THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 3, 1995 TAG: 9511030505
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
The next time a campaign commercial comes on the television, try turning down the volume and see if you can tell what it's all about.
Some of the ads feature fresh-faced kids in schools, on Little League teams and in the Scouts. It's a pretty picture of Virginia.
One shows George Allen walking across clean, green pastures; there's lots of open space and sunshine, and the governor looks thoughtful: a healthy, wise leader.
Now turn up the volume. Those peaceful pictures are suddenly marred by threats and labels.
The Democrats tell viewers that their pretty picture of Virginia will be destroyed if Republicans win. The GOP, they say, will cut all funding for education and threaten the future of the state.
The Republicans have their own scary talk. In a thoughtful pose, Allen begins labeling all the state's Democrats as ``those big-spending-liberal-Democrats.''
In ads and campaign mailings, they link Democrats to a litany of social ills, ranging from crime on the streets to students' poor performance on test scores.
Kenneth W. Stolle, an unopposed Republican incumbent, has spent more than $101,000 from his campaign war chest paying for GOP party ads.
Democratic Speaker of the House Thomas W. Moss is supplying more than $85,000 to air Democratic ads that question large contributions by Smithfield Foods to Allen at a time when the company is negotiating environmental fines.
Attention-getters, perhaps, but are such ads effective?
Frances Hassencahl, an assistant professor of communications at Old Dominion University who has studied political advertising, said that few people tend to follow party politics and that ``labels are just political rhetoric at this point.''
What's more, citizens say they do not appreciate the negative messages. In conversations throughout the state this summer, they said they would prefer that candidates stick to issues rather than sling mud.
As the campaign comes to a close, the images and the messages have gotten uglier - occasionally distorting the truth and misrepresenting records.
Ads about Howard Copeland and Billy Moore say they are soft on crime and have voted against bills that both incumbents actually co-sponsored and voted for. Copeland's rebuttals portray his opponent, Thelma S. Drake, as ``Thelma and the Sleeze.''
The punch line to one Norfolk GOP ad is ``don't let Randy Wright run the city.'' Wright is vying for the clerk of courts position - one that would allow him very little power over policy decisions in Norfolk. He has more control over Norfolk in his current position, as a member of the City Council.
Citizens said they don't pay much attention to attack campaigns, largely because they are so negative.
Sharon Sayler of Portsmouth said she is disappointed in some of the candidates' actions. ``I think it's really disgusting, some of the behavior we accept,'' Sayler said. ``If it was our children acting like that, they'd be reprimanded, or if they were at school, they'd be sent to the principal.''
She added that she doesn't pay attention to negative ads, because they turn her off. She said that it's hypocritical when candidates talk about values and then come out with negative ads.
Thomas Potter, another Portsmouth resident, said he looks at the negative ads, and then he votes against the person putting them out.
``The ads reveal a character of negativism and mudslinging,'' Potter said. ``Negative campaigns have hurt the political system in America. It makes people disgusted with politics and makes them not want to vote. People just want to hear about the issues. American people are intelligent and can tell from the issues who they want to vote for. Character assassination is not about the issues.''
Hassencahl said the negative ads convey another message, and it's one the incumbents may not want to send: that they are worried about keeping their seat.
``Negative campaigning is usually done when a campaign is close, when the individual involved is desperate,'' Hassencahl said.
She said the ads are rarely effective because they obscure the issues.
``Unfortunately, negative advertising seems to be the trend,'' Hassencahl said. ``It tends to get our attention, but there's no research to support this does anything for (the candidate) in a positive way. Unless you can play on fears the population has, it isn't very effective.''
She pointed to the 13th District senatorial race in which incumbent Fred Quayle has attacked Johnny Joannou for being indicted in the past, and Joannou accuses Quayle of not paying his taxes. Quayle's ads don't mention that Joannou was acquitted and Joannou doesn't note that Quayle eventually settled his bills.
``It's not effective and it generally obscures the issues,'' Hassencahl said. ``Most people will look at the ads and say Joannou might have been indicted, but he was not convicted, and Quayle fell behind on his taxes, but they're paid up now.''
Even ads on rising crime rates - intended to instill fear - aren't effective, Hassencahl said, because most people don't link crime solutions to the General Assembly.
``Unfortunately, the negative campaigns feed on the general alienation to politics,'' she added. ``Citizens just see politicians as mean-minded and not responsive - particularly when they go at each other with negative ads.''
When that happens, Thomas Potter said he still goes to the polls, but he doesn't have as much faith in the candidates.
``I'll still go and vote my conscience,'' he said, ``but I'll do it in a reluctant way, because I've lost my respect for the candidates. It'll probably take a couple of years for them to gain my respect back. If they don't gain voters' respect, we eventually will lose respect for the whole political system.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Political ads appearing on television often carry negative messages
and feature mudslinging by both major political parties in
Virginia.
KEYWORDS: CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING ELECTION VIRGINIA by CNB