Political lie detection tips

As we approach the end of primary election season for many states, dirty politics rears its ugly head again. It usually consists of lies, half-truths or false implications about a candidate’s opponent in TV, radio and print media. Its intent is to cause you to change your opinion of the candidate being attacked.

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As many voters express frustration, they don't know what to believe! But from personal experience having run for public office twice and being the victim of dirty politics both times, I can suggest some things for you to discount and maybe even ignore if it might change for whom you are going to vote. (I sometimes hate being grammatically correct, but my editor, Dan, would not let me say "who you are going to vote for".) Tip #1: If it is a negative attack on a candidate, then the candidate sponsoring the attack is usually behind in the polls, or feeling threatened by a challenger. The leader in the race does not have to go negative to gain ground. Attackers usually do this near the final primary or general election day, so the attacked candidate does not have much time to react publicly and set the record straight. In this year’s Georgia Republican Senate primary race, a candidate in second place sent out a print piece that said the leader favored tax increases. An absolute lie! The leader in this case supports raising federal revenue by creating a robust economy.

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The same print piece also said the leader in the race supported the federal education initiative called "Common Core". Wrong again! The leader in the race supports "standards", but he absolutely opposes Common Core. Tip #2: The further behind in the race a candidate is, the more misleading and crafty the attack is on the other candidates. My household received a print piece paid for by one of the Republican Senate candidates in the primary. He is in last place in the latest polls. The print piece was called "Georgia Conservatives - Official Ballot". It was inserted inside a publication that looked official, and contained lots of ads for political candidates. Except! It did not contain any ads for the leader in the Senate race in Georgia. As I looked to see who sent the publication I only found a small disclaimer that disclaimed all the ads and everything in the publication, and there was no organization that identified itself as "Georgia Conservatives". So whose official ballot is it? Yep. The candidate in last place, because he gave himself an overall rating of "A" , and the leader in the race an "F" based on two blatant distortions of what the leading candidate had said. Busted! Tip #3: If a candidate is attacking another candidate then they are not talking about their own credentials or qualifications. That's when you should go on the Internet and look up the credentials for yourself. If you do not have time or you are still not sure, vote for the person being attacked. I did not name names in these scenarios, because my purpose is not to embarrass anybody. If you receive a negative last-minute print piece or hear or see a negative ad, those putting out this information will usually embarrass themselves by doing so. Political consultants have advised candidates to do this for decades, because they truly believe it works. Maybe it works on some people and in some campaigns, but most people are sick and tired of it. As a result, a lot of people have tuned out political races altogether. That's a tragedy for our nation. People are starving for the truth and the truth in political campaigns. When we find those candidates who focus on the truth, their credentials and their priorities for solving problems, we should support them and encourage them. Be an informed voter and vote! Every vote counts, so don't be counted out by not voting. Voting is one of our greatest freedoms. If you do not use it intelligently, then you will lose it. We may not be able to get rid of all the dirt in dirty politics, but we can give those candidates who try to run clean campaigns a clean shot at winning. I do wish I knew now what I didn't know when I ran for president in 2011. I now know! More campaign finance reforms and saying "I approve this message" are not going to help clean up dirty campaigning. Voters who know how to identify the truth and detect lies, half-truths and false implications about candidates will be the political sanitizing we need to elect the best candidates based on merits. Our future depends on it!

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