Political Attack Ads: What To Expect in 2020

A reader offers this:

It would be nice if all parties would take the official stance of avoiding pointing fingers at the other parties’ candidates while only speaking truthfully about their own policies and platform. The attack ads need to stop and if they persist, we will have missed this chance to rescue democracy from male-centric combative politics as usual.  If your party has to hurl mud in their ads and your supporters vandalize other parties signs without your party speaking out about it, you are supporting bullies. That’s not democracy.

I respond:

Attacks ads are vile, but they’re a mainstay of American electioneering. What to expect in 2020:

Republican Primaries:

It would be great if one or more of three candidates running against Trump gains enough ground such that he is taken seriously, gets significant financial backing, and goes after Trump with a vengeance.  And, as the impeachment proceedings move forward, this become more likely.

Though this would be fun to watch, the problem really is that Trump is his own attack ad; it’s impossible to live in this country and not be aware of the lies, the cruelty, the racism, the criminality, the assault on the environment, the looting of the treasury for billionaires, the betrayal of the Kurds, and so on.  Democrats think this is an abomination.  Republicans think it’s a cost of doing business.  Neither group is moving.

Democratic Primaries:

The people behave more or less like ladies and gentlemen, and thus attack ads will be relatively few and tasteful.

General Election:

This is where it hits the fan. Unless he is removed from office before the heavy campaigning after the primaries, expect ads from the pit of hell.  In terms of content, obviously the Democratic nominee will be called a socialist, but that’s just the start.  God only knows what this is going to be like.

Keep in mind that there are many more swing states than there have been in the past, given that the majority of Americans want Trump impeached and convicted, and thus the president has to protect states that he won handily in 2016.  This means that the cost of these campaigns is going to be enormous, but Republican donors will not bat an eyelash to keep their tax breaks and environmental deregulation coming.

In short, brace yourself.