• Negative campaigning Negative campaigning With less than one week to go in county, state and federal election campaigns it is expected that the mud throwing pace shall pick up. On the national scene it’s been going on for weeks,
• Negative campaigning
Negative campaigning
With less than one week to go in county, state and federal election campaigns it is expected that the mud throwing pace shall pick up.
On the national scene it’s been going on for weeks, with backers of candidates Kerry and Bush going at it on the Internet, on talking head TV shows and on talk radio, as well as in letters to the editor, including more than a few sent to The Garden Island.
Whispering campaigns on Kaua‘i are reaching the in box at The Garden Island, with letters coming in from Honolulu and other locales with diatribes on why isn’t the newspaper investigating this or that candidate who did this or that sometime in their life.
Like in the presidential election, some are promising a late “October surprise” on the way, one that they say will surely swing the election for their favorite candidate.
Overt action is also underway, with negative remarks from candidates coming in residential mail boxes in the form of flyers. These toughly worded stands, with comparisons of how candidates have acted or will act on certain issues, appear a bit over the top for a Kaua‘i election, while similar tactics are nothing new for those who have experienced big city elections on the Mainland.
On one hand, it is good to see candidates battling as election day rapidly approaches.
Like a horse race, if it’s pretty sure who is going to win, not many people are going to turn out. But if there is uncertainty in who is going to win, and the candidates are facing off in public, watch out, we may see a very good voter turn out for a change.
However, there are also limits to what actions should be taken in an election. Last minute surprises aimed at smearing a candidate are flaming arrows that journalists, as well as politicians, should extinguish before they start a fire.
As the days count down this week, watch The Garden Island for updates on races across the board, for commentary on the closure of the campaigns and especially for more news on what’s turned out to be the big surprise of Election 2004 in Hawai‘i — the close race between the two presidential candidates for our four electoral votes.
Watch also for an election-focused issue on Sunday, October 31, with endorsements from The Garden Island and last-minute election news that might influence how you vote.
