No matter where you consider yourself on the political spectrum, Nebraskans can surely agree on one thing: Election Day can’t come soon enough.
That’s the day we’ll finally learn who will represent us in various elected offices. It’s also the day the barrage of negative attack ads will stop spewing from our television sets and the unwanted mailers will stop filling our mailboxes. Enough already with the toxic political rhetoric.
The spirit of free and open elections has been tainted in recent years by a steady decline in the quality of campaign messages. Some of the ads make you question the character of the people writing the scripts and designing the postcards. In many cases, we’ll never know who they are. That anonymity is part of the design.
According to the Federal Election Commission, candidates for U.S. Senate seats will spend a combined $2.86 billion to win votes in this year’s midterm elections. That’s more money than the gross domestic product of many small nations, and the price tag will likely climb again when the next election cycle rolls around.
Here in Nebraska, incumbent Pete Ricketts and his principal challenger, Dan Osborn, reportedly will spend a combined $22 million trying to win your vote.
This race, in particular, makes you wonder about the back-room strategists responsible for shaping campaign messages. Too often, the focus is less on what a candidate stands for than on how terrible the opponent supposedly is. Blurred images, carefully edited audio clips and ominous narration are meant to leave voters with the worst possible impression.
There have been some positive messages highlighting candidates’ ideas, records and plans for the future. Unfortunately, they’ve been the exception rather than the rule.
The repetition is almost as hard to stomach as the content. We got the message when those attack ads first aired weeks ago, so you have to wonder how many voters changed their minds after seeing the same spot for the 200th time.
We’ve grown so accustomed to election-year antics that it’s easy to assume this is simply the way politics works. But a friend from out of state who grew up in Nebraska recently expressed surprise at how shallow and negative the ads for governor and U.S. Senate have been this year. I had to agree.
The bar keeps getting lower, even in a state that prides itself on Midwestern hospitality and friendliness.
Thankfully, Election Day is finally here.
Candidates will win and lose, and Nebraskans will continue to disagree about the direction of our state and country. That’s the nature of a democracy. We should expect candidates to defend their records, challenge their opponents and make their case to voters.
But there ought to be a difference between challenging an opponent and simply tearing that person down. We can demand better from those seeking our votes without pretending we’ll all agree on the answers.
Perhaps that’s too much to ask of the people producing political ads. But it’s not too much to ask of ourselves.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net