CA 50: Negative Ads Darken Tone of Special Election

The campaign for the June 6 special House election in California’s 50th District has been pretty bleak from the get-go. The contest is required because long-popular eight-term Republican Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham resigned after pleading guilty as the recipient in one of the most audacious congressional bribery schemes seen in recent years.

But the political atmosphere surrounding the contest in the San Diego-area district has been soured further, largely because of negative advertising launched by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) at Democratic nominee Francine Busby and by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) at Republican nominee Brian P. Bilbray.

The latest salvo, in the form of a direct mail piece sent to district residents by the Republicans’ House campaign unit, was so harsh that it not only infuriated Busby, but spurred Bilbray’s campaign to distance itself from the broadside.

The NRCC mailer, sent out at the end of last week, has a cover illustration that appears to compare Busby — a former college instructor and school board trustee — to teenage drunk drivers. The montage shows the faces of two teenage boys next to an overturned car that has a glass of beer superimposed on it.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/05/ca_50_negative_ads_darken_tone.html

The goal of the GOP/RNC *is always* to keep voters away from the polls. The fewer voters who go to the polls the more likely the GOP is to win.

Negative campaigning *always* works in favor of the GOP because it disgusts people, makes it seem as if both candidates are bad and people don't bother to vote.

Busby's message needs to be: VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

:kick: