December 6, 2006 - Every election cycle we hear complaints about negative campaigns. Some, ignorant of the First Amendment, wish them controlled and regulated. There are always candidates, usually novices and often liberals, who find moral superiority in declaring they refuse to "go negative." What they usually find is not enough votes.

All political campaigns from constable to President have four components. Let them know you're running, give them a reason to vote for you, give them a reason to vote against the opponent, and identify your voter and get them to the polls. Please note part three.

Many people confuse it with a "smear" campaign. The line between the two is a simple one - truth.

Candidates squeamish about bringing up the attitudes and alliances of their opponent will be of little use to the cause or party they claim to represent if elected. They already indicate ignorance of the process and a priggish sense of righteousness, neither of which are useful attributes.

How do you have anything but a negative campaign against a ballot proposition? How hard is it to transfer running against a bad idea to running against somebody who has them? Beyond that, what about an opponent's personal competence or aptitude for public service?

A stunning local example is State Senator-elect Charlene Pesqueira. The lady was a no-show for many events, ignored repeated attempts by the media and others to contact her, and worst of all, had never voted before in her life.

It was a personal record that cried for exposure and both her opponent and the media failed in telling voters that she was an unqualified flake unfit for public office. She is living proof that negative campaigns and statements are not only necessary but that we don't have enough of them.

Courtesy of the great William Safire's "Lend me your ears," here are a few outstanding examples of political negativity that date back to the cradle of democracy in ancient Greece.

Desmosthenes

"I will come to the direct charges against your character. You espoused such a line of politics (when at last you thought of taking to them) that, if your country prospered, you lived the life of a hare, fearing and trembling and ever expecting to be scourged of the crimes of which your conscience accused you ..."

Patrick Henry

"Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation ...We must fight!

Theodore Roosevelt

"The timid man, the lazy man, the man who distrusts his country, the overcivilized man, who has lost the great fighting, masterful virtues, the ignorant man, and the man of dull mind, whose soul is incapable of feeling the mighty lift that thrills 'stern men with empires in their brains' - all these, of course, shrink from seeing the nation undertake it's new duties."

Harry Truman

"Some people say I ought not to talk so much about the Republican Eightieth 'do-nothing' Congress in this campaign. I will tell you why I will talk about it. If two-thirds of the people stay at home on election day as they did in 1946, and if we get another Republican Congress like the Eightieth Congress, it will be controlled by the same men ... who passed the Taft-Hartley Act, the rich man's tax bill, and took Social Security away from a million workers."

Lloyd Bentsen

"I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Finally, one of the most negative documents in history is The Declaration of Independence. There are 32 paragraphs. Paragraphs three to 30 outline how bad King and Parliament are and what they've done wrong.

Illumination of opposition faults is clearly the American way.

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EMIL FRANZI

EMAIL FRANZI

BUT WATCH WHAT YOU SAY!

About Emil Franzi

Emil Franzi is the owner and host of "Inside Track" on KVOI - 690AM and KAPR - 930AM in Douglas. The program airs on Saturdays from 12 pm till 5 pm.

Franzi currently writes a weekly column for the EXPLORER (formerly the NORTHWEST EXPLORER). He filled the TUCSON WEEKLY with close to a million relevant words from 1993 to 2004 and was an OpEd regular with the Az Daily Star from 1994 to 1998. His writing has also appeared in PHOENIX Magazine, ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, and the late CITY MAGAZINE in Tucson.

But then, Franzi is an iconoclast.

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