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By CHRIS SAUTTER
WASHINGTON - Jim Sasser knows something about negative ads. The former two-term Democratic U.S. senator from Tennessee once had a Fidel Castro look-a-like appear in a negative ad accusing him of getting too cozy with the Cuban dictator. Sasser was elected three times, defeating incumbent Bill Brock in 1976 and losing to Bill Frist in the Republican wave of 1994. All of his .jpg)
campaigns featured tough negative ads in a state known for its rough-and-tumble campaigns. Over a drink at my local Chinese restaurant while waiting for take-out orders, Sasser told me of his concern about the impact of the Jeremiah Wright controversy on Barack Obama’s chances in the November general election. “There will be Swift Boat ads like no one has seen before,” Sasser predicted.
Sasser’s remark made me think about the impact of negative ads using race in prior campaigns as I prepared for a class I was teaching at Indiana University’s School of Journalism. Why not screen some of these spots for the class? So I went about digging through some classics of political advertising. Race baiting in American politics is as old as the Republic. But when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 guaranteed equal rights to Americans of all color, explicit racist speech gave way to code words. In 1964, George Wallace ran in several Democratic primary contests on a platform of “State’s Rights,” which was a polite way of saying each state should be able to decide whether to continue racial segregation in their schools and in public accommodations. Richard Nixon successfully used phrases like “law and order” in 1968 to appeal to white fears about urban crime and civil disorder.
President Reagan was fond of telling campaign audiences stories about welfare mothers driving Cadillacs. With the rise of television advertising in politics, it was inevitable that such appeals would appear as imagery in campaign ads. Oddly, one of the first political ads to specifically use race was developed by President Lyndon Johnson’s campaign in 1964 to depict Republican Barry Goldwater as too extreme on racial issues. The explosive spot, which never aired, showed footage of a KKK cross burning while the narrator quoted the head of the Alabama Klan embracing Goldwater as one of their own. After the controversy over the “Daisy” ad, which suggested that Goldwater might lead the country into nuclear war, the Johnson team wisely kept the Klan spot on the shelf.
One of the most effective political ads using race was the Willie Horton ad developed by supporters of George H.W. Bush in 1988. The ad is credited with defining Democrat Michael Dukakis as being too liberal for mainstream America. In fact, when Bush campaign manager Lee Atwater read an opposition research report on Dukakis, he vowed to make Willie Horton the most famous person in America. The ad began simply enough: “Dukakis and Bush on crime. Bush supports the death penalty for 1st degree murders.” 
Then the ad takes a quick turn: “Dukakis not only opposes the death penalty for 1st degree murders, he allowed 1st degree murderers to have weekend passes from prison.” The ad goes on to describe how Horton murdered and raped while out on a Dukakis weekend furlough. The cheaply produced spot shows a series of grainy black and white stills of a sinister looking Willie Horton, who was black. Dukakis was never able to escape the out-of-touch liberal label, which the ad put on him.
An even more explicit use of race appeared in an ad produced by Sen. Jesse Helms in his 1990 re-election campaign against Harvey Gantt. Helms had a well-deserved reputation for hardball politics and race baiting. The spot which many observers believe helped Helms come from behind to defeat Gantt, who is black, showed the arms and hands of a white man opening and then crumpling a rejection letter. The voice-over is heard saying, “You needed that job, and you were the best-qualified. But they had to give it to a minority because of a racial quota. Is that really fair? Harvey Gantt says it is.”
An ad, which helped Harold Washington become Chicago’s first black mayor, used the ugly side of racial politics to appeal to the better instincts of white liberal voters. The spot opened with a series of well-recognized historic photos—the beatings of civil rights workers in the South, the assassinations of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the killings of students at Kent State. The narrator says “There are moments in our country’s history in which all Americans are thoroughly and profoundly ashamed. One of those moments may be happening now, here in Chicago.” The spot moves into contemporary footage of angry whites screaming at candidate Harold Washington as he campaigns in a Chicago neighborhood. The narrator continues, “When you vote on Tuesday, make sure it is a vote you can be proud of.” Washington narrowly defeated Republican Bernard Epton in a city which is overwhelmingly Democratic.
A controversial ad in using racial and sexual stereotypes is credited with helping Republican Bob Corker defeat Harold Ford in 2006 in Jim Sasser’s home state. The spot features a series of mock man-on-the-street interviews talking sarcastically about Ford and his stands on issues like taxes and national security. Then it cuts to an attractive white blond woman, bare-shouldered, who claims she met Ford at a “Playboy party.” The spot closes with the woman winking and saying “Harold, call me.” Many observers felt the spot played upon old Southern racial fears.
While it is clear that political ads using race to appeal to the fears of white voters have worked, there is also some evidence that such advertising loses its appeal when exposed. Barack Obama has based his entire campaign on the premise that Americans are ready to move beyond the racial divisions of the past 50 years. Sen. Sasser’s prediction that there will be tough Swift Boat-like ads aired against Obama is undoubtedly accurate. Whether Americans decide to cast votes they can be proud of remains to be seen.
Sautter is an Indiana native who operates Sautter Communications out of Washington, D.C. He is a media adviser to the Jill Long Thompson gubernatrial campaign. He writes about presidential and national politics for Howey Politics Indiana.
Tags: Chris Sautter, George H.W. Bush, Harvey Gantt, Jesse Helms, Jim Sasser, Willie Horton
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This entry was written by and posted on April 7, 2008 at 11:20 am and filed under Chris Sautter Column, HPI Weekly. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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