Republican dirty tricks and our nominee for President

[iconoclastNYC]

"Historians believe that Nixon's camp pulled a wide range of dirty tricks focused on discrediting the strongest candidates that could challenge President Nixon. During the post-Watergate hearings and prosecutions, a dirty tricks unit of the Nixon campaign was revealed. Among other dubious tricks, literature purportedly from the Hubert Humphrey campaign attacking Sen. Muskie was from neither campaign. During the pivotal Wisconsin primary, an arson occurred at a suburban Milwaukee Democratic campaign headquarters. A young Karl Rove was a member of this dirty tricks unit. Author Theodore White, in his book "The Making of the President 1972", cited such conduct."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Muskie

I wonder if any of Rove's dirty tricks help do-in Dean in 2004?

[bluerum]

1. Gee - do ya think? nt

[Vincardog]

2. Did Rove's dirty tricks help do-in Dean? Duh ya think so?

That and it was the first test of the Diebold solution.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Forget Dean. What about Kerry!?

[blm]

4. Depends. Did you believe the media hype throughout 2003 when they

claimed for months that Kerry's campaign was dead in the water, which dried up his fundraising and forced him to finance his campaign?

Did you know that Kerry submitted a senate resolution against the FCC allowing corporate media expansion in June 2003, and a few weeks later his press was decreased while Dean's campaign was given a press plane?

Once the media thought they had Kerry neutralized, they got snide about Edwards and Clark, then focused on Dean in the last couple weeks to DAMAGE him, too.

Corporate media was playing the American people for BushInc. They OVER-reported Dean's support while UNDER-reporting Kerry's support on the ground, and then they turned around and HYPED and USED the scream to blame Dean as if he imploded, while exempting themselves from being examined for what REALLY went wrong in Iowa.

[iconoclastNYC]

6. I don't buy that theory.

The "front-runner" press coverage came from the huge number and enthusiasm of his supporters at the meet-ups and the rallies and the record amounts Dean was raising on-line in small donations. Dean generated a real grassroots populist campaign. Kerry's support didn't really gell until the DLC gave up on Liberman and put out word to the MSM that Kerry was the stop-Dean "electable" candidate.

[blm]

7. HAHA...when did THAT happen? The media REPEATEDLY said Kerry's

campaign was dead and some were even telling him to get out of the race. Don't even PRETEND that it wasn't aimed at drying up his financing. And IF the DLC told the media that Kerry was the guy, then why didn't they tell their rich DLC donors to give the money Kerry needed at the most crucial last 3 months before the Iowa caucus? Why was Kerry in the position of having to put up his house to finance himself the last months?

The facts just don't fit YOUR theory. In your theory Kerry got all the support he needed from the DLC to topple Dean yet they opted to not donate money to his campaign during the most crucial period and many media sources wouldn't even give reporters covering Kerry any airtime. This continued up until the last week - and they did that just to play catch up as if they were balanced all along.

Yes, Dean was getting crowds to hear him, and deserved to have appropriate press attention, but to deserve a press plane by June 2003 when there were 9 other candidates? And right after Kerry's senate resolution against the media expansion? You believe in coincidence?

The media didn't even START going negative on Dean until they thought they had the others neutralized and damaged, and they could focus on their next Dem target - Dean.

Why was the corporate media legit to you when they were reporting the bogus poll numbers in Iowa for months? People on the ground in Iowa were saying as early as November that Kerry's support there was being under-reported. Why was the MSM saying the opposite?

You think media wasn't hyping the scream for a reason? They were diverting attention from any question of accountability for their Iowa reporting. They pointed the finger at Dean as if he imploded unexpectedly on his own. That way no one holds them responsible for their months of manipulating the ground numbers in Iowa and their months of lying about it.

[blm]

8. Sorry to stay so tough on this - but there are alot of

rumors that abound that are not good for the Dem party and take the focus off the truth about the dirty tricks that ARE pulled against Democrats on a regular basis. This is nothing personal against you or Dean.

But, recognizing the tactics and linking the tricks to the actual facts is the only way we can fight back. Perpetuating rumor that has no basis in reality doesn't help the left and its goals. In fact, it makes us MORE vulnerable to manipulation and I think Dean would agree with me on this.

[opihimoimoi]

5. When you don't have Heart. Truth, Leadership,and Reason: Use Dirty Tricks

Hawaiians have a term: PILAU: Dirty, unclean, underhanded, etc...these guys use Pilau Tatics and have gotten away so far...soon there will come a time when America wises up/dummy up/wakes up...to the effects of listening to dirty tricks...dummies for Prezinents is who we get....