Clean Campaigning?

The traditional post-Labor Day campaign season will undoubtedly bring a sharpening of campaign attack ads. But according to at least one survey taken by two prominent polling firms, more than 80 percent of voters say negative campaigning is detrimental to democracy and may be morally wrong.

The poll of 800 likely voters, conducted for the Camden, Maine-based Institute for Global Ethics by the polling firms of Lake Snell Perry & Associates and Deardourff/The Media Company, found that 86 percent believed "unfair" attack campaigning is "unethical," while 81 percent said they believed attack-oriented campaigning is "undermining and damaging our democracy."

Other results found that three in five of those surveyed said questioning an opponent's patriotism is unfair, while nine in ten said they want candidates to participate in public debates and in forums where the public can question them directly.

"A healthy democracy depends on drawing distinctions between opposing candidates for office, but there are certain types of criticism that are considered out of bounds," said Dale Lawton, director of the institute's Project on Campaign Conduct.

According to the survey, activities considered unfair by an overwhelming majority of voters include "calling attention to the actions of an opponent's family, criticizing past personal problems such as marital issues and alcohol or marijuana abuse, personal past financial troubles, and criticisms about financing your own campaign."

What constitutes a "negative ad," of course, is in the eye of the beholder, as campaign consultants contend each election cycle that their clients are simply pointing out legitimate differences with their opponents on issues of public concern. Consultants also regularly argue that negative ads persist in campaigns because, simply put, they work. In many cases candidates, particularly incumbents, know that their own approval ratings are not likely to rise further, so the only way to win is to shred support for their opponent by increasing their negatives.

The results were released by the IGE as it begins to work in 48 congressional districts in 20 states to promote candidate-endorsed codes of campaign conduct as a way to raise the level of debate and improve political campaigns.