Democrats Unleash Ads Focusing on Rivals’ Pasts

To retaliate against recent gains in the polls, Democratic Congressional candidates are releasing a string of negative advertisements against their opponents. Party strategists say these negative ads are appealing earlier in the campaign cycle than ever before. Specifically, many of these ads use results from a yearlong investigation into the business and personal histories of Republican candidates to convince voters of their dubious moral character. In New York, for example, Republican House candidate Richard Hanna is depicted as someone who "got rich while his construction company overcharged taxpayers thousands, was sued three times for injuries caused by faulty construction and was cited 12 times for health and safety violations.”

This story shows the importance of media exposure in the political world and in turn, the policy process. Birkland lists the media as an unofficial actor in the policy process, meaning that it has an indirect effect on the national agenda. Negative ads paid for by political candidates influence voters as to who they will vote for in November. The balance of the political parties in Congress will determine what items make it onto the national agenda and how far they progress into law. Even if citizens make their priorities known to legislators through voting and grassroots efforts, in a top-down system these lawmakers will ultimately decide which policy issues are most important to our nation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/politics/26dems.html?hp