In Richard Davis’ The Anatomy of a Smear Campaign, he talks about how the Bush 2000 Campaign, working with the sinister religious right stationed at Bob Jones University, systematically took down Senator John McCain. I think it’s important to remind ourselves of this dark period in our political history when an insidious group of white Christian men conspired to insure the Presidency of George W. Bush. In his article Davis makes interesting comments:
Anonymous opponents used "push polling" to suggest that McCain's Bangladeshi born daughter was his own, illegitimate black child. In push polling, a voter gets a call, ostensibly from a polling company, asking which candidate the voter supports. In this case, if the "pollster" determined that the person was a McCain supporter, he made statements designed to create doubt about the senator.There’s a point why I bring this matter back to your attention because we are about to see the White House smear machine rev up to politically crucify New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Governor Kathleen Blanco and a host of other local and state level officials. Already behind the scenes, there are conservative pundits leaking out some spurious information about Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard. If you recall Broussard appeared this past Sunday on Tim Russert’s Meet the Press on NBC. By now you may have heard about Broussard’s emotional appearance. Here’s a sampling:
Thus, the "pollsters" asked McCain supporters if they would be more or less likely to vote for McCain if they knew he had fathered an illegitimate child who was black. In the conservative, race-conscious South, that's not a minor charge. We had no idea who made the phone calls, who paid for them, or how many calls were made. Effective and anonymous: the perfect smear campaign.
“Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out.So Mr. Broussard has gained the sympathy of the media and the public. Time for the War Room to gear up at the White House. Trickling out today are the stories about Broussard being under investigation. Over at Lucianne.com the news of Broussard’s questionable character is becoming fodder for discussion. And we all know how fair and balanced Lucianne Goldberg is. Meanwhile at The Conservative Voice, Mayor Ray Nagin is getting set up in typical Rovian fashion. The bottom line is that the winds of political war are in the air and the enemy of the White House is anyone who serves at the local and state levels of Government in Louisiana. Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi will tread lightly. After all he was once Chairman of the GOP. One false move and Governor Barbour is toast. Senator Trent Lott has had it and he’s voicing his concerns. What can the White House do to him now? Between the White House machine and Senator Bill Frist, they insured that Trent Lott would be forced out of power. Do you honestly believe for a minute that George W. Bush has intentions of sitting on Trent’s new front porch?
Let me give you just three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don't give you the fuel." Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines." Sheriff Harry Lee said that if America--American government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis.
But I want to thank Governor Blanco for all she's done and all her leadership. She sent in the National Guard. I just repaired a breach on my side of the 17th Street canal that the secretary didn't foresee, a 300-foot breach. I just completed it yesterday with convoys of National Guard and local parish workers and levee board people. It took us two and a half days working 24/7. I just closed it…
...that have worked 24/7. They're burned out, the doctors, the nurses. And I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night…
…Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody...”
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Article comments
1 - TEE
What about posse comititus (sp)....
In 1878 a law was inacted to KEEP FEDERAL AUSPICES OUT OF STATES UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED.
I guess this is what happens when officials are elected and forget to study what exactly they're supposed to do as the head of the state government.
Additionally the Louisiana STATE Emergency Action Plan... called out specifically what state resources were to do what.
It didn't work. It failed miserably. People died.
Let's repeal posse comititus and go back to federal intervention, when and where the federal goverenment deems necessary.
I don't know what would worse. Tightening up a sloppy state government, or the heavy hand of the FED intervening at will.
That's the question.
2 - michael
wow...just reading some posts at lucianne...conservatives are a very ignorant, hateful bunch
how do these voices have power over the executive, legislative and judicial brances of this country...what the hell happened!
3 - Silas Kain
But, TEE, where do you stand on the issue of investigation? Do you think that the White House spin machine should be able to systematically destroy the credibility of people at the local and state levels? Do you support the creation of an investigatory body headed by a person with impeccable references who can be trusted by the American people to tell us the truth no matter how ugly? Unless we have full disclosure delivered by a person and panel that has no political axe to grind we are going to get the same bullshit we always get from politicians.
4 - Temple Stark
That state plan is the most deliberately misunderstood document since the US Constitution.
Most obviously people forget or choose to forget that a big part of that state plan is to bring in the Feds, which was requested Aug. 26.
5 - Silas Kain
Temple, that is very profound. What you state made me think that the Constitution is as misused as Scripture. It's Gospel when it's convenient, malleable when it's not. Again I must caution that what the White House does over the next few weeks must be held to the highest level of scrutiny. This Administration has a reputation for invoking its wrath on anyone in and outside of the media who dares question its actions. What America needs is an independent voice to give a serious look to how government at all levels responded to the citizenry. Any politician who doesn't support full disclosure to an impartial thrid party has something to hide -- end of story.
6 - Mike
This Administration has a reputation for invoking its wrath on anyone in and outside of the media who dares question its actions.
Who, besides Valerie Plame?
7 - Kurt
Mike, do a little research. Republican Tom Trancredo of Colorado (a Republican), for starters. The list is long & sad.
8 - TEE
Silas,
That's a hard question to answer. If by proxy any federal agency is considered a "Bush" puppet, then which or what entitiy will or should investigate? I understand the the Coast Guard will be investigating some aspects, and perhaps FEMA. If congress demands a full blown investigation, it will be done by none other than an appointed federal agency or special committee comprised of federal employees from a variety of agencies. There is no getting around that.
I see failure all around this thing. Including the public's perceptions of logistics versus the reality of getting supplies gathered and trucks rolling to the area of the disaster. You have to remember that Katrina impacted something along the lines of an 80,000 square mile swatch of territory, of which New Orleans didn't even feel the most force. But due to the fragile aspects of New Orlean's placement and the precarious nature of that city's survival. It's sounding something akin to a kangaroo court. Almost as if, no matter who is in "charge" at the national level, would or could be faulted for natures fury. It will be interesting. Perhaps Bush will suffer for the all the countries hate and misgivings over the last 8 years. Which is offensive or in the Greek Skandalon. Which denotes being taken for a ride. Such is the nature of politics. I hate getting sucked into political discussion, just because of the unseemly nature of that miry mess.
WAs Roosevelt's oft quoted "nothing happens in politics without a reason" a benign statement? Now the body politic is reaching out to incur its wrath against those "responsible" for the wrath of nature against national interests.
To me, it's wierd. But is gaining inertia, so let's watch it happen and read the analysis in the years to come.
Additionally, FEMA has never been readily accepted and has always been viewed with raised eyebrow since its inception. I can remember a lot of controversy surrounding FEMA, and the control it assumes in times of national disaster. It might have sprung from Cold War groupthink. I don't know. But that suspicion certainly makes a good argument for posse commititus. I feel more comfortable with the law in effect than without it.
9 - John Bambenek
Gee, what about Mayor Nagin and his ilk? Are they blameless here?
10 - Anthony Grande
Mayor Nagin is black and Bush is a racist. Now who do you think we should blame???
11 - Silas Kain
We should blame Blanco, Anothony, she's a woman. There, do you feel better?
12 - Silas Kain
So, the GOP Leadership in Congress announced that there will be a bipartisan investigation into Katrina and the final report will be delivered by Feb 15, 2006. The problem is that somebody forgot to tell the Democrats. Again, I ask for an investigatory body which will be independent from the President and Congress. No report issued under the guidance of elected officials can be trusted. The dead deserve better.