This hearkens back to an election many moons ago, near the beginning of Lyndon B. Johnson's political career in Texas. His opponent was edging him out, and things were coming down to the wire, so he proposed to his campaign manager that they begin a rumor to the effect that his opponent had carnal knowledge of the sow hogs on his home farm. The campaign manager, aghast, responded, "My God, you can't be serious! We can't accuse him of being a pigfucker!" And Johnson replied, "Right...but let's make the sonofabitch deny it."
This is an old, old tactic. Make bizarre accusations at your opponent, and hope that he will be distracted from talking about the REAL issues, calling you on your OWN skeletons, by wasting time denying the shit you are saying about him. This has been used on Democrats in every election since the mid-90s. Whenever they seem to be edging them out, the Republican party accuses the candidates of being Communists, dope fiends, sodomites, you pick it. And the Democratic candidates begin falling over each other in their hurry to deny all accusations, neatly losing sight of whatever uncomfortable point they were bringing to bear on the opposition. And even as they do this, the public is wondering, "why are they protesting so furiously? Almost like they have something to hide..."
It sank Goldwater when he went up against Nixon, it sank Dukakis when he went up against Bush Sr, and it hurt Kerry this last election as well. And that's only hitting the Presidential elections.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 05:22 am (UTC)This is going to be an interesting election.
Lessons I Learned From Hunter
Date: 2006-10-20 06:51 am (UTC)This is an old, old tactic. Make bizarre accusations at your opponent, and hope that he will be distracted from talking about the REAL issues, calling you on your OWN skeletons, by wasting time denying the shit you are saying about him. This has been used on Democrats in every election since the mid-90s. Whenever they seem to be edging them out, the Republican party accuses the candidates of being Communists, dope fiends, sodomites, you pick it. And the Democratic candidates begin falling over each other in their hurry to deny all accusations, neatly losing sight of whatever uncomfortable point they were bringing to bear on the opposition. And even as they do this, the public is wondering, "why are they protesting so furiously? Almost like they have something to hide..."
It sank Goldwater when he went up against Nixon, it sank Dukakis when he went up against Bush Sr, and it hurt Kerry this last election as well. And that's only hitting the Presidential elections.