Real Ratfucking

Kneel before Zod!

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Fake CNN email used as dirty trick in South Carolina

In what appears to be a last ditch attempt to halt Newt Gingrich’s late momentum in South Carolina, a fake CNN Breaking News alert was emailed to state Republican activists early Thursday morning claiming that the former House Speaker pressured his ex-wife to have an abortion.

CNN did not send out the email alert.

[...]

The email alert was sent from fake account made to look like a CNN breaking news email address: “BreakingNews@mail.cnn.com.”

“A source close to Marianne Gingrich tells CNN that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich forced her to abort a pregnancy conceived during the affair that preceeded her marriage to Gingrich,” the fake email reads.

Marianne Gingrich, who went public this week with charges that Gingrich once asked her for an “open marriage” while he was having an extramarital affair, has not made that claim.

“An ABC News interview with the Speaker’s ex-wife aired Thursday evening which detailed the candidate’s request for an open marriage and their subsequent divorce,” the fake email alert adds.

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I don’t want to be pointing fingers, but it would be irresponsible not to speculate. The GOP invented ratfucking and one of the original practitioners of that dark art is still in business.

During the 2000 Republican presidential primary, Senator John McCain was the target of a whisper campaign implying that he had fathered a black child out of wedlock. (McCain’s adopted daughter is a dark-skinned child from Bangladesh). Voters in South Carolina were reportedly asked, “Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew that he fathered an illegitimate black child?”. McCain would later lose the South Carolina primary, and the nomination, to George W. Bush.

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This particular individual is supporting the GOP establishment candidate, Mitt Romney. A win by Mitt tomorrow could well end the primary race. A win by Newt could signal a big upset.

Coinky-dink?

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Too bad impeachment was off the table

The way it should have happened

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Back when the U.S. Attorney scandal was unfolding we also learned a few other things:

A long-running federal investigation has found that White House political aides to President George W. Bush engaged in widespread violations of a federal law which limits partisan political activity by government employees during the 2006 midterm elections.

A 118-page report issued Monday by the little-known Office of Special Counsel cites numerous violations of the Hatch Act by the Bush-era White House Office of Political Affairs. The report concludes that federal taxpayers footed the bill for improper activities that were intended to advance Republican political candidates.

“The entire [Office of Political Affairs] staff was enlisted in pursuit of Republican success at the polls and many OPA employees believed that effort was part of their official job duties,” the report concludes. “Based on the extent of the activities described below, OSC concludes that the political activities of OPA employees were not incidental to their official functions, and thus U.S. Treasury funds were unlawfully used to finance efforts to pursue Republican victories at the polls in 2006.”

Those efforts, according to the report, included assigning staffers to track “the amount of money raised at fundraisers held by Republican candidates and national, state and local Republican groups.”

Citing a “a systematic misuse of federal resources,” the report also points to Bush administration cabinet members who traveled to White House-targeted Congressional districts in what was called the “final push.” The inquiry found that although many of the trips were primarily political, they had been designated as official business, and the expenses were paid by the government.

Guess who headed the Office of Political Affairs? (Hint: His friends call him “Turdblossom” and he’s a BFF of Donna Brazile)

Back in 2007 when the progressive blogosphere had not yet been Obamafied it began exposing and publicizing widespread lawbreaking by the Bush Administration. But after a few dramatic hearings the Democrats in Congress let themselves be stonewalled and the issue faded from view.

Remember this?: