The longer the political campaigning has gone on, the worse the accusations have become, with both sides fighting for the advantage. The attacks, name-calling, rebuttals, and one-upmanship have gotten worse over time — and still the campaigns drag on.
Admittedly I may be more negatively affected than some voters. I live in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, where our Democratic congresswoman won by only about 1,600 votes two years ago. Republicans see a chance to take her seat, and money for both sides has poured in from numerous organizations — mostly out-of-state. One media outlet said that, nationwide, this race is among the top five most hotly contested. The attacks have gotten really nasty and truth has been a victim.
The national party conventions that mark the formal beginning of campaign season should be scheduled closer to Election Day. As it is, we’ve been subjected to so much advertising, so many lies, attacks, counterattacks, rallies, endorsements, polls, debates, election news, and editorial speculation — it’s no wonder we’ve become partisan, impatient, weary, and utterly fed up with “the other.”
Denver-based media have been a cesspool of political advertising. Yes, I happen to live in CD8, but a large portion of the state has had to endure the vicious advertising of this particular campaign. Imagine being subjected to an unending barrage of ads for races in which you can’t even vote. Similarly, I’ve been buried in ads for measures affecting the city of Denver, even though I don’t live there and can’t vote there. To that add the statewide propositions and constitutional amendments (one of which will put the right to abortion in the state constitution).
All that aside, we know that campaigning in one form or another actually goes on all year, with the names of possible presidential candidates being floated as early as a year or more before the election. Incumbent politicians actually work year round to build war chests while taking care to act and vote in whatever ways enhance or protect their reputations and positions. (Term limits, anyone? Anyone?) Too often they aren’t doing the job they were elected to do — conduct the nation’s business. They’re more concerned with bolstering their own re-election chances.
Couldn’t we at least limit the “official” campaign season? Please.
The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning.
Hmm . . . I’m not getting bombarded with ads. I don’t watch regular television, and most streaming channels I watch are ad-free.
I don’t even bother opening political mailers, and I don’t listen to radio stations.
That said, what I follow always has the stench of partisanship, so I curate what I bother to listen to or read, preferring hard data to other people’s opinions.
But, short of willfully ignoring everything, it’s difficult not having some exposure to the rhetoric from both the Left and Right. Given that most issues have a commonsensical middle ground makes it easy for me to dismiss and ignore the rabid and extreme positions of the Lunatic Left and Rabid Right.
I ignore what I can, but I’m too cheap to pay for ad-free streaming apps. Beats me how the local candidates even show up on YouTube in the middle of whatever video I happen to watch. I dump all their email in spam and snail mail in the trash. But it’s a constant barrage that seems to turn up on every screen I look at. At least I can see the end of the tunnel unless, as the story goes, that light is an oncoming train.
I agree that we need shorter election cycles. By now, most people have tuned it all out.
I vacillate. Sometimes I tune it out; sometimes my curiosity (and dread) get to me.
johnthecook…if you think it is bad in Colorado, come to Arizona where the political lies by the Republicans and Democrats have all but eliminated a fair election. There is a stench in the air that will not go away, even after the election results are revealed. The voters must remember America is a R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C- if we can keep it (see the Founding Father’s remarks) and not a Democracy as some would like us to believe. Weather we believe it or not there is a quote that says…”For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted”! America is in the very throes of being wasted.
Ah, Arizona. Yep, I imagine it’s pretty awful. Except for the fight in my congressional district (lucky me), and Boebert’s, Colorado is generally accepted as blue. I remember when we were a battleground state, and it was not fun.
The fight goes on. America is not a church, either.
I live in Arapahoe county, and for years we were a huge battleground, and I remember how bad it was. It is like the election cycle never ends; you are right. I ream just sick of it as it means the entire time the person is in office they are thinking about the next election (worst example: Trump filed for reelection the day after he took the oath of office in 2017. I would be really supportive of legislation to pare this down and to get some of the money under control: Citizens United has really harmed us.
Don’t you wish that we could get fact checking on all the political ads, and a clear statement of who was funding them (not the name of some shell PAC). Like, I want footnotes and references, especially with online media.
The last week has been just horrific with all the racism and unbelievable incidents and attacks. “Protector of women whether they want it or not” is more than a little menacing! Some of this is so egregious I am thinking that I really, really want to see medical records.
If people had just done their homework in 2016, they’d have known he’s been a grifter, liar, cheater, and womanizer all his life. Or worse, they knew it and voted for him for precisely that reason. Yes, that “whether they like it or not” is ominous. But everything about him frightens and sickens me.
Somebody should develop an AI app that will precede every political ad with a paragraph pointing out any lies, mistakes, etc. Amazon already has AI putting in summaries of the comments on each product.
I wouldn’t cross the street to meet him, but I would certainly do it to avoid him.
Ooo, gotta change the clocks tonight.
I once turned down a great job offer because I heard that the principal of the school had a habit of losing his temper and pounding the desk in closed meetings. How much more important it is to refuse to allow such a person to sit in the White House. I continue to be shocked at how people just turn a blind eye to all the evidence that he is just what you said… a person with no moral compass, a liar, a cheat, a bully, no respect for the law and American institutions or norms… why is this happening? The answer, I think, is that they want to “own the libs” or take down all authority figures and restrictions on their lives. They absolutely want to be dominant and politically incorrect, but they aren’t thinking this through. They will make themselves something close to the serfs of old before it is over.
I suppose, too, that a lot of people fear the “lunatic left,” whatever they think that is. My fear is that most Trump supporters must be something like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers — anybody who thought storming the Capitol on January 6 was a good idea. Who else would support a man who acts and speaks the way Trump does?
Extremism is a problem, no matter the ideology behind it, because they feel that they can’t compromise and will resort to almost anything to promote their cause. I’ve been extremely worried to see that Trump is now wearing black and gold with a hat that says “Never Surrender” on it. This is a really stressful day…
I noticed Trump’s black hat the other night, and just assumed it was like Musk’s black MAGA hat. For a long time I’ve been fearful of the aftermath if Trump loses. I’m afraid Jan 6 will seem like a cakewalk.
You two Colorado women (both of whom I follow with pride) are right in all you say; and this Australian sympathises – on an unknowing kind of basis in terms of our population size – re political spruiking prior to elections. No-one believes any of it: why do they bother ?!
Never more true than this year. I watch and listen only for cues to their character and personality. Unfortunately, too many people do listen and believe — without doing any research to confirm. Ronald Reagan cautioned “trust but verify.” Good practice in many situations.