'Amnesty, abortion, and acid': Why negative campaigning works

When the Nixon campaign in 1972 made use of the “three A’s” used to describe the politics of its opponent, George McGovern — “amnesty (for draft dodgers), abortion, and acid” — this offensive labeling was not necessarily meant to scare away McGovern’s die-hard supporters. They all were committed to vote for him regardless of persistent character attacks against “their guy.”

No, the three A’s were those emotional tweezers to deliver an additional motivational pinch (not even a punch) to enliven those Nixon supporters who were in favor of their candidate but still a bit lazy to go out and actually vote.