Reply #4: orchestrated negative ad campaign

[cosmicdot]

imo ... this was one of the key phases of the long-range on-going right-wing conservative fundamentalist takeover of power in our country (stolen elections and fraud in 2000, 2002, 2004 would further the quest) ... aided by Reagan's 'October Surprise' win in 1980 ...

several veteran Democrats were specifically targeted by conservative PACS running negative ad campaigns against them:
George McGovern (SD), Frank Church (ID), Gaylord 'founder of earth day' Nelson (WI), John Culver (IA), Warren Magnuson (WA), John Durkin (NH); and, of course Birch Bayh ... I believe Tom Eagleton (MO) and Gary Hart (CO) survived.


http://www.historywise.com/KoTrain/Courses/RR/RR_Campaigns_and_Elections.htm

found these references:

Schaffer, S. A., & Dantico, M. K. (1991). Negative advertising in the 1980 senate races: Does the truth ever catch the lie? Political Communication, 16, 1-14.

Bannon, B. (1982). NCPAC's role in the 1980 senate elections. Campaigns and Elections, 3, 43-46.

Will 2004 Be Like 1980?
2004 v. 1980 re 527s

~snip~

"What seems to worry the GOP is that the Democrats will be as successful as Republicans were with similar tactics in 1980. In that year -- when Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress -- Republicans introduced two innovations that are central to today's controversy: soft money and independent spending."

~snip~

"The innovation in 1980 was the creation of conservative committees, most notably the National Conservative Political Action Committee, that were not only independent but hostile. The GOP was at war with itself, and the conservative groups refused to cooperate with party leaders, whom they regarded as unacceptably moderate. They focused on a few U.S. Senate campaigns and specialized in running negative ads against the Democratic candidates."

~snip~


http://hnn.us/articles/4759.html

~snip~

Most of the $1 million NCPAC spent on independent expenditures during the 1980 Senate races financed attack ads against incumbents. A NCPAC target could face as many as 72 negative radio ads a day and 200 television commercials per week, well before the election.31 A sample of NCPAC ads includes one that called fight against inflation "One very big piece of baloney;" a campaign that said McGovern was "touring Cuba with Fidel Castro while the energy crisis was brewing;" and an ad depicting an empty missile silo, stating that "Senator Church has always opposed a strong national defense."32

~snip~
http://www.opensecrets.org/pubs/law_bagtricks/loop4.asp

"In 1980, I think that it wasn`t so much what we did wrong, but we were targeted in that race. The -- all the right-wing groups ganged up, and they picked out five senators that they were going to target. Gaylord Nelson was one. Frank Church, Birch Bayh, John Culbert (ph), myself. They defeated all five of us. It was an incredible campaign of distortion of our records in all cases. But they were successful."
- George McGovern http://www.booknotes.org/Transcript?ProgramID=1797