Today is the day: Has a real crisis beaten the Lee Atwater school of smear politics?
By John Amato Tuesday Nov 04, 2008 12:00pmIf you get a chance to see The Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, you will watch the architect of the modern-day GOP's political strategy to win elections, which is to smear the other person with slimy personal attacks and vicious lies to keep Americans focused on the politics of personal destruction while feigning innocence. The idea is that those smear tactics will deflect us away from the real issues that Americans face every day. Karl Rove, Atwater's best student, has taken over since he died and has succeeded in continuing that disgusting legacy. Up until now, that is.
Politics has been a dirty game throughout our history, but even Michael Dukakis had no idea how to respond to the Willie Horton ad, and in the movie he says as much. He thought it was beneath him to respond to such shameful accusations and he realized that he was wrong a little too late. Part of Atwater's strategy was also to get theses smears planted into the main stream press and he succeeded on that level as well. "Bernard Shaw dealt a crushing blow to the Dukakis candidacy by asking the Massachusetts governor about Horton with the opening question of his final debate with George H. W. Bush."
We thought John Kerry would have learned that lesson too, but when he was swift-boated, he was slow on the draw to defend himself. Their surrogates took to the airwaves en masse, and so a war hero was accused on TV of shooting himself on purpose to win some medals to help his future political career. And it worked.
These attacks were carried out by Nixon's anointed one, John O'Neal. By the time the Swiftboaters were thoroughly debunked by the media, the damage had been done. In fact, how many Americans actually remember that the smears were debunked? You can bet they all remember the smears.
All through the summer we saw attack ads on Obama calling him a Hollywood celebrity comparing him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. He was portrayed as an arugula-eating, latte-sipping, martini-drinking, country club elitist who pals around with terrorists, doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin, won't say the Pledge of Allegiance, and hates America. He's odd; he's different; he's got a funny name. You know the drill.
And did work somewhat, because McCain kept it close in the polls until the conventions came upon us at the end of August. Check out this Gallop poll graph as a sample of the time line.
McCain got a bump from the Palin effect and briefly took the lead back from Obama, but many were skeptical of her nomination. It certainly rallied the Republican base that really dislikes John McCain, but after the initial honeymoon, Americans as a whole now realize that it was another cheap political gimmick and have turned away from her very quickly.
Fifty-seven percent of likely voters questioned in the poll say that Palin does not have the personal qualities a president should have.
Now, Biden would beat Palin by 12 points if the running mates were chosen in a separate vote.
It was politics as usual up until America witnessed the greatest economic meltdown our generation has ever seen. And nothing crystallized it like George Bush and Henry Paulson's plea for $700 billion to rescue Wall street. (Here's the text.)
Immediately the nation snapped out of worrying if Obama was sipping tea at a diner and not American enough and started to see who could actually best handle this dire economic situation. McCain tried to sensationalize the crisis for political purposes by saying he was suspending his campaign and America realized it was just another typical con job.
And as the debates finished, Obama retook the lead in all the polls, because Americans saw that in response to a crisis, he truly looked like a Commander-in-Chief. Even the Conservative Talking Head Brigade of Charles Krauthammer and Dick Morris agreed with this assessment.
What was McCain's response to this? Open up the Atwater playbook and hammer Obama as being a friend of Bill Ayers in robo-calls, while their surrogates once again took to the airwaves for a full frontal assault. His "friends" at the National Republican Trust PAC brought in new Rev. Wright smear ads that are running now on all the cable stations. And did you know he wants to destroy electricity and the coal industry?
And how has all these wild and desperate smears worked far as we all vote on election day? Instead of the politics of personal destruction tearing down Obama, his lead widened and poll after poll told us that McCain was just being downright nasty. Instead realizing the ineffectiveness and addressing the issues at hand, the McCain camp continued a campaign of personal attacks.
McCain yelled from his pulpit, "Obama is a Socialist" and the "Redistributor-in-Chief". He then unleashed his last political gimmick: Joe the Plumber. Unfortunately for McCain, his poll numbers kept falling.
