The Fear Curve

            With the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race heating up, personal attack ads are starting to appear more as the election nears. The issue with this type of advertising, however, is that it is hard to believe the so called “facts” that these commercials share. With a recent advertisement released by Corbett’s campaign entitled, The Learning Curve, it is not just the personal attacks that could hinder opponent, Tom Wolf, but it is the possible fear instilled in the eyes of the voter that could do even more damage. Within this advertisement, common color schemes of red and black are displayed throughout the entire commercial in order to portray Wolf as a feared individual. However, the truly fascinating part about this color scheme is the only other color shown, besides the red, black, and white, is the bright green that shines through whenever money is displayed.

Money is a main focus throughout this entire commercial and throughout Corbett’s entire campaign as well. A major attack that Corbett makes is exposing Wolf’s plan to raise the income tax. The first thing that you see when going to the governor’s campaign website is a big banner in large red lettering reading, “Millionaire Tom Wolf’s secret plan to TRIPLE the income tax rate has been exposed” (Tom Corbett). This attack follows the same guidelines in which the commercial does. The purpose is not only to instill fear in the minds of the voter with threatening them to have their hard earned money taken away, but it also points out that Tom Wolf, himself, is a pretty well off guy. The purpose of this may be to disengage Wolf from his supporters, but so far, Corbett’s jabs do not seem to have worked at picking away at Wolf’s strong backing.

With such a strong lead in every single poll, these fearful commercials may not really do anything but annoy the average American as they try to tune in to their favorite weekday sitcom. This commercial first aired on October 7, 2014, and has really yet to show any effect in Corbett’s standings. In the latest poll, released today, October 16, 2014, Wolf was still in the lead by about 13 points (RealClearPolitics). Attack ads may not really do anything as all of Corbett’s latest ads have yet to show any effect on the election outcome. However, the emphasis on money and fear could potentially be enough to get many voters out on Election Day who do not normally come out to vote. Voter turnout is usually much larger when people have something to be afraid of, and these advertisements may just be that catalyst of fear that could potentially decide the election outcome.

            "Tom Corbett." Tom Corbett for Governor. January 1, 2014. Accessed October 1, 2014. http://www.tomcorbettforgovernor.com/.

            "Election 2014 - Pennsylvania Governor - Corbett vs. Wolf." RealClearPolitics - Corbett vs. Wolf. January 1, 2014. Accessed October 1, 2014. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/pa/pennsylvania_governor_corbett_vs_wolf-3535.html.