All Material & Content � 2004 - 2009 DavidMark.org
"Going Dirty" Reviews
"While scholars and pundits alike bemoan negative campaigning, Mark
points out that American voters notice when negative comparison ads lapse
into invective, and in those cases, he argues, those ads fail." —Leah A. Murray, Political Science Quarterly, WInter 2007 (more)
"David Mark, a political
journalist and author, says dirty campaigning doesn�t necessarily
deserve its bad rap. Mark, who examined the past and present of mudslinging in his book �Going Dirty:
The Art of Negative Campaigning,�� said bare-knuckle campaigns can benefit voters
by providing a hard look at the issues." —Ric Anderson, The Topeka Capital-Journal, October
31, 2006 (more)
"In "Going Dirty: The
Art Of Negative Campaigning," the Pasadena native details the history
and effectiveness of such ads, whether by early means such as radio
or via today's use of continually evolving Internet technology." —Mary Frances Gurton, Pasadena Star-News, October
20, 2006 (more)
"[David] Mark's article,
based on his book "Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning," recounts
the lively academic debate about whether dirty politics works." —Richard Reeves, Syndicated, October
16, 2006 (more)
"David Mark, author of "Going
Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning" and former editor in chief
of Campaigns & Elections magazine, says that claims of negative
campaigning have become a "catch-all phrase" that implies there
is something fundamentally wrong with criticizing your opponent." —David Harsanyi, Denver Post, October
11, 2006 (more)
"With only a month to
go before the mid-term elections, the slurs are splatting like
tomatoes at a Spanish tomato-throwing fiesta...The ads that work
best are the funny or funky ones, because people remember them,
argues David Mark, the author of “Going Dirty: the Art of
Negative Campaigning". —The Economist, October 5, 2006 (more)
"Essential history of negative campaigning in American politics, and how candidates use the technique, with varying degrees of success." —Ken Rudin, Political Editor, National
Public Radio - September 22, 2006 (more)
"Going Dirty painstakingly explores this long history of negative campaigning, recounting both familiar episodes (Willie Horton, anyone?) and those readers may have forgotten. The recurring theme is that well-timed, adroitly executed attacks are often effective; sloppy tactics by campaigns that misunderstand the electorate tend to elicit backlashes." —W. James Antle III, National Review
- June 22, 2006 (more)
"Instead of the bemoaning
the low blows struck in the name of electoral politics, from Swift-boat
slander to friend-of-terrorist smears, Mark is convinced that negativity
is a distinctly positive feature of U.S. elections." —Kerry Howley , Reason magazine
- May 2006 (view) Acrobat Required
"For the serious student
of political campaigns, this book includes nearly everything you wanted
to know about negative campaigning and has some very interesting case
studies as tactics changed during the the television and Internet
era. A chapter titled "What Good Old Days" reminds us that negative
campaigning is an American tradition. Recommended." —Taegan D. Goddard, Political Wire
- March 25, 2006 (more)
"Lyndon Johnson's campaign
released "Daisy Girl" on Sept. 7, 1964. The infamous ad, meant to
imply that Barry Goldwater might lead the world to nuclear destruction,
aired only once but had an indelible impact on political advertising.
David Mark, former editor in chief of Campaigns & Elections magazine
examines the significance of this spot and others like it in his forthcoming
book "Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning." In a recent interview
with NationalJournal.com's Jennifer Koons, Mark discussed the book's
findings and commented on the future of campaign advertising." —Jennifer Koons, National Journal
Online - March 1, 2006 (more)
subscription required. Download
(PDF)
"Like pornographers, Mark
argues, negative campaigners have seized emerging technology to reach
their audience, bypassing gatekeepers to reach voters directly. The
result, he claims, is a more rich, if less genteel, conversation.
In Going Dirty (Rowman Littlefield), coming out next month, Mark lays
out and defends the modern history of negative campaigning, from1928
attacks on presidential nominee and "rum-soaked Romanist" Al Smith
to less-than-subtle images of Osama Bin Laden in 2004." —Kerry Howley, Reason Magazine Online
- February 10, 2006 (more)
"In �Dirty Politics,�
Mark presents a slew of campaign case studies, from the first real
presidential contest between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to the
race between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). Mark also
studies negative campaigning in Congressional, gubernatorial and other
races around the country, as well as current law surrounding campaign
ads. He points out that sometimes going dirty works well. Other times,
not so much." —Elizabeth
Brotherton, Roll Call - February 7, 2006
(more)
Praise for "Going Dirty"
"The next time opposing
candidates accuse each other of negative campaigning --which should
be any minute now-- you'll want Going Dirty within easy reach. David
Mark's lively and meticulous history will help you distinguish what's
hard and fair from what's over the line." —Dr.
Michael Cornfield, scholar, consultant, author of Politics Moves Online:
Campaigning and the Internet
""Why are campaigns
so negative?" This is a question I get asked regularly by audiences,
and the obvious answer-- because they work-- is not really adequate.
Now, with a series of case studies and some historical grounding,
David Mark has provided texture and bite to the longstanding issue
of the tough, negative and sometimes very dirty nature of political
campaigning. The next time I get asked the question, I will answer,
"Read David Mark's Going Dirty."" —Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise
Institute
"A must read for anyone
interested in the negative ads that have come to dominate our campaigns." —Robert M. Stern, Center for Government
Studies
"Negative campaigning----the
public hates it, the press loves it, the candidates need it. And David
Mark has documented it from A (attack) to Z (zonk) in this creative
compendium of dirty politics, past, present, and future." —Dr. Larry J. Sabato, University
of Viriginia Center for Politics
