Mud-slinging is an inherent part of elections in the United States, and 2012 is no exception. Here's a rundown on mud slung so far in this year primaries, who slung it, and how it compares to mudslinging in elections of years past.
2012 Republican Primary Mud
* Ron Paul opponent Jere Brower allegedly hatched a plot to plant Ku Klux Klan-robed volunteers with pro-Paul signs at his rallies, Digital Journal reported Sunday. Paul's been linked to a decades old newsletter containing racially inflammatory material, the Christian Science Monitor noted.
* Youtube user "LibertyforPaul" posted a video attempting to smear former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman as "the Manchurian candidate," mocking his Chinese fluency and questioning his U.S. loyalty and the legality of his Asian daughters' adoptions.
* Pro-Mitt Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future said of Newt Gingrich in a television ad, "You know what makes Barack Obama happy? Newt Gingrich's baggage. Newt has more baggage than the airlines." The ad impliedly reminds voters of Gingrich's association with Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, his 1997 reprimand for failing to ensure his use of tax-exempt groups was legal and lying to the House leadership, and his Freddie Mac consultancy profits.
* A Ron Paul ad portrays Rick Santorum as holding a "blackbelt in hypocrisy," alleging Santorum reversed course on a balanced budget amendment and right to work legislation, while taking more money from lobbyists than anyone else in Washington.
American Mud-Slinging History
* In 1876, Democrats bristled at accusations that Samuel J. Tilden was a tax evader who profited from corruption, Our White House noted. In retaliation, his supporters claimed Rutherford B. Hayes stole money from dead soldiers and shot his own mother.
* "Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha," became the rallying cry of Grover Cleveland supporters in 1884, after Republicans chanted, "Ma, Ma, where's my pa?" to shame him for fathering a child out of wedlock. At a James Blaine speech, the emcee called Democrats the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion," smearing pro-Cleveland Irish-Catholic voters.
* In 1988, an independent group for George H.W. Bush used a race-baiting ad against Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis. The ad cast blame on Dukakis for a black felon going AWOL on a weekend prison pass and raping a woman.
* The 2004 Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry was similarly a product of a pro-Bush group. According to the Washington Post, the ad accused John Kerry of exaggerating his military service record to win medals and dishonoring the country by participating in anti-war protests on his return from Vietnam.
* John McCain was smeared in 2008 by anonymous false rumors he fathered an out-of-wedlock black baby and was married to a drug addict.
* An unidentified party circulated a Christmas card in 2007 attacking Mitt Romney's religion. The card, purportedly from Romney's family, contained a quote about God having several wives.
roger williams tyler bray tyler bray san antonio weather austin box austin box
No comments:
Post a Comment