Email Insights: Alvin Brown contends Lenny Curry running “most negative campaign in Jacksonville history”

The Alvin Brown campaign continues its recent tradition of saying that the Lenny Curry campaign is running a negative campaign, with an email spotlighting its assertion that “hypocritical party boss Lenny Curry calls for civil discourse, but runs most negative campaign in Jacksonville history” — a statement that covers considerable ground.

Brown’s operation provides a link to a January The Florida Times-Union piece in which Curry advocates for “vigorous and civil debates” on the issues of the day:

Even the more thoughtful and reasoned print media now reads more like the sports page, featuring a running play-by-play on political maneuvering and the day’s “political winners and losers.”

The results are predictable, heated and generally unproductive.

I’m personally guilty of engaging in these very things myself. So if there are fingers to be pointed, start with me.

But there is a deeper point to be made: While there are legitimate issues upon which Republicans and Democrats can disagree, doing so solely for the sake of partisan political advantage should not be one of them and disagreeing in a manner that is insulting and uncivilized is counter-productive.

Republicans and Democrats have different views on many issues. Those differences should be explored through vigorous and civil debates where we put ideas to the test and engage more people in the political process.

Then, the Brown campaign offers examples of media outlets, ranging from the aforementioned Times-Union to this outlet, talking of the “negative campaign” that Curry is running.

Whether it’s the “most negative campaign in Jacksonville history” or not is a matter of debate (it’s not a claim that is necessarily proven in the provided links, or even provable given that Jacksonville campaigns from decades back were not uniformly positive either). This email blast piggybacks Bill Bishop‘s attack on negative advertising at last weekend’s WBOB “Stump” Straw Poll, describing such advertising as the “last vestige of people with no vision.”  

In the wake of the email, we reached out to the Lenny Curry and Bill Bishop campaigns for comment. This post will be updated when comment is provided.