Presidential Candidates Are Attempting To Discredit Each Other
By JERRY HOFFMAN
Staff Writer
Over the last few months, anyone with access to the Internet has had no choice but to take note of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign tactics and how they appear to be relatively unorthodox compared to other political campaigns that have been successful through the last few decades.
What the Internet and the American public have noticed as one of the most “unorthodox” tactics Trump uses are referred to as “dirty campaigning.” For example, mocking his opponents to the point of giving them silly nicknames such as “Little Marco,” referring to his former GOP opponent Marco Rubio, “Lying Ted,” when referring to Ted Cruz and even went as far as to call Chris Christie a “loser,” “lowlife” and a “sleazebag.”
This method of campaigning may not only seem unprofessional for a potential President of the United States, but many see it as immature and even degrading to the overall image of the country.
The hardest part to believe about this unique campaign Americans are witnessing, is that it is working out extremely well for Trump. It seems that the more outrageous things he says, the more votes and supporters he receives.
“One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace. Good people don’t go into the government,” said Trump.
While Trump is currently pulling in an immense amount of media attention for his campaign, it is important to notice that he is not the first to run such a campaign. Lee Atwater, a political strategist and the manager for George H.W. Bush’s campaign in 1988, had his tactics described as “devastating” to opponent Michael Dukakis by CNN.
“Republicans in the South could not win elections by talking about issues,” Atwater explained. “You had to make the case that the other guy, the other candidate, is a bad guy. For some reason, the American public has a tendency to gravitate toward supporting Presidential campaigns that are not afraid to take verbal shots at their opponents and run what many refer to as a “dirty campaign.”
While Trump may be running what is the “dirtiest” campaign the country has ever seen, he is not the originator of it and is definitely not the first to master the art. Bush, with the help of Atwater, won the 1988 campaign against Dukakis.
As campaign season continues, it will be interesting to see how dirty Trump is willing to get and whether or not it will positively impact his chances of winning the 2016 Presidential Election.