So today is the day we all get to find out if the Lee Atwater school of politics has been defeated by the reality of our economic situation.
It has taken a real crisis to combat the very successful campaign strategy that Atwater championed to win George H.W. Bush the White House in '88. The same techniques that Karl Rove mastered and implemented in beating McCain and then Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. Will truth and reality finally win out?
I wish I could tell you that Americans henceforth will never be influenced by scurrilous personal attack ads and campaign smears in the future, but my hope today is that finally this great nation has been shocked into actually using their brains to decide who should lead us out of the wilderness that came upon due to the negligence of Conservatism. I think Americans unfortunately have a short memory span and these dirty tactics will always be with us. If Obama wins, then I do think that America have no excuses any more if they do get taken in by these cowardly tricks. So I say to you now:
Yes, We Can.
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Looks like the Republican party has found that Americans don't scare that easily.
It is more likely that the Republican party now understands that you can't scare people by pointing out the mouse hole when there is a lion in the room.
and angry that Chimpy and the Republicans (including WcCain) brought it down upon them through greed and stupidity.
Who did WcCain surround himself with, Gramm, one of the architects of the abyss.
I was listening to Johnnie McSame last night in Prescott and he was going on about how the people shouldn't listen as the Democrats try to use fear and scare tactics. I almost fell out of the chair laughing at the absurdity of this. The party that has used fear as their "message" over the past 8 years now trying to convince the electorate that fear is the other party's message. Kind of hard to mistake HOPE for FEAR but Johnnie is trying to sell this. I don't think there are going to be enough "buyers" this year.
the props. prior to malkin's insane rant, tweety provided repeated airtime for the swifties to come on an smear kerry -- all without challenge. i very clearly recall one retired admiral, who tweety remarked afterwards what an honorable man he was -- essentially having the swifties back.
Over the weekend Tweety was going on and on about how McCain should be given a "pat on the back" for not playing the race card against Obama. I thought this was one of the most absurd things he has said in quite a while. So, John should be congratulated for being civil? BTW I think the McCain campaign has played the race card numerous times with the use of code words and questionable campaign ads. So, I guess he doesn't deserve the pat on the back. I can't figure Chris out, he amazes me at times such as how he handled the Michelle Bachmann rant then he turns around and wants to congratulate a candidate for not using race in the campaign. One thing is that we won't have to look at McCain every day for much longer. I sure hope Cindy has found a hiding place in one of her 11 houses tonight when Obama is declared the winner. Johnnie is not going to be a very happy camper.
Lee Atwater's ghost has just warmed up. Personally, I think it's too late. We have politicians who consider themselves above the law and unaccountable to anyone or other ones that are just plain delusional (see: Ted "I haven't been convicted" Stevens") and journalists/media who don't confront these people or are delusional themselves (see: Sean Hannity) or are totally bought. The flow of information is carefully controlled and the masses get dumbed-down and ripe for control. The Republican party will be emboldened by a big loss today (see Paul Krugman today), the previous administration will not be held to account for their crimes against humanity and in 2012 many of the those criminal characters will return in a new (and even more dangerous) Republican administration.
OK. Call me cynical.
Your cynical.
My cynical what?
:-)
Sinuses?
Wow thanks C&L -very interesting....
C'mon we deserve one lousy good gloat.
It can be found at www.MacYapper.blogspot.com
and many other places I'm sure.
Crooks and Liars rule!
I hope the ugliness is over but I think a whole lot of Americans only use about one third of an inch of the depth of their brains when it comes to politics. Unless something is personally effecting them, they just see the other candidate as he is portrayed. If one side says the other is a coward, that's all they hear no matter the facts to the contrary.
Martini drinking? Hey, what's wrong with that? I'll be one of those sorts tonight, either celebrating or mourning.
