Ray Marcano is a Columbus Dispatch contributing columnist.
When campaigns are behind, they first go negative.
Then they go nasty.
Whether it’s Willie Horton or Swift Boat, the campaigns that win find an issue that sows doubt in voters’ mind through character assassination.
Vivek Ramaswamy and his cohorts are masters at smearing Amy Acton in ads and various media.
Yes, it’s disgusting.
It’s also very effective and more often than not, the road to victory.
PAC ads that support Ramaswamy have received a lot of attention because they’re misleading and ugly, which is pretty much the standard for either party. But the brilliance lay in how the Ramaswamy campaign has used influencers and media to portray Acton as a mentally unstable booze-loving druggie.
Yes, it’s repugnant.
It’s also very effective.
Laura Loomer, the right-wing influencer (or conspiracy theorist, depending on your view) with nearly 2 million ‘X’ followers, amplifies nastiness by painting Acton as unhinged. Republicans continue to mock Acton after a man holding a cell phone lunged at her at a campaign event.
The GOP says she exaggerated the danger, which is hard to see since the dude was packing multiple unbrandished weapons - brass knuckles, two guns and a Taser.
An attack from 'friendly' media?
The Washington Examiner - a conservative site −ran a long story (or hit piece, depending on your point of view) that quotes unnamed sources (of course) claiming Acton was “erratic” and “emotional,” revolting dog whistles for “crazy woman.”
None of this happens by serendipity. For example, opposition researchers often pitch their findings to friendly media likely to run with the damaging material.
I’m not claiming that happened with the Examiner story; I don’t have any idea. I am noting that after reading the piece my antenna went up because it smelled like GOP supporters out to trash an opponent rather than actual reporting.
What's Acton's actual strategy?
The Acton campaign is in a tough spot. While Ramaswamy has (unfairly) defined and maligned Acton’s character, her campaign has not done the same to him, at least not in any substantial way.
She calls him a billionaire scam artist trying to buy the election. It’s not new that Ramaswamy is an unlikeable billionaire who’ll do anything to get elected. How different is that from most politicians these days?
The Acton campaign needs something that successfully defines his character if she hopes to stay close enough to pull an upset in November.
But how? Acton’s so far being outspent four to one and Ramaswamy has access to many millions more, either from his personal fortune or rich buddies.
Between now and Election Day, he will crush her financially and his misleading ads will drown out her message.
Ramaswamy has experience running a national campaign, and those are valuable lessons in a state race. He’s running like a candidate who’s behind, which is smart. This may be a Republican state, but in a year of a historically unpopular president, nothing’s as given.
Acton runs like she’s tied or ahead by refusing to debate.
Her campaign doesn’t like Ramaswamy’s tactics and I can’t blame them. But debates give Acton a chance at defining her opponent in an atmosphere that doesn’t cost money.
The deciding factor over the next few weeks won’t be campaign appearances, shaking hands with voters or trying to seem “average” when you have a billion bucks.
It will be whether the disgusting and repugnant nastiness sticks.
History shows it will because it’s so effective.
Ray Marcano is a Columbus Dispatch contributing columnist. The longtime journalist is the former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer juror, and a Fulbright fellow.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ramaswamy giving Acton the repugnant Willie Horton treatment. It's how he can win | Opinion
