dirty politics -

[aghast]

allens in trouble and desperate and hes using the karl rove
dirty tactics to try to scare women voters - and when does
writing sex novels becomes a campaign issue - pray god we can
never elect stephen king or any romance writers for anything

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- A bitter Senate campaign entering its final
stretch turned uglier Friday, as a Republican incumbent pulled up sexual
passages from novels written by his Democratic opponent, who called the move
baseless character assassination.

In a news release and list of quotes posted Friday on the Drudge Report Web
site, Sen. George Allen, R-Virginia, accused his opponent, former Navy
Secretary Jim Webb, of "demeaning women" and "dehumanizing women, men and
even children" through his fiction writings. At least two of the listed
passages include children in sexual situations.

<<snip>>

"I mean we can go and read Lynne Cheney's lesbian love scenes if you want
to, you know, get graphic on stuff," he said.

Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, wrote the novel "Sisters,"
published in 1981, which included lesbian love scenes.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sent out a news release Friday
pointing to sexual passages in books by other GOP conservatives, including
Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and former
House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

[dclary]

Non-story. Next.

If this was real Rove politics, Webb would know it. He's lucky it's not. You don't mess with Big R.

[miles111]

I wonder who read the passages to him...

[AnneMarble]

allens in trouble and desperate and hes using the karl rove
dirty tactics to try to scare women voters - and when does
writing sex novels becomes a campaign issue - pray god we can
never elect stephen king or any romance writers for anything.
Hey, they stole this idea from Fred Head, who's running (not very well) for comptroller in Texas:
http://www.votefredhead.com/susan.html

Now Fred' site just makes me wanna...
:Hammer:

And my subtle and intellectual message to Fred:
:e2moon:

[MacAllister]

Aghast, perhaps you'd edit that long quoted phrase down, and just post a link, please?

[billythrilly7th]

Aghast, perhaps you'd edit that long quoted phrase down, and just post a link, please?

Yes.

From Chapter 3 of the Professional MessageBoard Posters handbook...

Link
Passage from Link
Comment

It's called "LPC'in."

And from my 1999 album....

"MBoard'in with My Homies"

Track 4..

LPC
"You down with LPC?

Yeah, you know me....

Whose down with LPC?

Yeah, you know me."

[Opty]

Actually, in this election year, when it comes to "dirty politics" it's the Republicans who have the big lead. (http://www.factcheck.org/article460.html)

[billythrilly7th]

Actually, in this election year, when it comes to "dirty politics" it's the Republicans who have the big lead. (http://www.factcheck.org/article460.html)

At least we're leading in something.

holla!

[astonwest]

Actually, in this election year, when it comes to "dirty politics" it's the Republicans who have the big lead. (http://www.factcheck.org/article460.html)
Indeed, I mean 91% negative ads versus 81% negative ads...
Those Republicans should be so ashamed of themselves for running so many more negative ads...
:rolleyes:

(Oddly enough, it shows the Republicans have 6% positive versus Democrats with 2%)

Back to the OP (quoted text), though...it's one thing for a person to attack another for something they did themselves, versus something their family did...

[TheGaffer]

I do love the one about the phone sex calls thing.

[veinglory]

His message is still getting out there isn't it? James Webb does *not* write sex novels of any sort, he writes vietnam war stories like Lost Soldiers and Fields of Flame (titles from memory). As a man who fought in that war he seems uniquely qualified, I don't doubt that there is a degree of inappropriate sexuality and misogyny in the stories--there was in the reality too. The passages need to be read in context of the book, and the books in the context of their time.

[MacAllister]

What I find appalling is that both sides, now, have attacked an opponent on the basis of the fiction they write.

Ouch. Says a lot about our cultural lack of regard for literacy.

[whistlelock]

Ouch. Says a lot about our cultural lack of regard for literacy. come on now, there has always been more prestige attached to owning a piece of art rather than the creation of it.

It's not exactly new or unique to us.

[veinglory]

I think there is a newness to casting writers of conservative genres (harlequin-type romance, war stories) as innately immoral. Until recently the fact that most of the voting public read one or other of these genres would mean it would be a foolish tactic. Is this no longer true?

[SC Harrison]

What I find appalling is that both sides, now, have attacked an opponent on the basis of the fiction they write.

Ouch. Says a lot about our cultural lack of regard for literacy.

It also forwards the erroneous assumption that a work of fiction is somehow a window into the author's soul; a revelation of their true nature, as it were. Many non-writers I've met just can't understand where the ideas for story creation come from, and I think a lot of them take for granted that writers are a little off in the head or something. Actually...they may be right, but that's beside the point. ;)

[astonwest]

What I find appalling is that both sides, now, have attacked an opponent on the basis of the fiction they write.

Ouch. Says a lot about our cultural lack of regard for literacy.
I imagine it's because they were looking for anything, and that looked like an easy scab to pick...

Political ads are ALWAYS going to try and get the voter to focus on the waving hand while the other hand is hiding the truth...this is true of any politician, regardless of affiliation.

Case in point, a local race that's had a number of ads come around (usually in the mail).

The incumbent remarks that her challenger was an attorney for the ACLU, which did all sorts of nasty things that you should fear. They never actually state that her challenger was an attorney in any such cases, but the implication is there.

The challenger remarks that the incumbent has done nothing to prevent funeral protests, and that he would immediately "write" a bill to prevent them. Not saying he would pass a bill, nor explaining how he would be able to get that past First Amendment muster, but the implication is that he will "stop" (exact wording from the ad, actually) funeral protests.

I could go on, but most of the ads follow the same basic premise...

I'd propose that both candidates answer a brief questionaire submitted by potential voters, and those answers go out to every registered voter in the appropriate area...simple...too simple...

[blacbird]

Political ads are ALWAYS going to try and get the voter to focus on the waving hand while the other hand is hiding the truth

Apt, succinctly stated, and true. It could also be applied to some of the comments made in this forum recently.

caw.