What do you think of the smears against Laura Bush?

[Padraig18]

Poll question: What do you think of the smears against Laura Bush?

Please vote.

[ronnykmarshall]

1. Remindes me of school.

Pre-school that is.

[Padraig18]

2. Me, too! n/t

[napi21]

3. What smears? I'll vote, but I don't think I heard any, except...

she never criticizes George, and is the good little wifie in the background. Is that supposed to be a smear???

[hang a left]

4. It's funny as hell.

Get a funny bone!

[Padraig18]

No, it's sick!

Nothing funny about it at ALL.

:puke:

[markus]

5. You lie down with dogs

you get up with fleas.

[DeadHead67]

6. Did she really kill somebody in a drunk driving incident?

I keep hearing this stuff about her killing her boyfriend or fiancee or something.

[Padraig18]

8. That's true.

She ran a red light, and her fiancee was killed, IIRC.

[fob]

49. No, she wasn't drunk during that accident.

Am I implying there was more than one? Maybe, you got any proof there wasn't?

[rooboy]

10. Yes...

but I don't think she was drunk. As I recall from seeing the newspaper clippings from the incident on a website, it was a 2 vehicle accident with no other cars around. Her ex boyfriend was killed.

And from that moment on, Laura was destined to be a welcome addition to either the Addams or Bush families.

[terrya]

7. I could live without them.

[bloom]

9. what smears?

[Padraig18]

11. Take a look at the front page...

The 'prostitution arrest' threads...

:puke:

[jonnyblitz]

28. i believe that thread and others are meant to be *ironic*

to illustrate how low the other side goes (re swiftboat vets for truth) by imitating what they do. Many of the posters on that thread "got it" but apparently many of u didn't.

[Padraig18]

30. What I 'got' was...

... that we can be just as slimy as they are. Why am i not thrilled?

;wtf:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. Well, if they're true then they are not smears

and I don't know the facts yet.

[Padraig18]

13. That's because there ARE no 'facts'.

Just a rumor started by a shit-stirring bunch of DU-ers..

[NewYorkerfromMass]

16. Fine, if they only exist in DU

then I don't even consider them smears.

[Padraig18]

18. A smear is a smear, no matter where it exists...

:wtf:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. I consider this place a dialogue

exchanging info. and ideas. It's not exactly the newsstand.

[Padraig18]

23. Fine! Can we 'dialogue' about your anal warts?

Tell us how you got them, for starters...

/irony off

[ibegurpard]

34. THERE! You just got what the threads were about!

eom

[Padraig18]

35. No, I 'got' it when i read the first one.

'Getting it' doesn't make the nausea go away, however...

[miss_kitty]

14. laura isn't running for pres

she's just supporting the poo-flinger who is.

she's been a very inactive first lady. there seems to be plenty of crap on MR laura...going after her just looks bad, and takes away from the fact the real villain is the cheney-bush junta, upon which there is plenty of current dirt

i would leave laura out of it, the same way i would leave mrs kerry out of it. they are not the candidates, and the waters are already fouled enough

[mzmolly]

15. I think they'd be getting MAJOR press if they were about Teresa Heinz

That's what I think :hi:

[Karenina]

20. Ya think????

Naaaaaaahhhhh....

[quinnox]

17. Beneath contempt

We Dems are better than this.

[VolcanoJen]

19. Ummm, it's a wry political joke, right?

That thread was an illustration of how to give birth to a smear.

It's wry, tongue-in-cheek. A joke. Pretty funny, if it weren't so scary.

[Padraig18]

22. Have to disagree...

It's just sick--- as sick as the stuff we wail and gnash our teeth about when it's done to us!

[troublemaker]

25. But this isn't being DONE to anyone.

It's a trackling smear... a control... something we know is false, yet has the same merit as items that dominate the evening news.

I know you don't happen to enjoy the experiement, but please let others enjoy this wry outlet for their contempt of modern politics and journalism.

[Padraig18]

26. No, thanks.

I'll continue to particpate as I see fit.

[troublemaker]

24. God bless you, Jen!

This condemnatory turn shows just how the process works.

I started this story late last night and by noon today it had grown to a point where people at DU are assuming it's a serious smear... serious enough to be worth denouncing. People are now actually taking sides on something that has no reality beyond some obvious lies.

People are talking. Questions are being asked. Why doesn't she put this behind here with a simple denial?

When the world becomes absurd our most powerful weapon is satire. That's why Jon Stewart is now the best journalist on TV.

[jonnyblitz]

31. exactly!! I can't believe so many took them at face value

It was obvious to me what they were doing!!

