In this June 23, 2020 photo, Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., speaks during a news conference in Town and Country, Mo. Wagner of Missouri’s 2nd District is facing a challenge from Democratic state Sen. Jill Schupp. (Jeff Roberson, File/Associated Press)
STATE SEN. JILL SCHUPP (D), who is challenging incumbent Republican Ann Wagner for Missouri’ 2nd District Congressional seat, has released an ad calling out the blatant lies in Wagner’s campaign ads that major media and fact checkers have called “false,” “misleading” and “distorted.”
Political ads get the biggest bang for their buck by listing bills the opposing candidate voted for and making misleading soundbites with damning evidence. For example, an ad which lists the tax bills supported by Jill Schupp gives no details about which bills had overwhelming bi-partisan support, making them business-as-usual.
An ad which lists the numerous times Wagner has voted against the Affordable Care Act does not mention her support of Republican versions of health insurance bills.
Wagner said that while she does not support the ACA, she supports two provisions of it: Allowing children to stay on their parents’ health care plans until age 26, and protecting preexisting conditions. She added that she has voted multiple times to make coverage of preexisting conditions a fundamental right. https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/wagner-and-schupp-push-back-on-attack-ads-in-bitterly-fought-2nd-congressional-district-forum/article_beba51df-f2c9-5533-9c85-b931fa73ad29.html
But most offensive are the attack ads which tear down the opponent without even mentioning the candidate running the ad. The strategy is to make the opponent so repulsive that the voter defaults to the other candidate, regardless of who she may be. Are these ads more prevalent than ever or am I mistaken?
The anonymous attack ad seems to suggest that politicians are so corrupt that you can only vote for the lesser of two evils. No wonder voters sometimes stay home, when there is no one to vote for, only against. These ads are even set against a dark backdrop, adding to the environment of a seamy underworld.
As we approach Election Day, these ads have begun to bombard us, progressively lowering the dense fog of deception and depression. I usually mute the television advertisements anyway, but my remote finger has gotten quicker on the trigger as the political ads accelerate. I have already reached a point where political ads can corrupt my happiest thoughts.
When I consider that $20 million has been spent on these two candidates, and likely $10 million is invested in attack ads, I think of them as vice crimes. The view that a vote is nothing but a plug in a mighty dam of corruption is undermining to democracy. It defames any integrity these candidates might still have. It equates voting with the labor of Sisyphus, who futilely rolls his boulder of citizenship up the electoral mountain only to have it slide back over him after the election.
Too much money on political campaigns. Way too much on demoralizing attack ads.