LBJ, Pigs and Rove
Being from Texas makes one real familiar with dirty politics. One of our most famous politicians is, or course, LBJ. Many people have referred to him as one of the best politicians ever. One story that I've been reminded of recently is this one:

There is a story about Johnson from his halcyon political days in Texas that is pertinent today. The rough and tumble politician was running for re-election to the Senate in 1952 and while on one of his trademark barnstorming campaign swings through the state he met an old Democratic political colleague?a small town sheriff who was also running for re-election. The sheriff told Johnson that he was facing an unexpectedly strong challenger in his re-election bid. Not thinking twice, Johnson told the sheriff to put out the word that his opponent "fucked pigs." The sheriff responded coolly to the idea, saying that it just wasn't true. Johnson replied, "So what! Make the son of a bitch deny it!" The Democrats of today should take a lesson from LBJ. This election cannot be played by Marquess of Queensberry rules. The Bush thugs have to be hoisted on their own petards.

Can there be any doubt that BC04 are the modern day descendants of these tactics? Rove and his mentor Lee Atwater definitely learned this lesson well. This year their "pigs", shall we say, are the Swift Boat Liars for Bush (SBLfB). We now know that the SBLfB are telling lies, lies and nothing but lies. But our wonderful SCLM has played along every step of the way. Treating there story like it's just another side of the story in a he said/she said type of argument. My hope is that this has been played up too much and that people are tired of hearing about it. That maybe the whole Sinclair thing will push it over the edge -- a tipping point maybe? That people will start to see Kerry for who he is and that BC04 has been lying all along. The tactic definitely worked by making Kerry answer the charge. Maybe he didn't do it directly but his campaign and Democrats were forced to deal with it for a long time. Will bringing it up again cause a backlash?

I think it is the overall strategy that I've pointed our before. Why Bush has done bad in the debates was because his record is horrible and he has no policy going forward to fix it. Most people see the country is going in the wrong direction and the only way Bush can win is to focus people on John Kerry and not on him and his record.

More on Rove
Karl Rove in a Corner
Karl Rove is at his most formidable when running close races, and his skills would be notable even if he used no extreme methods. But he does use them. His campaign history shows his willingness, when challenged, to employ savage tactics
- posted by Mom/Dad @ 7:45 AM