He lost it – at he should have – by going negative early when he had the lead and staying negative all the way through the end. He also lost it because he allowed the Bush White House to bully him into letting the President campaign for him in a Monday rally that – given Bush’s incredibly-low job approval ratings – did more harm than good.
I didn’t care for Kilgore nor did I vote for him. His positions on issues didn’t click with me and he ran a lousy campaign, one that represented all that has gone wrong with the American political system. His negative, innuendo-filled ads turned off many voters. He waged a campaign of wretched excess to the extreme and, in the end, lost a campaign he could have easily won. That he lost it should be good news for residents of Virginia. How he lost it should serve as fodder for political science classes for the next few years.
Winston Churchill once said that democracy is the worst form of government imaginable, “except for all other forms.†Elections like this year’s Virginia gubernatorial farce proved him right.
Doug Thompson
November 9, 2005 at 8:46 pm
Huh?
Dianna Richardson
November 9, 2005 at 9:23 pm
I worked for Kaine because it was patently clear to me that Kilgore would be a bad governor for VA based on his positions on the issues. I wondered if the voters would pay more attention to his misleading ads than to his statements about how he would lead the state. I agree that it will be fodder for political science classes because I’m not sure the election had much to do with issues; rather, Warner’s popularity, Bush’s slide, the general dissatisfaction with Republican tactics may have been more important factors. I look forward to critical analysis of this election because I wish we, as voters, could understand how easily we are manipulated to pay attention to issues that may not be central to our well-being as citizens of the state.
Doug Thompson
November 10, 2005 at 2:17 pm
Jim:
Where is the typo? I need to fix it. Thanks.
Doug
Doug Thompson
November 10, 2005 at 3:02 pm
Hmmm…Thanks. I remember going back in to fix a tense problem yesterday but didn’t remember fixing anything else. Must have done so. That’s what I get for writing before my fifth cup of coffee.
Doug Thompson
November 11, 2005 at 2:35 pm
I didn’t say how I voted for anyone, only that I did not vote for Kilgore.
I don’t recall seeing a single ad for Ferguson. He was in the county a lot shaking hands but I didn’t run across any of his ads.
Jim Brodhead
November 9, 2005 at 6:36 pm
Boy, that endorsement must have really been something…caused Jer to become a Democrat?
Jim Brodhead
November 10, 2005 at 1:44 pm
Sorry, I should have cut it in but there was a typo in your post on the election where you referred to Kilgore as a Democrat. I was just being excessively cute in that note…sorry about that.
Carl
November 10, 2005 at 2:53 pm
Hi Doug – I noticed the typo the other day too but figured someone else would point it out – “Republican gubernatorial candidate” had said “Democratic….” – just want to give Jim some independent assessment that no, he was not just seeing things….
Chucky
November 10, 2005 at 6:22 pm
We got a taste of Virginia politics in the campaign for New Jersey governor.
The Republican Party used Karl Rove-style tactics to smear the Democratic Party candidate. As usual the press (which has lurched hard to the right) went along. The public said “Enough!” and voted in the Democrat.
I didn’t vote for governor because the Republicans relied on dirty tricks and the Democrat went along with the Bush agenda in the US Senate.
Nick
November 10, 2005 at 10:10 pm
Just curious: Did you vote for Democrat Eric Ferguson in the house race? I heard him criticized a lot for negative campaigning as well.