What is mudslinging?

Answer 1

Mudslinging is when the political candidates say bad things about each other. They are slinging ill remarks about their opponents. They may bring up a past indiscretion that has been long buried or elude to a possible lack of competence.

The term "Mudslinging" originated back in the 19th century: a time when many politicians stood on crates or tree stumps to make a speech. Often, these politicians were the underdogs of the campaign, but spoke well and often had the solutions at hand, causing their opponents to worry about the outcome of the election. To counter the candidate, opponents, or their party, collected a group of people to, literally, sling mud at the candidate to disrupt the speech or gathering, thus taking the "wind from his sails".

This old fashioned mudslinging has come to a new age with "Tea-Party" instigators invading "town hall" meetings of national leaders.

Answer 2

Mudslinging is the practice of making malicious or damaging statements about someone in order to harm their reputation. This tactic is commonly used in politics and media to discredit opponents or rivals.