Political Slander in Election Campaigns

Before members of this panel came together in San Diego in March 1963 to present their papers on in election campaigns in some Western states, two aspects other than a description of campaign strategy and tactics had become evident. These were questions of definitions and what to do about ethically improving campaigns. There had been considerable discussion whether to use word slander in panel's title or originally proposed title, political dynamiting. Bruce Felknor, chairman of group, who, as executive director of Fair Campaign Practices Committee with headquarters in New York City, had dealt directly for many years with problem of behavior in election campaigns, stated in his introductory remarks that is a more explicit title than .... 'Slander' is inexact, for most troublesome matter in our area is hard to deal with exactly because it is not or libel. 'Defamation' is too general. 'Innuendo' is too limited. 'Character assassination' is only older, no more scholarly or precise per se. You could say 'The destruction of careers by sudden strategically timed publication of carefully researched, damaging, difficultto-answer charges based upon from truth....' Objection had been made to word slander because it was a legal term, since panel was to deal with behavior and campaign materials which were not illegal. Felknor had hit upon essence of meaning of political dynamiting when he used words, selected excerpts and the truth. True, these selections usually appeared in print at a well-timed moment of campaign, but publication need not have been a roorback. The purpose of dynamiting, which could be a well-timed single shot in form of a bomb or a series of small explosions by party hirelings, campaign managers, and public relations counsels, and of separate but well-coordinated campaigns by groups, would be to blast a man out of public office or out of politics during his campaign. Political dynamiting properly refers to political research in a candidate's past life and public record and then use of these materials as propaganda, usually in form of printed page, to achieve this purpose. What is important, therefore, is form in which researched materials appear in public, and what is even more important is manner of delivery or release of printed materials to public

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  Gary Alan Fine, Bin Xu•Social Problems•2011

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