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Attack ads reach new lows in politics

Politics continue to hit new lows; I know this is likely difficult for many to believe. Personal attack ads are always prevalent in political campaigning, as such attack ads are typically what grabs the average viewer or reader's eye. However, the issue is that these attacks are often indefensible.

Nor does a candidate have the time or capacity to refute each nonsensical claim that is thrown at voters. The capacity to refute these claims is often at the behest of how much campaign money a candidate has in their coffers. These type of issues often arise at the local level where many candidates lack the ability to truly combat these falsities. Campaigns cost money and local candidates often lack it at local levels. State and local candidates have a profound impact on our day-to-day life.

This type of politics does little to elevate our society. But rather, it stoops to our lowest form of intelligence - hate.

This results in multiple losses in the electoral process, voters who disengage with politics and potential candidates. Running for office today requires an understanding that nothing is off limits. Knowing this, we lose viable candidates who might make a change.

Regardless of your views toward these nonsensical ads, I believe we can all agree they truly provide very little value to enhancing the electorate's understanding and willingness to engage with politics.

Nasty campaign politics is disingenuous and often leads the electorate to disengage. And as Thomas Jefferson once said, "We in America do not have a government by the majority. We have a government by the majority who participate."

Sean Lynch

Hawthorn Woods

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