Heath Haussamen
The candidate with the best negative ads – and the most money to spread them – will probably win the governor’s race. But at what cost to society?
That’s what has been on my mind as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish and Republican opponent Susana Martinez have been locked in a battle about who can hit the other harder.
Negative campaigning is nothing new. But as I’ve covered politics intimately for the last four years, I’ve watched the impact it has on elections. If it helps a candidate win, it does so by discouraging people from voting or getting involved in the political process in other ways.
Effectively engaging in negative campaigning requires believing the worst about someone else, or lying. Most people – especially the moderate and independent-minded voters who are turned off most by negative campaigning – understand that the portrayals in negative ads are, at best, spin.
Political campaigns are the opportunity people have to compare different approaches to governing. It should be the time we consider different ideas for how to solve our society’s problems.
Negative campaigning diverts the focus to the partisan divide. It grows that divide and makes it more difficult to solve our problems. It threatens our democracy’s ability to function.
Neither Palin nor Pelosi is the devil
I’ve written before about my involvement in a conservative, evangelical church in Las Cruces. I didn’t come from that background. I grew up in a fairly liberal home. My mom remains a big supporter of Hillary Clinton.
I have worked hard over the years to understand people of varying ideologies. The fact that I’m a journalist is not the reason I’m registered to vote as an independent. My declining to state a party is genuine: Getting to know people on the right and left – and trying to understand their viewpoints – has led me to some pretty liberal beliefs, some pretty conservative beliefs and many moderate beliefs.
In my exploration of various ideologies, I’ve learned that the political right isn’t evil. Neither is the political left. There are people on both sides – and some in the middle – who make me uncomfortable, but I believe most people who hold differing beliefs do so for genuine reasons.
In short, Sarah Palin isn’t the devil. Neither is Nancy Pelosi.
I wish Palin and Pelosi understood that about each other. But too many politicians believe the worst about each other and stop communicating.
The result is potentially catastrophic: I’m not convinced that Washington or Santa Fe, in the current political climate, has the ability to deal with the challenges of the 21st Century. Both parties are to blame.
Growing up
It’s a shame that more voters don’t reject negative campaigning and elect candidates who understand that governing is about compromise between people with varying and genuine beliefs.
So let me state my rejection of negative campaigning. Regardless of what anyone says about either of them, Denish and Martinez have both stood up for the people of this state during their many years working for taxpayers. Some may not think one or the other did her job well. But I don’t doubt that either has tried to make a difference.
Regardless of what Republicans claim, Denish has stood up to corruption. She spoke out against efforts by the speaker of the House to kill housing authority reform and was instrumental in helping the legislation pass. I watched her do it.
Regardless of what Democrats claim, Martinez is tough on crime. She has aggressively gone after murderers and has been especially tenacious about locking up child killers. Martinez was instrumental in the successful effort to lobby the state Legislature to toughen penalties for child abuse resulting in death. I watched her do it.
As a journalist, I have to cover the negative spin. It’s an integral part of campaigns and a factor in who wins. But, in the spirit of rejecting negative campaigning, I’m going to do my best to cover it in a way that cuts through their spin and gets to the truth.
I hope you’ll join me in rejecting the negative campaigning. Our society’s future depends on us growing up and learning how to work together, instead of against each other.