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Americans Prefer Politicians to ‘Just Play Nice’
Pam Jenkins
Did your mother teach you to behave like that? More and more Americans are asking themselves the same question about today’s political leaders, proving that civility in the political arena may take a candidate further than he or she thinks.
According to the second annual poll on Civility in America released today by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate in partnership with KRC Research, most Americans believe that incivility is a rising problem in politics and will consider civility when they cast their votes next November. And while pop culture, media, and government often take the heat as being centers of misconduct, the study found that 80 percent of Americans – the largest majority found in the survey – consider political campaigns to be a hub of incivility. Further, the survey shows that this perceived lack of civility in campaigns may have far-reaching implications, with 91% of respondents saying that incivility has negative consequences for the nation.
Consider this study a warning for all political campaign strategists who plan to include name-calling to their candidate’s line of attack. With 90 percent of participants admitting that “the way the candidate treats and deals with people he or she disagrees with” and “the candidate’s tone or level of civility” will play an important role in determining their vote for president in 2012, it’s clear that candidates who personally attack their opponents risk losing voter support.
Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick, recognizes the dangers of incivility in politics, explaining, "While everyone has the right to engage in vigorous debate, this kind of rampant incivility undermines our political process. It turns people off, creating at best apathy and at worst antipathy toward elected leaders."
The results of the study show that mom’s golden rule may prove to secure victories for political hopefuls in the upcoming presidential and congressional elections. With respondents defining civility as “respect,” “treating others as you would want to be treated” and “interacting with others with politeness and patience even under difficult circumstances,” it is evident that Americans will be demanding a different kind of politics from our nation’s future political hopefuls.