2pm can't come soon enough for me.
my polling place is in the same place where the primaries took place...a fire station
its too small for a general election...the line is a good hour long
and this is california
i am disgusted
The Dukakis, Gore and Kerry campaigns have proven that Dems can't hope to float above the evil put out by the Republicans; the Dems have to fight it. We need a counterpart to the Rove machine. It doesn't have to fight at their level -- it can restrain itself to hammering the Repugs with facts, not lies -- but it must fight. What worries me is that so many of the Dems currently in power are either crypto-Repugs or too afraid or compromised to stand up to them. People like Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, and Emanuel need to get out of the way or be pushed out of the way, because they're blocking our ability to take this country back.
Lee Atwater's the boogy-man?
And here I thought it was
http://blogs.citypages.com/amadzine/images/Ch...
This country only reacts to PAIN. Financial crash, energy price insanity, dead troops, illegal war, mortgage crisis, retirement funds in jeopardy.
Americans only do what is right...once they've been beaten about the head and shoulders with a blunt object. George Bush is about as blunt an object as you'll ever see.
OMG what a horrible flashback!!! I had erased that woman from my consciousness. She is purely despicable.
If Obama can win this thing tonight, his campaign staff deserves a great big round of applause. They have done a hell of a job for a hell of a candidate.
I'd prefer a round of drinks.
Okay, that too!
[Hey, all you troll pointer-outers. How about flagging these instead of answering them? You lot are more annoying than the trolls. You obviously felt it was inappropriate enough to reply to, but not let us know-Sitemonitor]
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Dumbass.
and NO ONE is leaving until they vote.
It's the GOP nightmare come to life!
I'm LIKIN' IT!!
I can just hear KKKarl's henchmen now: mayday! mayday! The masses are practicing democracy. Oh the horror!!! Isn't there something the Bush family crime syndicate can do?
We thought John Kerry would have learned that lesson too, but when he was swift-boated, he was slow on the draw to defend himself. Their surrogates took to the airwaves en masse, and so a war hero was accused on TV of shooting himself on purpose to win some medals to help his future political career. And it worked.
Can I start one? McSame Got captured on purpose because he knew he'd be running for President in '08. Smashed his own shoulder too.
This is a referendum on right wing politics.
So...has Hannity hung himself yet?
Has a real CANDIDATE beaten the Lee Atwater school of smear politics?
I never tire of seeing Talkin' Michelle Malkin get her kimut handed to her by Tweety.
At least on that day, Tweets didn't fall for the Swift Boat attempt by She Who Is Not Fit For Faux Noise.
Excellent Analysis.. I also recommend these articles on the same topic as well...
Peter Beinart - Last of the Culture Warriors (washingtonpost.com)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/...
And..
How these gibbering numbskulls came to dominate Washington: The degradation of intelligence and learning in American politics results from a series of interlocking tragedies (guardian.co.uk)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/...
Let's keep this thing rolling.. through an Obama campaign.. through to true honest Election Reform.. through to Energy Independence.. Etc. etc.
I think that media reform must be a high priority, the crap they have to come up with in the name of fairness is really irritating. An example is that we are supposed to believe that ACORN and voter CAGING is the same thing. Also the double standard. An example would be Rev. Hagee vs Rev. Wright or The Keating 5 vs William Ayers. Why does the Fascists get to set the agenda and the talking points. The corporate media frames the debates from the GOP. side. I can't stand to watch any TV news anymore.
The best solution is to shut OFF your television and get your news from the internet. Once enough people stop watching the crap on TV, things will change for the better. Ratings drive everything.
Come listen to the entire election with some real down home liberals ---
On the Horn!
Liberal Conversation Radio!
www.headonradionetwork.com
Hope to see you ALL there!
trying to decide which house to retire to.
Nice slice buddy...
As mcgramps said to sarah.
Both candidates said at the begining that they would run a clean campaign. One kept his word and one did not.
Looks like now at the last few minutes of the campaign it's out with "Joe the Plumber" and in with "The Mac is Back"
The Mick's a Dick!
Atwater scum will find another home - perhaps far to the north.
Today we accomplish the first step in taking our country back. Go Barack! See you in Grant Park in Chicago, USA!
we don't want any Atwater scum up north!!
