Mud flies in the California primaries, but will it stick?

Miriam Raftery
Published: Monday June 5, 2006

As California's June 6th primary election approaches, several high profile campaigns have engaged in mud-slinging so intense that seasoned political consultants are calling this the dirtiest primary race in the state's history.

"Typically mud-slinging is part of the voter suppression effort," said John Kennedy, a San Diego-based political consultant at JP Kennedy and Associates. "The idea is to discourage people from going to the polls. The hope is that your hard-core base will be energized and they will be there."

One race could put a Democrat in Congress immediately. The Republican Party has spent an estimated $5 million on attack ads against Francine Busby, the Democrat running against Republican Brian Bilbray to replace convicted ex-Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. One TV ad levied allegations that Busby supported a pedophile. Busby countered the smear with an ad featuring a Republican school board member, who confirmed that Busby in fact called for the resignation of the person accused of possessing child pornography as soon as his actions became known.

"It's all just desperation from this party that will do anything," Busby said in a June 3 interview on KLSD radio. "When I talk to voters, they've just had it. They're turning the TV off."

Bilbray, a former GOP Congressman who lost his seat in another district before running in the 50th, has also run ads featuring Bilbray in a bulldozer battling millions of gallons of invading Mexican sewage and speaking of the need for stronger border security, including his support for adding 1,300 border patrol agents. (Ironically, Bilbray has been implicated in an influence-peddling issue after testifying before Congress on behalf of the Bajagua Mexican wastewater treatment plant without revealing that he was working as a paid lobbyist for Bajagua at the time.)

Busby, meanwhile, has focused on ethics, pledging to clean up Washington if elected. A recent ad criticizes Bilbray for "using corrupt money from Duke Cunningham and Tom Delay to attack me."

The Hill, a Washington D.C. publication, conducted a survey to determine which was most effective --Bilbray's border security or Busby's ethics ad. "People generally found Busby's ad to be political advertising as usual. Those surveyed rated Bilbray's ad a 5.7 for effectiveness on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest. Busby's received a 4.8," The Hill reported. While only 13 percent of Republicans found Busby's ad more effective, 33 percent of Democrats said Bilbray's was better.

In the most recent campaign volley, Busby sent a letter notifying Senator John McCain that Bilbray ads attacked Busby for supporting McCain's immigration proposal for increasing border security, cracking down on employers of undocumented workers while also providing assistance to immigrants. Bilbray slammed the proposal as "amnesty" and said its passage would be the first step to children learning Spanish "because they have to."

Last week, McCain canceled his planned visit to San Diego, where he was to headline a fundraiser for Bilbray.

The Bilbray campaign did not return a call requesting comment for this article.

Kennedy believes the negative campaign against Busby indicates "desperation or high anxiety on the part of the Republican Party." Noting that the district has a heavy Republican registration that under normal circumstances would be a slam-dunk victory for the GOP, Kennedy added, "The fact that the Republican Party spent so much money to hit her tells me that the polling, where they say it's close, is not right. Clearly, she's ahead."

The attacks could trigger a backlash that may help Busby, he believes. "When you are perceived as a victim of a lie, people tend to side with you," he told RAW STORY. "The danger, the sad part, is there are always people who are going to believe a lie and you can never undo that damage. Some people will go to their grave believing that she supports a [pedophile]."

Republicans aren't the only ones engaged in negative campaigning. In several high-profile primary races, Democrats have launched attack ads against fellow Democrats.

In the gubernatorial race, State Treasurer Phil Angelides' campaign aired ads exposing opponent Steve Westly's support for Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, including Westly's support of a Schwarzenegger-backed bond measure. Westly's campaign countered with TV ads accusing Angelides, a former developer, of violating environmental laws.

Those ads prompted a strong response from environmental groups in defense of Angelides. Shortly after the ads aired, the California League of Conservation Voters (CLVC) issued its first-ever endorsement – for Angelides. A coalition of environmental groups issued a letter debunking Westly's charges, calling claims that Angelides filled wetlands a "falsehood" previously proven false during environmental groups' pre-endorsement background check.

"These ads are an insult to all of the environmental organizations who endorsed Phil Angelides," the letter stated. Vote the Coast, Clean Water Action and CLCV all gave sole endorsements to Angelides, while the Sierra Club gave dual endorsements to both candidates.

In an exclusive interview June 2nd, RAW STORY asked Angelides about Westly's latest ad, which claims that Angelides violated environmental laws in a Lake Tahoe project. Angelides called those charges "totally bogus" adding, "The fact is that Steve Westly has spent millions of dollars of his own money trying to buy the governorship."

At a speech given to supporters in San Diego earlier in the evening, Angelides emphasized his record of environmental protection and standing up to special interests, adding, "I want you to inaugurate a governor who leads the fight against global warming."

Angelides' website now carries a point-by-point rebuttal of Westley's negative ads. (Westley's campaign did not return calls for this article.

Brian Brokaw, press spokesperson for the Angelides campaign, noted that major newspapers have run editorials criticizing the Westly ads in recent days. "It's unfortunate that Steve Westly has chosen to do the Republican bidding," he told RAW STORY. "Republicans are the experts at dirty campaign tactics, so in a way this is good training for the general election."

But some fear the negative ad campaign will hurt whoever ultimately wins the primary.

"When people don't know Angelides or Wesley, all they have is a peripheral impression of dirt," said Kennedy. "Both will be damaged goods--and it's only going to help the Republican Party and Governor Schwarzenegger."