'I felt like I was getting pelted with excrement': Readers weigh in on political ads
A few weeks ago, we started asking readers to think back to the months leading up to Election Day and share their thoughts on the flood of political advertising.
(That flood of ads, by the way, grew to about 1.5 million TV ads — for state-level races alone. Based on rough estimates, those ads came at a cost of more than $855 million.)
Hundreds of you responded (scroll down to add your own response), and it was clear some feel passionately about this year's takeover of TV advertising slots. We've gathered a cross-section of your submitted thoughts here.
From Karla Dalley of Farmington, Connecticut:
It got so bad that my husband and I actually joked about them ads and made fun of them. I'm not quite sure that was the intention of the ad makers.
From Dave Doherty of Woodstock, Georgia:
They can be effective in countering Democrat propaganda pushed as "news" by the corporate media. Due to the overwhelming MSM bias toward their party, Republicans need political ads more than Democrats do, which is why Democrats want to restrict political advertising.
From Justin Locke of Waltham, Massachusetts:
It made me aware of what mainstream politicos think will work in terms of motivating voters or perhaps demotivating people to vote at all. No actual issue was ever raised, it was all about branding the opponent on a gut level of like or dislike. I guess that is what works generally.
From Ashley Vavasseur of Louisiana:
Tell me what your plans are, how you are going to make things better, where you stand on fiscal and social issues. It's pathetic that the only thing they have to say is "well at least I'm not that person."
From Peter Phelps of Portland, Oregon:
Anyone shouting so loud is probably employing bait and switch tactics, and I felt like I was getting pelted with excrement after the second or third ad.
From Sarah Wheatley of Colorado:
The ones funded by non-candidate groups were much more vicious in attacking the opponent and leveraging fear. They also seemed to stretch the truth quite a bit. The candidates' ads tried to be positive and non-threatening.
From Thomas Loomis of Maryland:
Related: State ad wars tracker
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Copyright 2014 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
