In what could be a preview of politics in the 2008 presidential campaign, voters in Virginia are being bombarded with negative advertising that includes anti-immigrant bashing in the run-up to the state’s November 6 elections. Based on the low national popularity ratings of the Bush administration and the historic defeat of Republican Sen. George Allen in his bid for re-election in 2006, the Democrats are poised to pick up seats in the state House of Delegates and possibly even take control of the state Senate for the first time since 1999.
Negative advertising is nothing new. It is a natural by-product of a corrupt two-party system where third parties are prevented from rising, so major party candidates win by tearing down their opponents.
Instant run-off voting, proportional representation and other innovative tools being used by most of the world’s other democracies, have been found to decrease negative campaigning. Shortening the campaign season, providing free access to the airwaves for candidates and providing public financing for bona fide campaigns, are other tools that deserve more support.
Unfortunately, the negative advertising here is at a level that even veteran politicians find remarkable. President Bush and the Republicans have drawn repeatedly on the tactics of fear and divisiveness in the last two national elections by stigmatizing gays and denouncing opponents with the “weak on terror” label.
The echo chamber of anger that is heard on talk radio has further fanned the flames, especially as the economy has softened and anti-war voices have become more prominent.
In July, the Board of Supervisors in Virginia’s Prince William County, just outside Washington, D.C., unanimously passed some of the harshest local legislation in the nation aimed at removing “illegal immigrants” from their county.
Supporters say that the board’s actions were a brave move and necessary to preserve the law and quality of life. Critics say that their actions were racist and a cynical case of self-serving political grandstanding.
Northern Virginia is, in many ways, a microcosm of the nation. Within living memory, farm lands gave way to suburban development, as the federal government expanded and a new middle class moved in.
Immigrants came too, from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe, partly to participate in the booming local construction market. Long-timers who remember the state before Loving v. Virginia allowed interracial marriages in 1967, now must deal with Korean-speaking services at their churches, Spanish-speaking day laborers lining up at the local 7-Eleven each morning, and signs in Chinese and Vietnamese.
Prince William County’s median family income is $71,000, but over four percent live below the poverty line. The percentage of whites has decreased steadily in recent years, with current totals at 54 percent white, 19 percent African American, 18 percent Latino, 7 percent Asian Pacific American, and 2 percent Native Americans and others.
Independent filmmaker Eric Byler, who lives in Prince William County, brought colleagues Annabel Park and Jeff Man there to work on a documentary about the politicization of the immigration issue.
Instead, given the hate speech, death threats, and intense villainization that they saw in their initial coverage of the community, they decided to create an “interactive documentary” that included interviews posted online and comments from the public.
They wanted to use their media skills to promote dialogue and civility around an issue that was causing both pro- and anti-immigrant forces to become ad hominem in their attacks.
With production support from Tomiko Anders, Tom Moore, Harry Yoon and Zhibo Lai, they have created an interactive Web portal.
“Our experiment in YouTube activism is working,” said Park. “We have been impressed by the levels of discourse on the Channel page of our Web site, and have been thanked for promoting civility by people on both sides of the issue.”
Religious leaders speak out for tolerance in some frames, while anti-immigrant voters denounce immigrants and speak wistfully about a time when white male privilege ruled supreme in others.
Throughout American history, politicians have used immigrant-bashing to counter their own political shortcomings. Thanks to a team of community-minded filmmakers, we can watch the campaign unfold, help to shape it for the better and preserve its lessons for future generations. Go to youtube.com/9500Liberty to see for yourself.