does the preemptive smear of kennedy mean the NSA tapped his phone?

[Lerkfish]

I'm just asking the question.
For a full day BEFORE kennedy requested a subpoena for Ailito records of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, there was a concerted, organized smear campaign against kennedy in particular.
massive callins, right wing radio jocks, everyone seems to have gotten the memo, BEFORE Kennedy was actually able to do some damage.

It seems a bit too accurately targeted, to me, and too much of it organized beforehand.

how did they know to do this?

could be from Specter's staff, and knowing what Kennedy requested, but since Specter was hoping to lie and bury and say it was never existed, HOW DID THE PUNDITS KNOW ahead of time?


like I say, I'm just asking the question.

:shrug:

[KittyWampus]

1. know what? what did I miss?

[bunkerbuster1]

2. They gear up every time TK is gonna be on the TeeVee

Not saying that the fascists aren't capable of doing what you suggest, but any time that there will be Judiciary committee hearings and Ted's in da house, Freepers and suchlike gear up with the dumbass Mary Jo comments.

Like clockwork.

Not that there's anything wrong with being paranoid, just sayin'.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. I agree. He's a perennially favorite target.

[librechik]

5. yup--they just pull out the Chappaquiddick file from 35 years ago

and start reading the same old hackneyed poison, from the top. By now, it's a very long file, but mostly repetitions of the same 3 or 4 easily-remembered slogans.

[jean]

11. cspan caller pointed out Repubs have to go back to Chappaquiddick

to find anything negative about Sen Kennedy, whereas Dems just have to pick up today's paper to find negatives about Republicans.

[bunkerbuster1]

12. Has Ted ever sued any of the RW hacks who cry "murder"?

Just wondering--although I guess that most RW radio yakkers just encourage their listeners to call in with this and never actually say it themselves.

[H2O Man]

13. Exactly.

It's not like Kennedy is unknown to them, and they need to rely upon NSA to enlighten them on who he is. (More, people might do well to expand their thinking on who is spying on domestic sources; it surely is not limited to NSA -- in fact, NSA is just the tip of the ice cube on domestic spying.)

[Lerkfish]

18. valid points, but I found the TIMING suspect. I don't recall them

smearing kennedy like this at previous confirmation exercises...or am I wrong?

[H2O Man]

25. I think Ted Kennedy

has been smeared more than any living democrat, with the possible exception of Bill Clinton.

I would again stress that the NSA's spying, while it should be of great concern, should not be misunderstood as posing the greatest domestic spying threat.

[Lerkfish]

26. I got that point, I was shifting in focus.

regardless of which agency, I felt the latest smear campaign....fortuituous, to say the least in timing.
I understand TK has been smeared greatly, I am referring to the full court press of this last one.

If I've perceived incorrectly, that's fine, too

[Burma Jones]

3. Kennedy is an easy target

A lot of people really detest Ted Kennedy, probably because he can never live up to the legend of his dead brothers, and he doesn't help his cause much by doing things like referring to Alito as Alioto.....

PS - I know who Sam Alioto was (Mayor of SF) and why Teddy may have been confused.....

[babylonsister]

6. Poor TK; everything he does is subject to scrutiny and

criticism. Remember how much mileage the talking heads got out of him mixing up Obama and Osama?
I think it goes with the territory and hopefully doesn't faze TK at all.

[havocmom]

16. Some also hate him because he is so damned strong, bright & formidable

He IS the reminder they face of what the DEMS in D.C. used to be. He is the one the lobbyists can't buy and control.

Brains, courage, old time DEM values and no need to kiss the asses of people like Abramoff makes Ted one dangerous man to the Corporatist Congress.

[sasha031]

19. confused!!!!! DUH

the man is the best we have, in his 70's and has become sharper than he ever has been.

perhaps you landed in the wrong forum, google FR, you will be comfortable there

[Burma Jones]

22. Quiet Whippersnapper

He's an easy target, not because of his substance but because he's been around. Substance doesn't make for an easy target. As to living up to his brothers, well, who the hell could live up to JFK and Bobby? Now, I will put you on ignore because you called me a Freeper, I suggest you do some research before you go around slinging foolish accusations.

[tsuki]

7. I have no problem believing that TK's phone was tapped. n/t

[zbdent]

Hell, his private plane's fuel tank

was sabotaged . . .

[EFerrari]

10. Neither do I. n/t

[Lerkfish]

17. well, wasn't the whole point of Abramoff's steering to one phone service

that congress used so that the calls could be accessible to rerouting in and out of the country?
(not rock solid on that info, just my recollection)?

[M155Y_A1CH]

8. Any drumbeat interpretors in the house?

We really need to learn how to see the patterns in their flurries of activity.
When they dust off old spin for yet another run, it has meaning.
I just wish I could fathom what?

[stepnw1f]

9. I've Noticed their Timing too

And each time I call them out on it. Boy do they hate me!

[dogday]

14. Remember when he was on the NO-Fly list?

yes, I would say TK is like prickly heat to them....

[CottonBear]

15. Respond w/ both * & Cheny arrested for DUI & Laura killed her boyfriend

(Michael Douglas) in 1963 when she ran a stop sign and smashed into his car.

[sasha031]

20. that's right she ran through a stop sign

with her car, murdering her ex boyfriend, high as a kite at the tine. Cheny has many DUI's and * was and could still be a coconut

[dusmcj]

21. look to the irregulars with plausible deniability

recall that relations between the administration and the intelligence community are not at their peak, such that the first guess at the source of such programs would be ad hoc activities a la the office of special plans. Certainly there are administration hacks in the intel community who would release content via side channels. Oversight's a bitch, even internally, when information is compartmented and no one's cleared to see it.

[AtomicKitten]

23. the usual m.o. from the usual suspects

this is just how they do business - attack, attack, attack

perhaps Teddy should go running from the room in tears ...

[zann725]

24. Well they DID put Ted on the "no fly" list for some time "accidentally"...

tapping him would NOT be out of the realm of paranoid Repug reality.