[Misunderestimator]

46. Wry? huh... what's your definition of wry?

[no name no slogan]

51. They're "funny", but not everyone gets the joke

That's how they all start out-- a little "in joke" amongst the intelligensia, big on irony and bluster, but small on humor and detail.

But then, here comes a bunch of people who don't "get" that the original poster(s) are being ironic. And it all turns into a giant hogpile hate-fest.

You see this kind of sh!t all the time at places like FreeRepublic and LGF. I'd like to somehow believe that our readers are somehow a bit more, uh, "civlized" than those groups of knuckle-draggers....

[Padraig18]

27. Kick

Kicking this above the slime, which floats all by itself...

[frylock]

29. i think some people on this board take things WAYYYYYY to serious

[Padraig18]

32. And I think some posters are sick puppies.

Your point?

:eyes:

[frylock]

36. my point..

LIGHTEN UP ALREADY!!! It's a joke. The other side is going to lie and smear regardless of what we do. gee whiz :eyes:

[Padraig18]

37. No, thanks!

I don't think I'll 'lighten up', and as far as the other side goes, I'm supposed to be thrilled that we can sink to their level?

:wtf:

[Supply Side Jesus]

33. same types who quote "The Onion"

when devil worshiping and harry potter were connected.

http://web.archive.org/web/20000815214418/http://www.theonion.com/onion3625/harry_potter.html

[democratreformed]

38. Kinda sad, really.

But fun for some, at the same time, I'm sure. The difference between our smears and theirs is that we are the only ones to see ours. Theirs has been plastered on every cable news show for how long now?

So, it's kinda sad. If it were mainstream and gained the attention of theirs, then it would be contemptible (sp?) if it were lies.

[MFUSA]

39. What if

People were to make this stuf up about your daughter, sister, mother? This should be beneath us.

[Padraig18]

40. Exactly!

They prove we can sink to KKKarl Rove and Chimpy McSmirkster's level. I am sooooooooooooooo proud...

:puke:

[chimpymustgo]

41. The Laura/prostitute thread was hilarious satire!

The anatomy of a smear. What is stunning is that so many DU'ers dug deep for high dudgeon, where absolutely none was called for.

Get a brain, morans!

[Padraig18]

42. Must not have been as brilliant a satire as some think...

If it was that brilliant, it wouldn't have so many in 'high dudgeon'. A sophomoric, brain-dead attempt at satire, perhaps...

:eyes:

[troublemaker]

44. I agree! The measure of satire's effectiveness is that it be inoffensive

[Sparkle]

43. Tell that to the Republicans.

[Padraig18]

45. Oh, yay! We can be bottom-feeding sumbags, just like they are!

*champagne cork*

:wtf:

[Feanorcurufinwe]

47. What smears? Let's hear about it.

[Padraig18]

50. The ones you posted about in ATA ... n/t

[troublemaker]

52. Yeah... don't tease us! What smears?

Hi Feanorcurufinwe. Enjoying your stay here at the Walter F. Mondale Institute for Effective Presidential Politics?

I am very concerned what will happen if Free Republic starts debunking the whore-a story, pointing out that accepting a few gifts or dinners for sex isn't really prostitution. Then we will be cooked!

This could really back-fire. All the men she sept with will be coming forward to say they never outright paid her (no cash left on the television) and then all of America will vote for Bush.

I really love the folks who think the prostitution smear is an outrage but it's okay to mock someone accidentally killing someone they love (a place I wouldn't go, having actually lost people in life)

I have a new Laura Bush smear. A lot of people are saying she's a humorless tyrant who, despite all evidence, thinks she's the ultimate arbiter of what's funny.

Think it will fly?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

54. You may be right

I've never seen Laura Bush laugh sincerely.

[troublemaker]

53. Here's the link. (props to Padraig18 for keeping this story alive!)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x658976

[Cronus Protagonist]

48. Two words: "Hitlery Clintoon"

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Although in this case, most of the crap about Hillary was lies and most of the stuff about frumpy Laura is true.

Swiftboat Veterans for Bush

JFK - Drop Bush Not Bombs! - FUCK BUSH
http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[dogman]

55. I'll believe it's contemptible when it's dominated the news for two weeks.

Until then it's illustrative of a smear and how it's contemptible when it's done to damage a serious candidacy.

[lottie244]

56. Same thing I thought about the smears on Hillary...contemptable.

Stupid and evil.

[Cuban_Liberal]

57. Goes to prove that ignorance and hatred aren't solely Republican ...

...'values', doesn't it?