Election after election, republicans who are trailing their Democratic (or sometimes Republican) rivals - because Republican policies are bankrupt and Republican politicians have no solutions for the horrendous problems facing this country - resort to smear tactics, innuendo, personal attacks and fear-mongering.
Al Gore was attacked in 2000 by the Bush campaign for supposedly lying about "inventing the internet," when that isn't what he claimed, and of wanting to ban the Bible, which was ridiculous. Furthermore, he was connected to the disgraced Bill Clinton at every turn, but what Bush did to Gore was nothing compared to what he did to his primary rival John McCain. Push polls were conducted in South Carolina and fliers distributed that accused McCain of fathering an illegitimate black baby, and of being mentally disturbed because of his time as a POW. His wife was accused of being mentally unstable and a drug addict. Ultimately, Bush had to steal the election, his campaign conducting a smear campaign against Gore for wanting a Florida recount, distributing signs to campaign staffers posing as ordinary citizens holding signs that read "Sore Loserman," which was a play on Gore/Lieberman."
The 2000 elections was child's play compared to the 2004 election, however, when Bush, the war president who escaped going to Vietnam with the help of his father's friends who got him into the Texas Air National Guard, found himself up against the Vietnam War hero John Kerry. Bush was both an empty suit and a coward, so he accused Kerry of being a "Masachusett's liberal" (which has coded racial implications) and smeared Kerry's hero status. The latter task fell to the well funded Swift Boat Veterans for truth who simply made shit up about Kerry's war record. Bush had nothing good to offer the American people, and his wartime behavior could not compare to that of Kerry, so the Bush campaign simply lied, and for good measure, ramped up the fear rhetoric with non-stop terror alerts, which magically ended once Bush won the election.
So here we are in the midst of another presidential election, and the Republicans know they have absolutely nothing to offer except the guy they smeared eight years ago, a 71 year old former POW, married to a millionaire heiress eighteen years younger who appears to be channeling TV moms from the fifties, who fell into the nomination because every other Republican seemed too much like Bush. With an enormously unpopular president, and a recent trouncing in Congressional elections, the Republicans turned to someone whom the press calls a "maverick." He was the only hope they had against either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
It has been obvious since March that Obama would be the nominee, in spite of Hillary Clinton's hopes for a miracle and optimistic speeches to her supporters, and so the Republican smears against the very popular Obama began months ago on talk radio and FOX News. Now that Barack is the official nominee, the attacks have gone nuclear, not only against Obama, but also against his wife.
For weeks now there has been an internet rumor, started by Larry Johnson, that there was a very damaging tape out there with Michelle Obama saying something racist against whites. Johnson promised to produce the tape, or at least more solid information about it, but we have seen nothing. But the Republicans have learned that the rumor is enough to cause problems. The right wing radio shows are smearing Michelle with this rumor, and now FOX News has joined in with its own ugly racist approach.
So now McCain, once the victim of typical Republican smear tactics, is allowing his surrogates to use such attacks against his opponent. Why? Because there is no way he can win against this incredibly popular, intelligent, youthful, and historical candidate unless he makes him completely unacceptable to white America. He has to paint Obama - and if not Obama, then his wife - as a dangerous black person, someone not to be trusted, someone who is not "one of us." McCain is old, increasingly forgetful or confused, and is supporting failed policies and failed wars. Unless he can appeal to the covert racism in many voters, and make Barack and Michelle Obama into suspicious and un-American characters, he will lose. So the wingnuts on FOX and right wing radio are beginning the campaign.
