D & L: Democrats must be ready to sink the Republican swiftboaters

[Totally Committed]

Swiftboating
by Paul Seigel, Democrats & Liberals

In my last post, I stated that I thought Republicans in the midterm elections would attack Democrats as soft on security. Democrats are ready for this. However, screaming about security is one prong of a double-prong strategy masterminded by the evil genius Karl Rove. The second prong is lying about, smearing, demonizing and assassinating the character of specific Democratic candidates - swiftboating.

At this very minute, the Senate is considering detainee legislation. If - or should I say, when - it passes, it will do nothing to increase our security. However, Republicans will tout it in the fall campaign as their victory over the Democrats to make us safe. This is not the way Democrats see it. Nor is it the way good, patriotic Americans who love their country and its great Constitution, see it.

The legislation before the Senate today would ban torture, but let Bush define it; would allow the president to imprison indefinitely anyone he decides falls under a wide-ranging new definition of unlawful combatant; would suspend the Great Writ of habeas corpus; would immunize retroactively those who may have engaged in torture. And that's just for starters.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/09/28/BL2006092800790.html

It's a sad day when Republicans rip our Constitution to shreds. They favor punishing those who burn the flag, but not those who tear the Constitution apart. Republicans know that this legislation that allows torture and removes the great protection of habeas corpus, this smut, will not be approved by the U.S. Supreme Court. But they do not care. The Supreme Court may consider it next year or the year after - safely beyond this fall's elections.

This legislation is for the Republican campaign, not for security.

As terrible as this Republican strategy is, the swiftboating will be worse. Rove learned many of his dirty tricks from Lee Atwater, the guy who gave us the unAmerican Willie Horton ad that brought W's father to the presidency. Lee Atwater repented and apologized to those he had mercilessly attacked shortly before he died. Would Rove repent?

Not any time soon. Rove has been teaching his "heirs" how to attack. On the "official" level, keep it negative, very negative, and keep it up until election day. You can see Republican political operatives already doing this in many specific campaigns. Attack, smear, distort. On the "unofficial" level, you get together some swiftboaters to spread lies and innuendo about your Democratic opponent. It's best to do this in the last few weeks of the campaign to make it hard for your Democratic opponent to defend himself or herself.

There is only one way to answer swiftboaters. Retort immediately, debunk immediately and retort and debunk strongly. John Kerry did not do it, so he lost. Democrats, those running and those voting, cannot allow this to happen again.

Democrats must be ready to sink the Republican swiftboaters.

http://www.watchblog.com/democrats/archives/004257.html


TC

[acmavm]

1. Democrats must be ready? What a laugh. They'll roll over and

play dead. The only thing they know how to defend is their own pockets.

[Totally Committed]

2. I know... after yesterday, I am so discouraged w/ our Dem electeds!

But, I was thinking, maybe we can all figure out a way to light a fire under them, so they might actually take it to the Repubs.

If anyone has any good, concrete ideas how we can all do this, please post here.

As I said, my discouragement, disappointment, and disgust is now at stratospheric levels, but I know there are some really superb minds here. Does anyone have any have any concrete and doable ideas? -- And, I'm not looking for the usual, "we have to vote for anyone with a 'D' beside their name this time," pap. That is no solution -- and is probably what got us here in the first place.

TC