A Lack of Civility in Political Debate

In which I kinda sorta but not really resist the urge to say "first debate thread!"

Anyway, anyone who's gotten into any sort of political debate has seen the terms and names being thrown around. Rethuglican, Libtard, McSame, Obummer...

Some people have wondered why civility has declined in politics, but all things considered; we're pretty damn polite where it counts. There used to be brawls in congress (both verbal and physical) and many of the insults candidates hurled at one another would make embarrass even the stereotypical drunken sailor.

At the same time however, the only things that have really changed is the insults and jabs have gotten more pointed and politicians don't try to stab or bludgeon one another on the Senate or House floor when they have a disagreement.

Of course, every campaign season both candidates lament the "sad state of campaign affairs" right before their PACs (naturally having NOTHING to do with them whatsoever *nudge nudge wink wink*) begin lobbing negativity at one another.

And this isn't just between the candidates either. News outlets with any political leaning have gotten more pointed, debates outside the campaign trail (campuses, classrooms, forums) really aren't that much cleaner when it comes to the political and social debate area. Additionally, debates in congress itself aren't much better. "Our Democrat allies" or "our Republican friends" are phrases said with more than a hint of resentment and each side talks about how the other is "destroying the country" or "rotting America's heart" or somesuch language replete with alarmingly vicious metaphors.


Now this isn't to say there's no hope for civility. During the 2012 race between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown, they reached an agreement. For every negative ad aired by the other's supporting PAC, that campaign had to donate an amount of money equal to half the amount used to pay for the ad to a charity...

...of the opposing candidate's choice.

Surprisingly, it worked pretty damn well. Some charities here and there got money, but the Massachusetts airwaves were largely free of attack ads.

So while I doubt we'll ever get 100% squeaky clean campaigns, stunningly polite debates in congress, or even formal and rational discussions on political/social issues in classrooms; do you think there's any hope for greater levels of civility? What else do you think can be done? Do we really just need more Scott-Warren deals on the campaign trail?

Thoughts?

 

[quote name='Cheshire' timestamp='1379361401' post='40322']In the Obama-Romney election, Romney wanted to cut funding to PBS. You know what Obama did? He formed a campaign that 'Romney Hates Big Bird'. How utterly child-like is that? And how utterly stupid? PBS had to intervene and want no part of election, and both parties were made fun of in the end.[/quote]
Unfortunately it's the tactic that gets ratings and press. "Romney supports cutting of PBS funds" isn't going to make many people bat an eye. The sad fact is, there are people today who don't readily know what "PBS" is, much less what it stands for. Now "Mitt Romney hates Big Bird" is going to grab attention. It sort of ties back to your earlier point about insults and the like being used more than reasoned debate. A full argument on a candidate's views on public funding? Meh. THIS MAN HATES YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD CHARACTER? Rage trigger. (At this point one could argue that we wander out of the realm of political civility and headlong into a study on the 24 hour news cycle and our love of fast-paced bullet point slogans....)

I think to a degree in the arena of national jokes, the media's about as much to blame as the politicians. There are people in the political arena who spend decades doing good things for their people and others and yet they find themselves abandoned after a single moment that the media chooses to focus on. Some such things can't be defended (Anthony Weiner, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford...) while others really don't deserve to be hammered the way they do (Helen Thomas, Howard Dean, Ted Kruz)

[quote]Not trying to lift the blame off of politicians, nobody should do drugs, general stupid ideas such as the Anthony Wiener scandal, or engage in illegal activities, but I feel politicians and other people such as the Royal Family are becoming less respected figures and more everyday celebrities. Each party is attempting to uncover some dirt on the other party to scandalize, even the little things such as that new Tea Party candidate born in Canada, and that is just playing dirty.[/quote]
The Tea Party guy'd be Ted Kruz, and overall I think any citizenship debate for a potential Presidential run is stupid. The constitutional guidelines mandate enough of a strict background check to ensure legitimate citizenship that attempting to question anyone over it -be it Kruz, Obama, or McCain- or to even try to make a big issue out of it is stupid.