Fortunately, some websites are fighting these smears, including one started by the Obama campaign. Here they are:
Fight the smears
Politifact
Snopes.com
Al Gore was attacked in 2000 by the Bush campaign for supposedly lying about "inventing the internet," when that isn't what he claimed, and of wanting to ban the Bible, which was ridiculous. Furthermore, he was connected to the disgraced Bill Clinton at every turn, but what Bush did to Gore was nothing compared to what he did to his primary rival John McCain. Push polls were conducted in South Carolina and fliers distributed that accused McCain of fathering an illegitimate black baby, and of being mentally disturbed because of his time as a POW. His wife was accused of being mentally unstable and a drug addict. Ultimately, Bush had to steal the election, his campaign conducting a smear campaign against Gore for wanting a Florida recount, distributing signs to campaign staffers posing as ordinary citizens holding signs that read "Sore Loserman," which was a play on Gore/Lieberman."
The 2000 elections was child's play compared to the 2004 election, however, when Bush, the war president who escaped going to Vietnam with the help of his father's friends who got him into the Texas Air National Guard, found himself up against the Vietnam War hero John Kerry. Bush was both an empty suit and a coward, so he accused Kerry of being a "Masachusett's liberal" (which has coded racial implications) and smeared Kerry's hero status. The latter task fell to the well funded Swift Boat Veterans for truth who simply made shit up about Kerry's war record. Bush had nothing good to offer the American people, and his wartime behavior could not compare to that of Kerry, so the Bush campaign simply lied, and for good measure, ramped up the fear rhetoric with non-stop terror alerts, which magically ended once Bush won the election.
So here we are in the midst of another presidential election, and the Republicans know they have absolutely nothing to offer except the guy they smeared eight years ago, a 71 year old former POW, married to a millionaire heiress eighteen years younger who appears to be channeling TV moms from the fifties, who fell into the nomination because every other Republican seemed too much like Bush. With an enormously unpopular president, and a recent trouncing in Congressional elections, the Republicans turned to someone whom the press calls a "maverick." He was the only hope they had against either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
It has been obvious since March that Obama would be the nominee, in spite of Hillary Clinton's hopes for a miracle and optimistic speeches to her supporters, and so the Republican smears against the very popular Obama began months ago on talk radio and FOX News. Now that Barack is the official nominee, the attacks have gone nuclear, not only against Obama, but also against his wife.
For weeks now there has been an internet rumor, started by Larry Johnson, that there was a very damaging tape out there with Michelle Obama saying something racist against whites. Johnson promised to produce the tape, or at least more solid information about it, but we have seen nothing. But the Republicans have learned that the rumor is enough to cause problems. The right wing radio shows are smearing Michelle with this rumor, and now FOX News has joined in with its own ugly racist approach.
So now McCain, once the victim of typical Republican smear tactics, is allowing his surrogates to use such attacks against his opponent. Why? Because there is no way he can win against this incredibly popular, intelligent, youthful, and historical candidate unless he makes him completely unacceptable to white America. He has to paint Obama - and if not Obama, then his wife - as a dangerous black person, someone not to be trusted, someone who is not "one of us." McCain is old, increasingly forgetful or confused, and is supporting failed policies and failed wars. Unless he can appeal to the covert racism in many voters, and make Barack and Michelle Obama into suspicious and un-American characters, he will lose. So the wingnuts on FOX and right wing radio are beginning the campaign.
Fortunately, some websites are fighting these smears, including one started by the Obama campaign. Here they are:
Fight the smears
Politifact
Snopes.com
While I and many others in this country are appalled by this tactic of Republicans, and are concerned about the added factor of race that will be used as a weapon against the Obamas, I have a feeling that just maybe the American people (or at least a majority) are tired of this. I think it's possible that all of this will backfire, especially as Americans realize they fell for this nonsense in the last two elections and they ended up with a moron in the White House, who couldn't win on the issues.
We want our country back from the warmongers, liars, cheats, corporatists, and hateful scandalmongers. We want a good and decent country. We want to restore our reputation in the world. We want our soldiers to come home, our gas prices to come down, our home values to go up, and our jobs to pay more. The Republicans cannnot offer any of this to the American people. All they can offer are attacks against a good and decent wife, mother, and career woman who is a stunning example of working hard and achieving the American dream.
I don't think that will be enough this year. I believe the American people have had it!
