Campaign Smearing

Report Outline
Portents of Campaign Smearing in 1956
Excesses in Campaigns for Presidency
Methods of Handling Campaign Scurrility

Portents of Campaign Smearing in 1956

Spokesmen of the two great American political parties, warming up for the quadrennial fight for control of the presidency, already have given signs that the 1956 campaign will be rough and hard-hitting. Cries of “Smear!” are being exchanged as leaders of the party organizations jockey for favorable advance positions.

Before the battle between Republicans and Democrats is fully joined, Congress may be persuaded to overhaul the federal election laws for the purpose, among other things, of promoting fair play in political campaigns. A bill reported to the Senate on June 22, 1955, and still awaiting action, would strike in various ways at clandestine political groups which circulate scurrilous campaign literature. By requiring candidates to accept responsibility for activities undertaken by others in their behalf, it would seek to eliminate or greatly reduce questionable campaign practices.

Congress in recent years has given extended consideration to means of outlawing false and slanderous attacks on political candidates and parties. Controls of that sort, however, are difficult to devise and hard to enforce. The tendency to indulge in campaign excesses is curbed now only by the libel laws, which are rarely invoked by politicians. It is not clear, moreover, how strongly the average voter feels about employment of abusive tactics in campaigns for public office. Many people are prone to tolerate a certain amount of political invective as all in the game. But campaign methods or utterances that cross the border into malice or deception may breed resentment and make for long-lasting public discord.