PARC Analysis "Risky"

The RNC designed this ad to run during the last month of the campaign. “Risky” is part of a multi-million dollar effort by the RNC to run negative ads to combat the Kerry campaign. Because they are not a part of the Bush/Cheney campaign, the RNC are able to pay for and run ads independently. “Risky” is based on an article called “Keeping Score” written by Richard E. Cohen that appeared in The National Journal in January 2003. The National Journal is nonpartisan.

The ad assumes two things: first that The National Journal is correct in its rankings, and second that the ranking is still valid over a year later. “Risky” also assumes that this ranking is not only for one year, but places the title of “most liberal person to ever run for President” on John Kerry based on this ranking.

Kerry as a “Dangerous Liberal”

The most prominent feature of the “Risky” ad is its use of the code word “liberal.” As defined by Darrell M. West, “Code words are short-hand communications devices that play on common stereotypes and connotations associated with particular kinds of language” (10). West goes on to write that the code word may be used by Republicans in two ways. First, by repeatedly referring to the candidate as a “liberal,” Republicans are able to get voters to continuously associate the candidate with that term (11). Second, the way that Republicans use the term allows the viewer to associate the candidate with the negative connotations of that code word (11).

While the word “liberal” is only used twice in the ad, it is seen in white writing enclosed by a black banner at the top of the screen that persists for over half of the thirty second spot. What is interesting about the use of the term in this ad is that the audio content talks about Kerry's votes to cut spending, not increase it. West cites a 1996 survey by CBS News/ New York Times that asked what people thought of when they heard the word “liberal.” Eight percent of those surveyed said that they associated liberals with “free spending” and seven percent associated the term with a “high degree of government involvement” (12). The ad does not discuss Kerry in these ways, but instead describes him as cutting military and intelligence spending. The ad appears to be using the code word in the two ways outlined above: it associates Kerry with the word liberal, then adds to it some new negatives that the viewers may not have associated with the term prior to viewing the ad.

Motionless Kerry

All images of Kerry in the ad are static; he is pictured in awkward or angry poses that make him appear nasty and daunting. For most of the ad this representation of Kerry occupies only half the screen. The other half is filled with images of monuments, military personnel, and average people. While in most cases these images would be used to associate positive qualities, this split-screen approach creates the picture of Kerry as discouraging those on the other side.

The Words and Sounds of “Risky”

The visual text in the ad serves to emphasize the voiceover. Because “memory of a message is greatly enhanced by combining visual text with spoken words and descriptive images” (West 8), the ad uses the most poignant words to associate its claims with John Kerry. Phrases like “Severely Cut Intelligence” and “A Risky Choice for America ” are shown in conjunction with the highly negative accounts of Kerry's history in the Senate.

A male voiceover provides these negative accounts, offering a severe condemnation of the Senator's actions. As West writes, “Typically, attack ads use male announcers to deliver blistering criticisms” (10). The male announcer provides a serious and resolute assessment of John Kerry's politics, and offers the advice that America needs a “strong and sturdy” President instead of a “liberal” like John Kerry.

The music in the ad is almost inaudible until the end of the ad. Slowly becoming more prominent, this music does not dominate the ad, but instead provides a quiet background to the spoken words. The music is that of the horror genre, providing a fast paced and ominous feeling to the rest of the advertisement.

Kerry Versus the Family

The disclaimer at the end of the ad pictures a family in bright colors standing outside of their nice home. The house is slightly larger than average, with a green yard and an American flag waving in the wind. The family is not responsible for the advertisement; however by using this image to coincide with the disclaimer the ad is able to send the message that the RNC is sending their message for the average American. The family is in stark contrast to the bleak images of Kerry portrayed earlier.

“ The ad's claim that Kerry is the most liberal senator is wrong. And whether he's ‘the most liberal ever to run for president' is silly. What about Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs?”

“To call Kerry the ‘most liberal man in the Senate' based on a single year's rating is simply incorrect, however. Over his entire career, the [ The National] Journal rates Kerry the 11th most liberal Senator. It's doubtful that Kerry would have qualified for the ‘most liberal' label even during his first Senate term, when was rated #1 for three of the six years: 1986, 1988, and 1990. In each of those years Kerry actually tied for the ‘most liberal' rating, sharing it with as many as five other senators.”

“The party charges that Kerry is "the most liberal man in the Senate" based on rankings by the nonpartisan publication, The National Journal, which analyzed Senate voting records of 2003. However, the publication has said that Kerry's missed votes because of absences, like those of other Democrats running for president, skewed his ranking, and that Kerry over his career is not the most liberal senator.

“Also, the RNC calls Kerry "the most liberal person to ever run for president" based on its interpretation of an analysis from Americans for Democratic Action, which calls itself the country's oldest independent liberal lobbying association.

“The RNC has been poised to launch such an independent advertising operation but waited until the campaign homestretch.”

“ Do you ever wonder if people hear the claims in some of these ads and just think, ‘Well, I know that's not true.'

“Case in point: a new RNC ad that calls the center-left Kerry the ‘most liberal person to ever run for president.'

“Uh, what? Even if we're excluding non-Democrats (Eugene V. Debs, Ralph Nader, maybe the 1912 Teddy Roosevelt) Kerry doesn't even come close: FDR, JFK, LBJ. ”

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