Negative campaigning is frequently denounced, but it is not well understood. Who conducts negative campaigns? Do they work? What is their effect on voter turnout and attitudes toward government? Just in time for an assessment of election 2004, two distinguished political scientists bring us a sophisticated analysis of negative campaigns for the Senate from 1992 to 2002. The results of their study are surprising and challenge conventional wisdom: negative campaigning has dominated relatively few elections over the past dozen years, there is little evidence that it has had a deleterious effect on our political system, and it is not a particularly effective campaign strategy. These analyses bring novel empirical techniques to the study of basic normative questions of democratic theory and practice.
Some have even argued that it can be a deterrent to voting at all. "The Positive Case for Negative Campaigning "shows that negativity in campaigns is not only necessary, but is also often viewed as acceptable by voters themselves.
Jack Betts , “ Negative Ads Getting to Be a Bad Habit : Bowles and Dole Already Are Twisting Facts — and History Suggests They'll Only Get Worse , ” The Charlotte Observer , Oct. 6 , 2002 . 48. Lubell , The Future of American Politics ...
Yet, even while modern mudslinging has grown more rampant—as a hungry media feed the frenzy for the next juicy story, which political adversaries are eager to supply—the phenomenon is hardly new.
How can we reconcile the findings of a plethora of studies with the methods of politicians? This book cuts through to the central issue: how negative advertising influences voters' attitudes and actions.
How can we reconcile the findings of a plethora of empirical studies with the methods of political elites? This book cuts through to the central issue: how such advertising influences voters' attitudes and their actions during campaigns.
This readable and interesting book clarifies the current debate concerning the effect of negative campaigns on the attitudes and actions of the American electorate. KEY TOPICS It...
Drawing on both laboratory experiments and the real world of America's presidential, gubernatorial, and congressional races, the authors show that negative advertising drives down voter turnout - in some cases...
Perhaps the most famous negative political chant was the one used against Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in 1884 by the Republican forces supporting James G. Blaine. Cleveland had fathered a child out of wedlock by Maria ...
One of the most closely-watched and controversial aspects of modern political campaigning is the use of negative, attack tactics. This book examines the role played by negative campaigning through a...
This second edition of Attack Politics updates Emmett Buell and Lee Sigelman's highly regarded study of negativity in presidential campaigns since 1960 with a substantial new chapter on the 2008 contest between Barack Obama and John McCain.