March 1, 2012

9 Unforgettable Moments in Political Mudslinging

LynnParramore has written a history of which people should be educated. The lesson here is that "dirty tricks" are an integral part of politics. The big lesson here is that we should all --- meaning of all political persuasions --- should learn from these case studies. If you profess to support democracy and our country's heritage and the founding document, the US Constitution, you should read this essay.

Smear campaigns. Muckraking. Last-minutes lies and dirty dealings. As the GOP primary battle turns nasty, we turn to the venerable tradition of American political mudslinging. A recent Pew Center survey says that half of Americans already think the presidential campaign has been too negative. But it’s nothing new.

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This list brings you a few of the nastiest moments of American political mudslinging. The following is by no means exhaustive -- there have been scores of down-and-dirty elections we didn’t have space to cover.

This a well-researched accounting that paints the dismal past of what can only be called politics as usual. The following cases are cited:

1. Andrew Jackson v. John Q. Adams

2. Martin Van Buren v. William Henry Harrison

3. Al Smith v. Herbert Hoover

4. George Smathers v. Claude Pepper

5. Lyndon B. Johnson v. Barry Goldwater

6. Michael Dukakis v. George H.W. Bush

7. Harvey Gantt v. Jesse Helms

8. John Kerry v. George W. Bush

9. Elizabeth Dole v. Kay Hagan

Highly recommended, and informative, read.

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Satanyana

On edit: My bad. Forgot the link to the essay. Here it is:

You're an Atheist Madam! 9 Unforgettable Moments in Politcal Mudslinging

Difficult to do on an iPhone.