Republicans used to be so good at smearing, but their operatives today are like Keystone Cops compared to the masters of yesteryear. This would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. Actually, it’s kinda funny anyway since it IS so pathetic.
Apparently running with a rumor they grabbed from Larry Johnson’s blog, the right wing has shot the wad, hoping beyond hope for the release of a video that will bury the Obamas. These rumors have been circulating for days, but even the National Review itself now says it’s almost certainly bullshit.
Larry Johnson is a longtime Hillary whore and Obama hater who made an ass of himself back when he tried to play news reporter on the Karl Rove indictment story. Now, inexplicably, the Republicans trusted him as a source for some shit they could sling. Man, those guys have completely lost it.
For those who don’t get the thread title, read the link.
Now, here’s the debate: have right-wing smearmongers so lost their touch that no one takes them seriously these days? I mean, this story hasn’t even surfaced in the mainstream media, and even conservative bloggers are falling all over themselves to disavow it today. And an interesting side issue to discuss might be whether it’s the case that the electorate has wised up to this kind of stuff. Maybe the Republicans are just as good as they were in the Nixon days, but nobody cares anymore.
I’m going to say no. On this board you can see significant fear of Karl Rove, although I’ve been arguing for a while that his skills are dramatically overrated.
That’d be nice, but I would have to see a lot more evidence before I could really get behind it.
So…a left-winger posts a rumor that the right-wingers are disavowing, and you’re asking if the right-wing smear machine has lost its touch? I’m…confused.
My own thoughts are that the Bush admin went so far and have screwed Americans so royally that these kind of tactics simple serve to remind people that they have been screwed by folks using these tactics.
They don’t care if it’s true of not. They just want to create an emotional buzz of distrust and dislike, thinking that most voters won’t bother to check the facts. They’ll just start to believe something that’s been repeated so many times. Some will, but I think a lot more people won’t believe it and others will start to fight back and expose them for the liars they are. When voters associate their lies with Bush’s lies they’ll be pissed. They’ll associate these kind of tactics with Bush and folks who don’t give a rats ass about their welfare or their problems.
they’ll be some haters who will buy it but I think the majority, which includes moderates, independents and conservatives who really care about this country {there are maany many} will be sick to death of this kind of hateful shit and it won’t be as effective as they’d hope.
A link as to the original report, please? What did Michelle Obama allegedly say, and in what context? What documentation or recording, if any, is there?
You might be less confused if you read the linked article. The right-wingers touted the video for days before disavowing it. They did not disavow it until the last shred of hope that it actually existed disappeared. If you still don’t get it, I can explain further.
If so it isn’t a republican smear attempt…maybe some foolish people checked to see if there was any fire amidst the smoke but the real operatives are laying in wait ready to strike.
This is just background. The real smear is still developing. Things like this are intended to be disposable but they make the later stuff seem plausible.
The Republicans are smart enough to realize they shouldn’t go with a direct racist campaign. The people who won’t vote for a black candidate are already on board and don’t need any push. And trying to spread the racism farther would risk a backlash.
So the theme for this year’s election will be to portray Obama as a racist - a black man who hates white people. So voting for him would be supporting racism and voting for McCain would be anti-racist. It’s bizarro world but it can sell. It gives voters an excuse to act racist while telling themselves they’re not.
I read the article…but I don’t see that it says what you say it says. In fact, the author was skeptical from the start. As was pointed out in the other thread, the major conservative websites didn’t have a thing to say about this, and from what I can tell, it was first mentioned back on May 16th ,yet this is the first most of us ever heard of it.
The article was an extension of another. The skepticism has developed over the past several days. And I can’t imagine what you’re calling a major conservative website if it doesn’t include Fox News.