Reichley Column: Scaremongering

For all the claims of opponents, political advertisements rarely contain absolute falsehoods. When they do, even the most biased news outlets feel compelled to call out brazen lies.

But there is a wide gulf between outright lies and the truth. Much of the political warfare is fought in this murky battleground of “technically correct” and “deliberately misleading.” News organizations are
less likely to police this turf, and when they do, enforcement is often clouded by the political leanings of the reporters and editors.

Here’s a little quiz. Which candidate for governor, being questioned by several reporters, turned to the female reporter and said “I think I’ve made myself clear, young lady?”

If you guessed Bob McDonnell, it’s probably because you are a victim of misleading advertising (and reporting) giving you a misperception about McDonnell. In fact, that statement was made by Creigh
Deeds, when asked about his support for raising taxes.

Now, if McDonnell had said that, it would have been front-page news at the Washington Post. But since it was Deeds who went off on the reporter, the statement is largely dismissed as a simple gaffe.

Next, which candidate, in 1999, boasted that “I have never voted to allow gay partners to receive medical insurance — or any other benefit — from the state?”

If you guessed Bob McDonnell, I’m sorry to say that you again have been misled into a false conclusion. Creigh Deeds made that statement in an official 1999 campaign flyer. Because it was Deeds and
not McDonnell, this is seen as an example of how people can change, rather than being used to give a false impression of the candidate.

Of course, Bob McDonnell does oppose same-sex marriage and supported Virginia’s defense of Marriage amendment. But so did Creigh Deeds, back when the legislature voted twice to put the
amendment on the ballot. He later voted against the ballot measure in the election. The Deeds campaign claims McDonnell is “extreme.” But since 57 percent of Virginians supported the amendment, it
seems that Deeds switched to the “extreme” position.

But is either position really “extreme?” Being for the amendment doesn’t seem extreme, because even Deeds used to support it, and Deeds certainly wasn’t “extreme” at the time. “Extreme” is a word
used not to educate voters, but to bias them against a position without having to bother with facts.

Another example of advertising meant to mislead voters is the claim that McDonnell “introduced 35 bills to restrict a women’s right to choose.” This statement hopes to make you think McDonnell spent
most of his time trying to ban abortion, since McDonnell is proudly pro-life. Of course, “introduce” suggests he wrote all the bills, which he didn’t, and “35” suggests 35 separate laws, when many of these
bills were about the same laws. But McDonnell did vote for these 35 bills.

So what were these laws? The ads won’t say — it would ruin the desired effect. One was a law banning partial-birth abortions. But Creigh Deeds voted for the ban, as did a majority of the legislature. It’s
hard to take seriously an attack on your opponent for legislation you voted for. Deeds later opposed the law, mistakenly claiming it was “unconstitutional”(The Supreme Court has ruled otherwise).

McDonnell also supported parental notification and consent for abortion. Deeds also supported parental notification, but didn’t think parents should have any say in the difficult decisions their pregnant
children faced.

In both cases, most Virginians support the bills McDonnell “introduced,” and oppose Deeds’ current position. So obviously, the advertisement couldn’t tell the whole truth, because then it wouldn’t leave a
false impression of extremism. Instead, voters might conclude that Deeds is out of touch with Virginia on the subject of abortion (which is sad because Deeds used to respect the rights of the unborn life,
at least in some cases).

But more importantly, the ad conveys a false sense of urgency about issues that aren’t expected to be addressed by the next governor. Neither man is likely to introduce or sign any significant changes
to abortion law. The real issues in the campaign are transportation, jobs, taxes and government spending.

Deeds seems uncomfortable speaking to those issues. For example, his “transportation plan” is to support tax increases, while passing on the actual job of producing a plan to a commission after the
election. But distracting voters with scaremongering advertisements is not a good substitute for addressing the issues.

Charles Reichley has been a Prince William County resident since 1981. He can be reached at: criticallythinking@msn.com.