Our 2016 presidential election campaign, already filled with ugly insults and sordid character assassination, raises questions about democracy. For example, are democracies by their nature susceptible to demagogues? Does negative campaigning discourage good, eminently qualified people from entering public life? Is there a line past which negative campaigns should not cross?
Should political candidates and their operatives be exempt from the ordinary rules governing defamation? If so, why? Or, put another way, should political candidates be liable in tort for their false defamatory remarks during a campaign?
