Repulican VS. Democratic Campaign Strategies

Kaid and Batcha’s research on the nuances of Republican vs. Democratic ad techniques complement what is seen in Republican vs. Democratic ads today:

“Republicans are more likely to stress issues related to national defense, foreign policy, government spending and deficits, and taxes, and Democrats emphasize education, health care, jobs and labor, poverty, and the environment. Democrats are overall more likely to dwell on issues in their ads, whereas Republicans show a greater concern for morality and candidate character (Benoit, 2004)” (Kaid & Batcha).

In every single presidential election I can think of, the two parties have been the Democrats and the Republicans. These two parties are divided now more than ever. On the Stanford News website, political researcher Alex Shashkevich writes about this recent party division. Shashkevich says that, "Most political scientists and experts agree that the 2016 presidential election stands out for an unprecedented level of discord in the country’s political sphere" (Shashkevich, Stanford News). We are living in a time where being a Republican could mean holding starkly different and opposing views to being a Democrat. This tension between parties is documented in campaign ads throughout history and the techniques developed overtime are getting bolder and more defamatory. In a book written by Karen S. Johnson-Cartee and Gary Copeland called “Negative Political Advertising”, Cartee and Copeland highlight early examples of Republican vs. Democratic ads:

“In 1968, the Republicans ran a television ad against Vice President Hubert Humphrey that presented a series of negative pictures associated with the Democratic administration: the Chicago riots, the Vietnam war, and so forth. This type of presentation ‘invites the audience to impute causality’ (Jamieson, 1984, p. 450). In other words, the Democratic Party and thus Humphrey were portrayed as being guilty of having had these disastrous things occur on their watch… In 1986, Democratic Senator Pat Leahy ran an implied negative ad against his opponent, Republican Richard Snelling, in the Vermont Senate race. The ad uses beautiful pictures of snow-topped mountains, streams, and so on. We see wildlife. We hear the wind. The film has a blue, cool feel about it. As it stands, it is a breathtaking nature film, Leahy had positioned himself as a strong environmentalist while identifying his opponent as being weak on the environment.” (Cartee & Copeland)

The Republicans choosing to defame Democratic candidate, Vice President Humphrey, in 1968 by associating him with the Chicago riots and the Vietnam war makes him look guilty for these events. The Democratic Party chooses to run an ad later in 1986 focusing on the environment making an effort to show how weak the Republican candidate’s position is on the environment. However, these are pretty tame compared to the ones we see now. It’s an unfortunate and immature use of time and money - the work of politics should be to better American lives and the American society as a whole.

(Shashkevich, Stanford News)

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