"Political Ads Gone Wild". Yes, Indeed.

Political ads gone wild
By David B. Whitlock

Mama always said, “Not all attention is good.”

Whew, we've seen the truism of Mama's dictum in political ads this campaign year. Politicians — Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals — have, in an effort to draw attention to the flaws of their opponents, used attack ads, and more often than not, drawn negative attention to themselves.

Take, for example, “The Ad,” in what is now being described as the ugliest campaign in the country, the U.S. Senate race between Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway and Dr. Rand Paul. Conway's ad draws attention to Paul's involvement in a secret society while an undergraduate at Baylor University. I do recall as an undergraduate at Baylor in the late 1970s the group to which Paul would later belong. Known for their pranks and satirical writing, they were not taken seriously; they did not take themselves seriously. “What will they do next?” we would ask. Unfortunately for them, Baylor President Abner McCall did take them seriously, especially when some of them streaked across campus, a popular activity back then. McCall booted them and their running attire — or lack thereof — off campus.

Now Conway has used Paul's involvement in that organization not, presumably, to attack Paul's religion, but to expose him as part of a lunatic fringe, unfit for office. But in the process, everyone gets hurt. It's not the kind of attention Kentucky needs.

Indeed, the ad got attention on all the major television networks and landed Conway interviews with Matt Lauer (NBC's “Today” show) and on MSNBC's “Hardball,” with Chris Matthews. Speaking of the ad, Matthews said, “I think it questions his faith.”

And Lauer cited Jonathan Chait's statement in the New Republic — which Lauer characterized as a “fairly liberal publication” — that, “This (Conway's ad) is the ugliest, most illiberal political ad of the year.”

“That's not exactly an award you want to win,” Lauer quipped.

The tragedy of negative ads, of which Conway's is only the latest example, is that it brings everyone down. I wince every time I see the commercial; “Did Paul really do that?” Then I wince even more; “Did Conway really run that ad?” Stuart Rothenberg correctly dubbed the ad a “thermonuclear bomb.”

It hurts not only both candidates but all of us, although Conway may not realize that yet. Supposing it does work, and he pulls it off, what does it say about the trend in the political process? It says to anyone with future political aspirations: “If you've ever done anything inappropriate or perhaps even borderline inappropriate, it can and will be used against you.”

The danger here is that we will lose qualified, effective leaders who could help America revive from a punishing recession, change the bleak economic forecast, compete with other countries and their growing economies, and more effectively face the unknown challenges ahead. We lose potential leaders' wisdom; we lose their acumen; we lose their abilities. We all lose. Why? Because we have allowed an environment to thrive that few wish to enter. After all, who wants to put themselves or their families through political hazing?

Columnist Peggy Noonan, no newcomer to politics, recently wrote in her Wall Street Journal column about speaking with an entrepreneur, an effective leader with fresh ideas that could help our country. When she urged him to enter politics, he responded: “I've lived an imperfect life. They'd kill me.” And they would.

Attack ads have another devastating effect: They spawn cynicism, fuel frustration and create skepticism among the electorate. People are angry with politicians whom they no longer trust and find increasingly harder to believe. In an interview on Fox News, Democratic strategist Richard Socarides defended Conway's ad: “When the stakes are high, you have to use extreme measures.” Who, then, defines “extreme measures”? Each politician? Having wallowed into the gutter of politics, it's difficult to shake its stench. And politicians seem surprised with an aggravated electorate.

Conway is by no means the only politician to use “extreme measures.” His ad simply happens to command attention at the moment. And that's the problem: Just as water flows naturally to the lowest level, so do we, unless we determine to seek higher ground. And unless we do, the political process will only get sleazier and slimier, as it slips and slides in its descent into chaos.

In so doing, we all suffer; it injures all of us. And then, as we look at the mayhem in the political arena, which to a large degree determines our national future, we will perhaps with a tinge of sadness be reminded of that other parental warning: “Mama told me not to come.”

David B. Whitlock is pastor of Lebanon (Ky.) Baptist Church and teaches in the School of Theology at Campbellsville (Ky.) University. His e-mail address is drdavid@davidbwhitlock.com.

(jack CONway's CHEERLEADER picture: h/t to Jake).