I think all who are fed up with the negative campaign ads on TV should write their Senators and Congresspersons and request they consider passing a law forbidding political campaign ads on radio and TV from being anything other than about the candidates asking for our votes.
Most of the ads to which you object are not sponsored by the politicians running for office, they are "independent expenditures" by various political action committees. The McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill attempted to put strings on this sort of stuff, but the courts said no - Freedom of Speech. The interesting catcher is that a true political ad - i.e. "Vote for John Smith" can be controlled, but an "issue ad" -i.e. "Robert Doe is stinky pinko homo and should not be a Senator" is permitted (it does not ask for a vote for a candidate ).
All attempts to regulate telephonic political solicitations have also run afoul of the courts.
Your best defense is to use a machine to screen all your calls - I do (and it drives my family nuts - an unanticipated added advantage). My journey to the next life will be delayed because when God calls, he'll have to leave a message!.
The really bad news is that history suggests that the most negative ads work their trick - ask Kerry about the Swift Boat Ads!
der Brucer
