*****Important Reminder: There is no such thing as VETTING a Democratic Presidential Nominee*****

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

Vetting is something republican presidential candidates have to worry about: their past personal lives, their mistakes, their voting records, affairs, criminal ties, etc etc etc. Because Democrats WILL on occasion use this stuff against the Republican Nominee.

If, however, you're basing your support on the Democratic candidate who you feel has been more thoroughly vetted, you've missed something: Vetting is far less important for the Democratic nominee. The Right Wing smear machine doesn't uncover previously unknown material. They CREATE IT, so that it just appears to be newly "discovered." Baseless lies have been far more effective than truth for 527s/wingnut smear campaigns. A sizable chunk of the electorate still probably doesn't think John Kerry is a decorated war hero, because Swiftboating doesn't have anything to do with truth.

If you're worried about what the republicans will uncover from Clinton's ties to indicted fund-raisers and/or ties to businessmen abroad, don't be. She probably can distance herself from a lot of this stuff without too much trouble, but, more importantly, it doesn't matter in the general election if something troubling actually exists there or not. The republicans will "find" it. More likely, they'll "find" something far sexier and far more difficult to shrug off. If you're worried about Obama's ties to Wright or Rezko, fear not. Not only have the polls shown he can deal with those issues, but, more than likely, there's far sexier material yet to be "discovered."

Neither candidate for the Democratic nomination has been vetted in any sense that indicates ANY inoculation against past mistakes, associations, or viewpoints, because you can't vet either candidate against the scale, scope, and immorality of the right wing smear machine's imagination. The smear machine isn't bound to truth, and thus the potential for lying about either Democratic candidate is infinite for either candidate. You can't vet anybody against fantasy.

Anybody telling you to look out for what we don't know about either Democratic nominee--and that you should base your choice on "vetting" before we send our candidate off into the general election--is bullshitting you. Vote policy, issues, judgment, leadership, experience, and character, but know that no matter who you choose the republicans are going to try very hard to make you think you made the biggest mistake of your life--and it will have nothing to do with actual facts.

Instead of buying the "importance of vetting" meme, it's time to place the electorate on alert. The countermeme is much more useful and truthful: It doesn't matter who's better vetted, because the republicans just make shit up anyway.

We all should be telling our media people, the mostly-deaf MSM, and voters NOW to expect that fantasy smear campaign coming soon from republicans, because buying into "vetting is key" bullshit now makes defending our candidate against baseless smears a much more difficult sell later when talking heads and republican spinners and many voters will already be using the terms of the current meme to suggest "the Democrats' improper vetting of Clinton/Obama" is to blame instead of republican smears.

Spread the word: you can't vet against fantasy.








ed: typo

[BattyDem]

1. Excellent point!

:toast:

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

2. Thanks, chief.