Character assassinate anyone that questions your motives...

[kentuck]

That is the simple but effective strategy of the present-day Republican Party, with the assistance of their propaganda arms of talk radio and the media. Destroy the person - do not respond to the charges, whether accurate or not. No matter how trivial, destroy the person that would criticize Bush or his minions. For example, go after Hillary Clinton if she says something about Alfred E Neuman. They are professional hit propagandists. Just like they went after Dick Durbin. Just like they went after John Kerry in the campaign. Destroy the person and their stories and comments are destroyed in the process. It's a simple strategy. This is what they are doing to Joe Wilson at this very moment.

[LeftNYC]

1. Brilliant Strategy

I agree. They have built this mindframe into the cable news and radio talkies. You watch a show like O'Reilly, Scarborough, or Hannity. Its attack the person with name calling. "Liberals, Communists, etc etc". Can you imagine "O'Really?" having a serious discussion on foreign policy. He can't. He was on with Russert and Krugman over two years ago. Everytime Krugman made a salient point, O'Really? commenced with the brow beating. He is an entertainer in the same mold as Rush Limbaugh. Unfortuanetly, attack makes for good tv. Discussions (and truth) dont.

[ewagner]

2. Only a small nit-pick

The Republican Party is virtually indistinguishable from the RW Media because they have direct access to the White House, Cabinet Members and Party Leadership. Sometimes I think the fax machines are "hard-wired" or "dedicated" to these sources. Most importantly, the media types ARE NOT INDEPENDENT in any sense of the word. They owe their very existance (not to mention their livelihood) to the Republican Party and their minions of power.

[infinitehangover]

4. They call it playin' "hardball", those who complain have "poor sportsmensh

ip". It's twisted Becca of someone who opposes them applies the same rhetoric of name-calling, they're branded "mean-spirited" "partisan" "dirty" "unprofessional" "insane" etc.

[oldtime dfl_er]

3. Josh Micah Marshall has an interesting bit about this

He talks about the audacity of the huge lie, what he calls the grand moral inversion where you take the most outrageous possible lie (ie John Kerry was actaully a coward), create a whispering campaign or other form of disseminating these vicious lies to the right wing, sit back and watch it brew. The smear of Joe Wilson is the same thing - it muddies the water, changes the subject, impugns the credibility of the victim, and requires the victim to go on the defensive. A quick quote:

"Now we can see in full view what we've seen again and again in recent years, the favored tactic: terror by grand moral inversion, the lie so total and audacious that it almost knocks opponents off their feet.

John Kerry decorated war hero? No, coward and showboat. "
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/


http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/654252

[xchrom]

6. the frustrating thing is that

this has been the preffered tactic since reagan.

too many dems can't figure out that you can't play softball with repukes.
and the return argument often winds up sounding mushy and weak as a result.

there are adequate ways to attack repukes -- we're seeing more of it now -- but it's aggression that we want to see from dems as a part of their overall campaign.

[kentuck]

8. Because the Democrats do not hang together...

When one of ours are attacked, nobody stands up to defend them. Because the simple strategy of the Repubs is to destroy one person at a time...If there are twenty, they are not able to do it. It is too dispersed. When they went after Durbin and Hillary, Democrats should have stood up in force and tell the truth instead of saying, Sorry, you're on your own.

[dogday]

5. It is too late and it does not matter anyway

this will be tried in the Grand Jury, not the court of public opinion. Rove is involved and that will be his downfall, whether he is indicted or not, he was involved with this....

[KitchenWitch]

7. Definitely their MO - nominated.