tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24926524.post512910287518545643..comments2023-12-21T04:43:12.366-06:00Comments on Price of Politics, Etc.: Campaign Ads, Rent is Too Damn HighUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24926524.post-63016218244395976512010-10-19T14:30:00.642-05:002010-10-19T14:30:00.642-05:00I don't have a problem with Appel's ad. I...I don't have a problem with Appel's ad. It tells me her opponent believes in an absolute view of the 2nd amendment, even in circumstances where possession of a gun is a likely danger to others. That probably tells me a lot about the rest of his politics, too.<br />What about Sorenson's ad, though? He chides her for spending on a heated sidewalk without telling people that it was part of an ADA-accessibility project. And the plants & trolley were part of downtown's economic development, of which the Capitol complex is a part. I know he wants us to draw the conclusion that she's a reckless spender, but I just don't get that from that ad.<br />What's permissible? Anything that calls into question someone's politics or values. And that includes showing inconsistencies between what someone says and what they do. (So the ads against Zaun are in bounds, in my opinion, given that he only paid off a 4 1/2 year old judgement 2 weeks before he announced his candidacy). Purely personal attacks are out of bound, but those are rare. That still leaves a lot of room for a campaign to get nasty.<br />Candidates are not the only ones to get hit by cyber-squatting on domain names. Corporations have had to pay big bucks to get domain names they should have bought in the first place. The fact is, campaigns need to think about that right away. And course, that doesn't begin to get into the issues raised by buying search terms on search engines. <br />What we need is an Iowa version of Politifact or Fact Check. It's the misleading ads that cause the most problems, and few people have the ability to track down the facts behind the claims made in the ads of state candidates. That could address cases where an opponent has a misleading domain name, too.<br />It will be interesting to see what happens in these races, at the very least.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com