“The Stakes” Ad: RNC Pushes the Fear Button Again

By Brigitte L. Nacos 

Republicans' mood may be grim as the Washington Post reports this morning but they obviously hope that the fear tactic might still work in their favor on Election Day. Exploiting Americans’ fear of terrorism helped Republicans winning the elections of 2002 and 2004. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that Republicans once again push the fear button in the last phase of this campaign hyping up an existential terrorist threat against America in an ugly campaign ads reminiscent of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s infamous “Daisy” ad of 1964. So far only placed on the Republican National Committee’s web site but already shown this morning in a CNN newscast, the ad shows bin Laden and some of his lieutenants threatening the U.S.and the devastating results of terror attacks. The spot ends the words “These are the stakes. Vote November 7” (In the "Daisy" ad, Lyndon Johnson spoke the same words, "These are the stakes").The implicit message is what the President, Vice-President and other Republicans say explicitly in their stump speeches, namely that Democrats are not tough on terrorism and defense. Only Republicans are. With the ad reportedly on its way to be shown on cable-networks and -stations, the question is: Will the fear tactic work again this time around?

Negative campaign advertising certainly receives far more attention than the rare positive ads that concentrate on the shining accomplishments of advertised candidates. But when an ad transcends the normal nastiness of attack ads, they tend to be shown—for free—in broadcast news besides being reviewed in the print media. The “Daisy” ad suggesting that a trigger-happy Barry Goldwater as President would lead the country into a nuclear war, was shown only once on national television as paid advertising. But as a storm of indignation forced Democrats to withdraw the paid ad, newscasters showed it for free so often that Lyndon Johnson and his aides were sure that most Americans saw the threat message and that they got their money's worth. 

Much has changed since 1964 in what Americans consider acceptable attacks in partisan campaign ads and for that matter in campaign speeches. When the George H.W. Bush campaign showed the nasty Willy Horton ad during the 1988 campaign, there was not a national outcry against this kind of attack against the Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis and his party as was the case in 1964 against the “Daisy” ad. In 2000, the George W. Bush campaign put a new version of the Daisy ad on the air without causing a great deal of criticism. 

And while “The Stakes” ad seems to me especially exploitative because it plays to Americans’ post-9/11 fears, I do not expect a great deal of negative reactions to this latest effort to take Americans’ attention away from the Iraq fiasco.

If “The Stakes” ad does not get traction, there are only a few “surprises” left: An increased terror alert level and/or a new video release by Osama bin Laden. 

 

Comments

[Elise]

I say my prayers every day and night for an end to all this chaos going on in the gvternmenos of the world. My foremost prayer is that we will get a new president who will be an effective strong leader because that is what we need. Our new president must be one who will promote democracy in the world and morality. I also pray for the end of the roles the greedy power hungry socialist advisors to Obama play.

[Tiffany Jeltema]

I also doubt there will be a negative response. We (Americans) have become so passive that even if we don't agree with something, we are unlikely to do much about it. It takes too much effort to focus off ourselves and our own busy lives. Besides, we aren't directly affected, and think we can’t do much about it anyway.
The way the media presents a lot of their stories plays on our emotions, too, and fear is a very powerful emotion! Part of me thinks we enjoy being afraid; it is a rush and makes us appreciate what we have and scared to lose it or change our ways.