TPMtv Talks with Matthew Cooper in St. Paul

2008-09-07T12:53:06Z

TPMtv talks with Matthew Cooper in St. Paul, September 1, 2008

Blog comments used in attack ads

2008-01-12T20:22:18Z

A Republican state legislator from Fairfax County has launched an attack ad on cable TV against his Democratic opponent that features unidentified, unverified quotes from a blog.

Unverifiable. That's always a good way to gain credibility.

The ad by Del. Timothy D. Hugo points to a new form of negative campaigning in which information for an attack ad is sourced to comments posted on the Internet instead of more authoritative sources such as news reports or public records.

Did you guys know you were that influential? And if you are, does that mean margaritas and disparaging remarks about Ryan Seacrest will make their way into attack ads? We can only hope so.

Raising Kaine, named after Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) but not connected to him, is a site where Democratic activists talk about Virginia politics. The site allows anyone to post an entry or comment on one, even anonymously, after registering.

Anyone? You mean, in America, anyone can comment on any given subject? Why, that's positively...democratic!! But, hey, just a durn minute, who says they can use us for their own political gain?

Lowell Feld, one of the founders of Raising Kaine, is calling on television stations to pull Hugo's ad, saying it misleads voters into thinking that Raising Kaine opposes Simmons.
Feld added that Hugo's ad signals "a dangerous precedent" that could affect all organizations that allow people to contribute anonymously to their Web sites.
"If someone is allowed to post on a blog, does that mean the organization is responsible and a political candidate can then source an ad to them?" Feld asked.

Wait, didn't I just say that? That's okay, you tell 'em, Lowell.

Here's the bottom line:

[S]everal people who study political advertising said Hugo's ad appears to violate a well-known standard in political campaigns that a charge against an opponent should be easy to verify.
"In political advertising, you always have to have a source, and that source has to be credible," said Sean T. O'Brien, executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Agreed. This guy Hugo is really grasping at straws.

Karen S. Johnson-Cartee, a political science professor at the University of Alabama who has written several books on negative television ads, said [...] "To me, it is like quoting graffiti off the underside of an underpass and using it in a political ad."

I take exception to that last part. I can personally attest to the fact that none of our commenters ever used spray paint.

They've nearly always limited their medium of choice to either lipstick or crayon. And for that we are grateful.

commenters at Brave New Films

TPMtv Talks with Matthew Cooper in St. Paul

Blog comments used in attack ads