Wright Urges Democrats to End Use of Negative Campaign Ads

House Speaker Jim Wright Wednesday called on all Democratic presidential candidates to stop using negative television advertisements for the remainder of the campaign, complaining that they distort the political debate and mislead millions of voters.

Wright (D-Tex.), joined by other House leaders, also criticized the format of the Super Tuesday elections, charging that the grouping of so many state votes on the same day caused most candidates to spend vast sums on TV advertising while allowing them little opportunity to meet voters and debate the issues in any depth.

‘Muddle the Process’

The Speaker’s plea to the candidates was made in an unusual telegram, which said the advertising attacks on party rivals tend to “tarnish and muddle the process of democracy. . . . Those overriding principles which bind us as Democrats are far more significant than the things that separate us.”

Although Wright said his appeal was made on behalf of the party, a key reason for it may have been the poor showing in the Super Tuesday elections by Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), whose candidacy is actively promoted by several House Democratic leaders.

Gephardt has blamed his dismal, fourth-place finish in part on a wave of negative television spots directed against him by Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.). Both candidates spent heavily on their Super Tuesday campaigns, while Gephardt was strapped for cash and hard-pressed to respond to much of the criticism.

Many of these spots accused Gephardt of waffling on a wide range of issues, and they diverted his campaign’s focus away from the U.S. trade imbalance and other issues that had fueled his victory in Iowa.

Without mentioning Dukakis or Gore by name, Wright said: “Several candidates have found it attractive to succumb to the wicked blandishments of those in the advertising business who produce negative ads. It disgusts people, and it becomes counter-productive.

‘Take This Pledge’

“I appeal to all of them (candidates) jointly . . . they should all take this pledge,” the Speaker said, stressing that he has endorsed no candidate and was making the appeal in his capacity as chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in July.