The Nation:
On Countdown, Keith Olbermann discusses new information surrounding the break in and attempted wiretap of Senator Landrieu's office by James O'Keefe and three others. Olbermann describes O'Keefe's efforts as "part of an ad hoc dirty tricks campaign focused on health care reform" that extends to other political figures, such as Karl Rove. Nation editor Chris Hayes joins Olbermann to talk about O'Keefe's actions.
Hayes calls this a "part of a long, conservative right-wing tradition," of dirty tricks, which college republicans and others in conservative politics have been doing for decades. But what frustrates Hayes the most about Landrieu-gate is the sense of entitlement that O'Keefe and others enraged about health care reform seem to have. Hayes points out the contradiction between O'Keefe's attempted wiretap and his actions to tarnish ACORN, whose organizations helped people who had very little access to their own political representatives....
These dirty tricks were also done by none other than "turd blossom" himself----Karl Rove.
Seattlepi has a list of some of Rove's notorious deeds (this is only a sampling):
...In 1970, College Republican Rove stole letterhead from the Illinois Democratic campaign of Alan Dixon, and used it to invite hundreds of people to Dixon's new headquarters opening, promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing," disrupting the event...
...In 1986, while working for Texas Republican gubernatorial hopeful William Clements, Rove claimed that his personal office had been bugged, most likely by the campaign of incumbent Democratic Gov. Mark White. Nothing was proved, but the negative press, weeks before the election, helped Rove's man win a narrow victory. FBI agent Greg Rampton removed the bug, disrupting any attempt to properly investigate who planted it....
....After John McCain thumped George W. Bush in the 2000 New Hampshire primary, with 48 percent of the vote to Bush's 30 percent, a massive smear campaign was launched in South Carolina, a key battleground. TV attack ads from third groups and anonymous fliers circulated, variously suggesting that McCain's experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam left him mentally scarred with an uncontrollable temper, that his wife, Cindy, abused drugs and that he had an African-American "love child." In fact, the McCains adopted their daughter Bridget from a Bangladesh orphanage run by Mother Teresa....
Rove's tactics were disgusting, but he has continued to get away with it because of his friendship with the Bush family. O'Keefe's pompous attitude in his vigilante attack on the office of a U.S. Senator might get him more than a slap on the hand. We can only hope.
James O'Keefe is following in the footsteps of Karl Rove. Some Republicans might be happy about that. It is a shame that Republicans can run on their policies, plans, legislation, and have to resort to dirty tricks. The current Republican crop in the House and Senate have done nothing to develop any legislation to get people back to work. Republicans would rather say "NO" and rely on dirty tricks than think, create, and work together with Democrats.
