Notwithstanding riveting portrayals of campaign staffers as Machiavellian geniuses by Hollywood and HBO and Netflix, there is among the real-life species of these political schemers very little progression to the exceptional and mostly just a regression to the mean. They are hyperstoked on appearing ruthless and "tough," which is what makes for the dreadfully vulgar sameness of most political campaigns.
Exhibit A is David Corn's latest "secret tape," this time of a February 2 meeting of Mitch McConnell & Hitmen as they plotted to whack Ashley Judd. From the transcript, McConnell's oppo-research thug produces the damning skulduggery:
"she's to the far left.
"she openly supports President Obama.
"she's an out-of-touch, Hollywood liberal.
"she currently owns a multi-million dollar mansion in Scotland ... we also have the San Francisco footage.
"she's clearly sort of anti-sort-of-traditional American family.
"she's clearly for pro-abortion.
"she is critical ... [inaudible] sort of traditional Christianity.
"She's clearly, this sounds extreme, but she is emotionally unbalanced."
There's also the occasional mention of Judd's position on actual issues--abortion, gay marriage, cap and trade--but mostly the presentation is a study in cheap shots and vague defamation--none of it requiring elaboration in terms of its whistling effect on Kentucky's bigoted crowd.
So remember, if you can only master the pedestrian art of low-life insinuation, you too can be a political professional amongst the highest ranks.
As someone who lived in the same small town as her for 10 years, if that is the best they came up with, they really aren't trying.
And let me add that by all accounts, she is very, very smart and a very decent and likeable person.
I know it is conventional wisdom to think she would have been out of her depth debating and campaigning against McConnell, but that is not the truth.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | April 09, 2013 at 01:12 PM