Playing the fear card

Negative campaigning may be entertaining, but issues and ideologies are what matter most to the electorate.

By STEWART WEISS
Look out ladies and gentlemen: It is coming, and we mere mortals have no hope of stopping it. It lurks just around the corner, waiting to envelop and overwhelm us, to occupy our every waking moment. No, it is not Iran, or another economic tsunami, it is the dreaded... elections! Prepare yourself for all the pie-in-the-sky promises, cute slogans and suddenly-smiling faces that are headed our way. Yet even before we become obsessed with national elections, we must first deal with the local campaigns next week to elect city councils throughout the country. And there is a growing phenomenon that is making these elections among the ugliest in memory. I speak about the fear campaign - the attempt to scare voters into casting their ballots for a particular party list not because it has done something of merit to earn them, but because of the dire consequences of what will happen if - perish the thought - the other guy wins. In Ra'anana, for example, Meretz is waging a particularly aggressive fear campaign, directed against the religious community. Though Ra'anana has long been known for its spirit of harmony and peaceful co-existence among the various communities in the city, Meretz brochures ominously warn of streets being closed on Shabbat, public swimming pools becoming segregated, and the mayor being manipulated by the observant population. Its campaign slogan, "Meretz - Fighting for Our Freedom," implies that someone, most likely an elusive bogeyman with a beard, is out to take away the most basic rights and privileges. Indicative of this "vote for me, I'll set you free" strategy is a video put out by Meretz that has redefined the phrase "bad taste." In it, two teenage boys are seen urinating in their pants because they are being prevented from opening their zippers. Utilizing a play on words in Hebrew ("your zipper is open" translates literally into "the store is open") Meretz warns that soon no store or public facility will be allowed to remain open on Shabbat or holidays if the religious have their way. The video (www.meretz.org.il) has sparked a major outcry on a local and national level. Nor is this anti attitude restricted to Ra'anana. Just look at the buses driving around Jerusalem with large posters bearing the phrase, "be free or be haredi." What does that imply? It reminds me of the no-win question, "Have you stopped beating your wife - answer yes or no." What exactly is at the heart of this syndrome? Is it the self-hating Jew phobia rearing its ugly head? Is it jealousy of a sector that is standing up for its own rights and demanding to be treated as first-class citizens? In a half-hearted "apology" for its video, Meretz proclaimed that Ra'anana is "a secular city which tolerates its religious citizens." Thanks, guys - most benevolent of you. Can I breathe now? BUT AS distasteful as this kind of rhetoric can be, I am hopeful that it will fail, and maybe even backfire on its proponents. While negative campaigns can succeed in swaying a certain segment of the population by playing on its fears and anxieties, it can also have the exact opposite effect. It can compel voters - most of whom are intelligent and pretty well-informed - into asking, "Why aren't you telling me what you plan to do if elected? Where is your vision, your platform, your creative and innovative ideas both for solving past problems as well as initiating future programs? Stop telling me how bad the other guy is, and start telling me what makes you better." Case in point: the American elections. John McCain waged a relentless attack on Barack Obama's character, experience (or lack thereof) and knowledge of foreign and economic policy. He devoted a whole lot of time to pointing out the flaws in the Democrat's proposals. What he didn't do, however, was offer a lucid and comprehensive vision of his own. And so, while many of McCain's criticisms of Obama were well-founded, he lost. At some point, the public wants to move away from caustic condemnation and focus on constructive ideas. While it's entertaining to watch a candidate cut up or put down his rival, at the end of the day issues and ideologies are what matter most to the electorate. I hope our national politicians are paying attention to all this. I suspect that right now, they are probably sharpening their knives and researching all the wrong things their opponents have said or done since the last election. But perhaps they ought to invest a little time in developing the right things which they are prepared to do - that is, if we decide that they are worthy of being elected. The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra'anana and a candidate on that city's United Religious List.