There are two things I absolutely love about this Politico column by Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. The first is that I cannot remember a sitting member of Congress or any elected official, really, ever coming right out and admitting that they engaged in an epic and successful ratfucking campaign against their political opponents. And Senator McCaskill doesn’t just admit it. She gives us all the nitty-gritty details and then proudly tells us that she shotgunned a beer in celebration when it worked.
The second thing I love about it is that she repeatedly describes Todd Akin’s wacky religious beliefs and the wacky religious beliefs of many of her constituents, and she does it in a completely derogatory manner, with no equivocation. She isn’t in the slightest worried that she might be hurting some lunatics’ feelings or “disrespecting” the God-fearing people of Missouri.
Other things I love about this column include its total lack of newsworthiness (which makes a wholly unnecessary end-zone dance) and her revelry in describing the people she duped:
So how could we maneuver Akin into the GOP driver’s seat?
Using the guidance of my campaign staff and consultants, we came up with the idea for a “dog whistle” ad, a message that was pitched in such a way that it would be heard only by a certain group of people. I told my team we needed to put Akin’s uber-conservative bona fides in an ad—and then, using reverse psychology, tell voters not to vote for him. And we needed to run the hell out of that ad…
…It started to work. Our telephones were ringing off the hook with people saying, “Just because she’s telling me not to vote for him, I’m voting for him. That’s the best ad for Akin I’ve ever seen!” A man wrote a letter to the editor of the Springfield News Leader: “I think it’s time for someone who may be too conservative. Thank you, Senator McCaskill, for running that ad. You have helped me determine that my vote needs to go to Akin.”
So, have a good belly laugh.
And when you are done laughing, make sure to remember that we’re not all out here peddling conspiracy theories when we tell you that these kinds of things go on. It may a contributing factor to why some people hate Washington so much, but if people are truly honest, they’d start by hating themselves for falling for this kind of manipulation.
In this instance, the cause was worthy, but that is by no means always the case.
This sort of thing seems so obvious, and the thing I don’t get is why progressive issue groups haven’t taken this approach with bills/issues. Basically create a PAC (say, the American Freedom, Liberty, and Apple Pie PAC) and attack from the right, or use reverse psychology and attack from the left. It seems usually progressives consider it beneath their dignity (and perhaps it is, I don’t know).
I think it’s due to lacking ruthless impulses and really believing in bullshit like Justice.
No, it’s because most of the GOP crazies aren’t as dumb as Akin. What worked in MO and IN failed in AR, CO, and NC in 2014. Voters don’t like bland-colorless neoliberalcon candidates.
What worked in 2012 wasn’t going to work in 2014. Did Senator Udall ask the guy that won Colorado for help? Running bullshit campaigns get the results one deserves. Or maybe the party should stop rewarding failure and dislodge their heads from their asses.
The new Senators from CO, AR, and NC are no less crazy than Akin — but they were better able to pivot and tone down their craziness for the general election. So, now the GOP knows how to defeat the “McCaskill” game plan.
She’s still awful, I hope you know.
It is so obvious, I know my circle of websites were talking about it at the time, that I’m not sure if it is quite as much the ratfuck as was attempted in Seattle Saturday afternoon.
More like pointing to a cliff and telling people not to jump.
By the way, I guess Bernie’s success this weekend in the Northwest translated to New Hampshire.
Those pollsters have an awful track record and it’s a 400 person sample with a MOE of almost 5.
Wait to see it confirmed.
relevant link:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/12/1411238/-Guess-who-s-behind-the-poll-that-shows-Bernie-in-t
he-lead
I don’t like Clair McKaskil but I respect her instincts.
Missouri politics is hellhole of racism, arrogance, machine influence, Xtian Fundies and outright crazies. The absolute wonder of the thing is how so many politicians manage to still be relatively decent human beings and some of them manage to be somewhat progressive as well.
Jersey? Louisiana? NY? Maryland? Move over and take lessons on corruption, greed, hatred, malevolence and craziness. Some politicians in Mo would LITERALLY rather the US become some kind of 3rd world dystopia rather than “liberal”.
I grew up there in the ’60s (just north of Springfield) and I doubt the place has changed much. Still a hellhole.
How about Kansas and Brownback and friends?
Indeed. But it seems that Missouri has a dearth of “good politicians” at the moment. In either party.
What is sad is that it cost $1.6 million to sandbag Akin in the primary by giving him a boost. Necessary but sad.
And it is not as much a matter of the campaign as the political culture that has been shaped by the wizard of Cape Girardeau.
Just heard her on NPR again, making sure to again emphasize that Bernie is unelectable and :::gasp::: a socialist. :::gasp:::
A shame that Clinton won’t be running against a GOP socialist in the general election. But Trump might be the second best thing for her.
You have to keep in mind that as an Independent he hasn’t done much to bolster the party outside of caucusing with them. So the good Senator has no problem attacking him.
It’s too bad supporting things that are best for the country don’t pose a problem for her either.
OT: Anti-Voting Crusader Plans Purge Of 30,000 Citizens From Voting Rolls
BY KIRA LERNER AUG 11, 2015 1:51PM
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) — notorious voter suppression architect who now wields the power to prosecute people for voter fraud — has proposed a change to state regulations which would allow his office to purge more than 30,000 incomplete voter registration applications being held because voters have not yet provided proof of citizenship.
Four state lawmakers, including one Republican, have come out against the proposal, claiming it would disproportionately impact low-income, minority and elderly voters who may need more than 90 days to provide their proof of citizenship. State Rep. Jim Ward (D) told ThinkProgress that not every Kansas citizen has a drivers’ license and other forms of identification can be hard for people to procure in a short period of time.
“[Kobach] said we gave more time than other states who have imposed this purge rule, and we thought it was fair,” Ward said. “But there really wasn’t any kind of analysis on how long it would take” voters to produce a proof of citizenship.
Soon after taking office, Kobach advocated for a law requiring new voters in Kansas to show proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register. The law took effect in 2013, and immediately 12,000 people were placed in limbo because they could not prove their citizenship, despite the fact that the threat of non-citizens casting a ballot of virtually non-existent.
As of now, more than 30,000 voters have begun the registration process but are being held in suspense because they have not showed the required identification. Currently, voters can provide the required documents up until Election Day, but Kobach wants to change that. He told a Kansas newspaper the proposal is intended to save election officials time and money and cut down on reminders they send voters to submit their citizenship documents.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/08/11/3690433/kris-kobach-voter-purge/
Kansas is meaningless but it’s a good canary for fights elsewhere.
Pretty funny. Having worked in MO for 11 years and having been born there some 63 years ago, I have a modest understanding of MO politics.
The key phrase is “You can’t spell ‘moron’ without MO.” There are a bunch of dumb-fuck morons in that state.
Claire is a pol’s pol. She does a nice end-zone dance in that piece.
Glad to see Senator McCaskill get some props here. Not only did she keep Todd Akin out of the Senate: She ran on a full-throated defense of Obamacare despite its overwhelming unpopularity in Missouri. Compare her campaign to those of other red state women like Allison Grimes and Wendy Davis.
Yes, she takes some infuriating positions from time to time. But on the whole, she’s much more courageous than we have a right to expect from a senator from her state, and she’s had the president’s back on any number of occasions: She’s making the right noises about Iran, for example. Where, pray tell, are senators Murray and Cantwell on this issue?
How is her relationship with Hillary? I have a hunch that this has something to do with the 2016 primary, but I’m not sure exactly how…