Appealing to the masses is what political campaigns strive for. We all know who they broadcast to and that the messages they send are extremely important for the success of any campaign. However, more recently I feel like I’ve seen far more political advertisements that rip the competing politician, instead of advertising what the individual has to offer. They’ll show a list of things the competitor has failed to do, or they’ll show something that the other person that is considered to be “unethical”. Since when has it been about the opposition’s personal matters?
The advertisements should be more about the benefits that can come from an individual candidate’s position on certain policies, what they plan to do once they’re in office, and how they plan to implement the policy based off of things like budget. It has turned into a high school popularity contest. It’s like the candidates have nothing else positive to say about themselves so they lash out towards the opposition in hopes of winning voters.
For me, I personally have asked friends why they’re voting for a particular person and the answer has been the same, “I saw a commercial where so and so didn’t do x, y, and z when they should have, or they did something they shouldn’t”, instead of focusing on what each candidate can bring to the table. After receiving this general consensus, I find it more and more important for individuals to go out there and do their own research on who to vote for without bias from any commercials from a particular party. This ensures they’re exercising they’re right to vote, by doing their due diligence in research on who to vote for, without any coercion or external factors, especially basing their decision on the commercials that are being shown on t.v.