August 17, 2004

The Politics of Rejection

I find it bizarre how much of the political advertising landscape is based on negative or rejective ideas. Out here in Seattle, I've seen very few vote-for-anybody signs. But I've heard a good amount of anti-Bush rhetoric, most of it carrying the convincing message of "Get Bush Out." I'm sure the Republicans are doing their fair share of anti-Kerry campaigning as well. It just seems like a poor strategy to focus on what we're against rather than what we're for. Removal and rejection are poor substitutes for a plan and direction. We cannot come together as a nation when our choice of leaders is advertised in a negative, hate-oriented fashion.

This may be blogging suicide, but can any of you politically active (and polite) people out there give me POSITIVE reasons why I should vote for one or the other of the major contenders, or even why I should go Green or Libertarian?

Know ahead of time that negative comments will most likely be edited or removed. Rudeness will get you permanently banned. Please do not respond simply to counter someone else's post--keep it focused on the good things about your candidate and his platform.

Posted by at August 17, 2004 8:37 AM
Comments

I don't know if it fits the paradigm you're encouraging, Jonathan. And I'm not posting it because it's "my" candidate, per se. But this article does give some positive reasons to "waste" a vote on the "only truly conservative" in the race, Michael Peroutka (the Constitution party's candidate).

One thing about any positives is that they always have a negative side (one reason we shouldn't be too upset over rightly-aimed hate, since it indicates fierce love). But I agree that the mainline parties have taken "negative campaigning" to a whole new level.

Posted by: joy at August 17, 2004 10:16 AM

Jon, I agree that the political ads are too negative and turning many people off to the upcoming Presidential election. I believe very sincerely that Kerry offers the best hope to get the economy and environment back on track. Also, the USA cannot impose its beliefs on other countries - that is why terrorism is flourishing. If we were not in Afghanistan or Iraq terrorists would not be targeting the USA. Furthermore, we should be developing usable energy from hydrogen.

Posted by: Larry E. Perrodin at August 17, 2004 3:24 PM