By
Maya Schechter
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Kolbe's response important for his campaign, UA associate prof says
Sen. George Cunningham, D-Tucson, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, defended himself yesterday following an accusation of child abuse by his opponent, Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz.
Cunningham stood before about 30 Tucson residents, including three University of Arizona students, at Himmel Park, 2700 E. Speedway Blvd., and described the contents of his television commercial which Kolbe had attacked.
The commercial featured children from a Tucson elementary school who each mentioned Kolbe's continuing voting record against a funding increase for education.
Kolbe then responded in a commercial, which first aired Tuesday night, that the use of children in Cunningham's commercial was child abuse.
"I hope to get away from personal attacks, I would like to concentrate on what my ad said," Cunningham said. "I would rather him (Kolbe) defend himself."
While back-and-forth arguing between candidates for public office has become commonplace in America, some consider this debate to be abnormal.
"It's very unusual," said Henry Kenski, UA associate professor of political science and communication, concerning Cunningham's use of children in his commercial and Kolbe's accusation.
Though Kenski, an expert on attack politics, said the tactic was unusual, it was effective in getting a response from Kolbe.
"When an attack is out there, you've got to be on the air as soon as possible," Kenski said. "You can't let anything hang out there, you have to deal with them some way.
"Obviously, Cunningham feels he's got to use negative advertising," he added.
Four parents of children who appeared in the commercial spoke first, explaining that Cunningham had their full permission for using their children. They said they had signed permission slips, read the scripts beforehand and discussed the content of the commercial with their children.
Some parents added that Kolbe, unlike Cunningham, did not have any of the parents' permissions to use their children in his commercial, which also features Gov. Jane Hull and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"I started to laugh when I first saw the commercial," said Rick Eck, a child psychologist who earned his bachelor's degree from the UA.
Eck said that he works with abused and neglected children and that Kolbe's commercial was victimizing children.
One mother said she had contacted Kolbe because she was upset with the content of the commercial, to which he responded, "You made your kids fair game when you allowed them to be on TV."
Although Cunningham said his next campaign commercials will not focus on the attack, the parents have asked Kolbe to stop airing the commercial.
