Among a handful of other important decisions handed down by the Supreme Court this week, Monday’s ruling to loosen the restrictions on political advertising campaigns was among the most important according to John G. Geer, Vanderbilt professor of political science and author of the recently published In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns.
A video of Geer’s response to the court’s decision recently appeared on the Vanderbilt University website. Geer argues that by opening the door for the proliferation of issue ads in political campaigns, the court’s decision will likely result in more negative advertising. Geer, however, argues that negative ads actually help to stimulate the democratic process by providing voters with relevant information they need before they head to the polls. Navigate to the VU website to watch.