DeclinetoState
11-10-2006, 11:19 AM
Or so says Joe Conason (http://www.observer.com/20061113/20061113_Joe_Conason_opinions_conason.asp):
What exactly is wrong with the Republicans?
Today, that question applies not to their rigidly right-wing ideology, nor to their routine betrayal of their rigidly right-wing ideology, nor even to their weird sexual hang-ups and hypocrisy, fascinating as all of those topics may be. Instead, on the day after Election Day, what is at issue is the bad nature of the Republican political class—meaning the party officials, the consultants, and the elected officials who oversee both—and the poisoning of America’s democratic process by their habitual misconduct.
Republicans tend to talk about honor, integrity, morality and character in almost mystical terms, often attributing those qualities to themselves and their leaders. But the daily behavior of those who maintain the party’s power shows how irrelevant those concepts have become in reality.
...
The latest version, which was reported around the country in the days leading up to Nov. 7, involved a Republican deception designed to make voters think they were receiving repeated, annoying calls from a Democratic campaign. In suburban Chicago, for example, the automated message heard by those who picked up the receiver began: “Hi, I’m calling with information about Tammy Duckworth,” the brave Democratic Congressional candidate and Army veteran who lost her legs in Iraq.
People who listened to the rest of that recording heard various slurs against Ms. Duckworth; those who hung up would think that her campaign had called—and then called and called, over and over, unless they listened to the entire message.
This same dubious tactic was used in an untold number of Congressional districts. Only at the very end of the call was the real sponsor identified: the National Republican Congressional Committee.
I'm sure that the Democrats never ever in all of their history have done anything like this.
Of course, that's not really the case, so Joe tries to make us believe the vast majority of the dirty tricks were pulled by Republicans. Since he's writing a news opinion column, he doesn't have to source his allegations, and obviously does not do so.
What exactly is wrong with the Republicans?
Today, that question applies not to their rigidly right-wing ideology, nor to their routine betrayal of their rigidly right-wing ideology, nor even to their weird sexual hang-ups and hypocrisy, fascinating as all of those topics may be. Instead, on the day after Election Day, what is at issue is the bad nature of the Republican political class—meaning the party officials, the consultants, and the elected officials who oversee both—and the poisoning of America’s democratic process by their habitual misconduct.
Republicans tend to talk about honor, integrity, morality and character in almost mystical terms, often attributing those qualities to themselves and their leaders. But the daily behavior of those who maintain the party’s power shows how irrelevant those concepts have become in reality.
...
The latest version, which was reported around the country in the days leading up to Nov. 7, involved a Republican deception designed to make voters think they were receiving repeated, annoying calls from a Democratic campaign. In suburban Chicago, for example, the automated message heard by those who picked up the receiver began: “Hi, I’m calling with information about Tammy Duckworth,” the brave Democratic Congressional candidate and Army veteran who lost her legs in Iraq.
People who listened to the rest of that recording heard various slurs against Ms. Duckworth; those who hung up would think that her campaign had called—and then called and called, over and over, unless they listened to the entire message.
This same dubious tactic was used in an untold number of Congressional districts. Only at the very end of the call was the real sponsor identified: the National Republican Congressional Committee.
I'm sure that the Democrats never ever in all of their history have done anything like this.
Of course, that's not really the case, so Joe tries to make us believe the vast majority of the dirty tricks were pulled by Republicans. Since he's writing a news opinion column, he doesn't have to source his allegations, and obviously does not do so.