Canada's got enough problems as it stands right now.
Really? Name one.
I always try to be fair. I really do. But it seems as though these disgusting tactics, from Willie Horton to Bill Ayers, have always been the tool of the right. I admit my bias. I am a democrat. I always have been, but do we ever do this kind of thing? Honestly, I can't really think of any instance of this happening.
Yeah, just like any politicians, democrats will take what their opponents say out of context and use it against them, but on a large scale do we ever do this? What's the democratic version of Willie Horton? You guys are a smart bunch. Could you tell me one instance where we stooped that low?
I really want to know.
If the dems did anything that low and dirty, it was before I began paying attention to politics and that was a long time ago.
And I've paid pretty close attention, too. I honestly can't think of anything. Thanks POP for backing me up. Enjoy your well-deserved celebration champagne tonight. I know I will. Even though I really won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes. I have my whiskey ready just in case we lose.
I wish Lee Atwater would have lived longer so he could have suffered more.
I was upset when the article said he was dead. I would have liked him to see his effed up gift to history... And if that idiot-dunce in the white house now thinks he'll be remembered kindly, he's more than just a putz!
Atwater died a nice painful death and at the end he said he was sorry for what he did. I say it was to little too late. I hope Rove goes out the same way.
I know that that is harsh but what these two brought to the United States was and is as bad as it gets. They did everything they could to fuck with the democratic system. They could not win on the issues so they in effect, cheated in a horrible way. They made their choices and so for me, my opinion stands. Fuck them both.
McSame running his campaign the way he did, really showed peopel who they were dealing with. Obama, with his fine character and his take charge, rational style showed everyone who he is as well. When you decide on a leader, you want a leader, not some schoolyard butthead who wants to fight everyone who stands in his way of having whatever it is he wants. McSame showed his lack of moral standing, his disdain for anyone who doesn't tow his party line, and his utter ignorance about the American public. He's truly a disillusioned old fuck! I really feel kinda sad for Cindy... no! forget that!
Unfortunately it took or takes a massive crisis like the theft of our treasury to wake people up to the importance of ignoring this type of politics. Let's hope these tactics die out in the near future.
Amato, that was one of the best posts you have ever done!!! Thank you.
Getting ready for a C&L election Nite Party...
Start without me if you have to.
they have no excuse.
on his death bed. His star pupil, Karl Rove, never will regret the damage that he did to this country.
In the 90s I produced a demo tape for a Columbia SC band called Mojo Blue. At the end of the last session, we got into a little impromptu jam and I was shocked to be fielding an offer to join their outfit. I accepted, and spent the next 8+ months or so playing gigs w/ this really killer house-rocking electric blues band (before I unplugged). One night leader Tony calls me and says: "Doug - Lee's in town and we're going to jam down at Bullwinkles. Grab your guitar and come on out." I think I even made Tony repeat the name. Yes, this was Lee Atwater and apparently these guys were his usual pick up band when he came into town. TWICE I was invited out to jam w/ Lee. I never made it. I can remember standing in my living room w/ my guitar case in one hand and the other on the doorknob and I JUST COULD NOT MAKE MYSELF go. Tony never understood - but then he never paid attention to politics - or voted as far as I could tell. To this day, I'm still certain I made the right decision...
http://www.reverbnation.com/dougsedgwick
http://www.myspace.com/dougsedgwick
At the last, thanks to inoperable brain cancer, Atwater came to look on the outside what he always was on the inside. Monstrous. He was the embodiment of Evil. And while he has passed the effects of his crimes have not. The old racist smears don't work the way they used to, but don't fool yourself into thinking that his shade no longer rules the Republican party.
It is no longer the RepublicAn party -- it is now the RepubliCON party, and I suggest thats how we spell it from now on. It is a party of con-men and convicted criminals (the latest being Ted "Tubes" Stevens). The whole damn party is a fraud! All they're about anymore is conning and trying to con the American public over and over again.
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