Fenty’s Idealism Could Cost in DC Mayor’s Race

One of the biggest complaints the very average American has about politics is the negative campaigning. However, the type of campaigning the electorate gets is a direct result of what works. Going negative wins elections. Going positive is getting a try out in the Washington DC mayor’s race. Adrian M. Fenty is the poster child for positive campaigning. Poor fellow.

Mr. Fenty is facing Council Chair Linda W. Cropp for the Democratic nomination. DC, being the Democratic stronghold that it is, usually elects whoever wins the primary. Mr. Fenty was leading in the polls by 10 percent, so Ms. Cropp did what every American politician does; she attacked her opponent.

Oddly, Mr. Fenty didn’t strike back. Bill Lightfoot, his campaign manager, tried to get him to do so. He told the Washington Post about a phone call they had. Mr. Lightfoot told his candidate to “talk about how she was part of the council vote that drove this city into bankruptcy. Talk about her record of failure on the school board.” But he hasn’t.

His “attack” came in an interview last week, “If this is all you can offer, is to sling mud at someone else, then you're not qualified for the job,” he said. He sees, “nothing interesting or inspiring about negative campaigning.” He told the Post, “A lot of people say, 'You've got to respond to this,’ But regular people, that's not what they're saying. Regular people say, 'For 14 months, you've been talking about how you're going to fix the District of Columbia and make it a great place to live for everyone. That's what we want to hear’.”

On September 12, the Democrats in DC will vote. If Mr. Fenty wins, it will be a huge change from the attack adds, the “swiftboating” of candidates, and the general nastiness of US politics. This journal expects him to lose by a few points because after all, some of the mud will stick.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home