The Karl Rove Legacy: Mock, Disparage, Ridicule, Distort

Mock, disparage, ridicule, distort.

Mock, disparage, ridicule, distort.

As election strategy formulas go, this one really isn't complicated or overly sophisticated. Even the candidate can probably remember it, and it doesn't matter if he gets any of the elements out of order. The McCain machine is intent on tearing down Barack Obama and everything he says. New ideas? Fahgeddabouddit. Knowing that they cannot compete in this particular marketplace, the Republicans have effectively conceded the intellectual arena to Obama, secure in the knowledge that they have the moron vote locked up.

You think I'm kidding? I recently was at a party on the New Jersey shore with an acquaintance who admits that he gets all his information from Rush Limbaugh. What passed for a discussion gave me a headache. The economy is heading south? Obama is a Communist. The energy crisis? Obama is a dangerous radical. The Iraq war? Obama is a Moslem. Improve our standing in the world? Obama is nothing but a Paris-Hilton-like celebrity-wannabe. And by the way, an "important" book "with 700 footnotes" is about to be published that will expose Obama as a Communist, radical, Moslem, Paris-Hilton-like celebrity-wannabe.

Somewhere in the babble I recognized familiar noises, even if their source that evening couldn't quite articulate them as eloquently as the McCain spokespersons who promote these very same themes on talk show after talk show. It seems that Limbaugh and the likes of erstwhile Bush White House official Brad Blakeman get the identical talking points from their propaganda central.

That's not surprising. It's obvious that Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Blakeman, et al., are all wired into the Republican message of the day. And just to make sure that the campaign remains mired in the gutter, the very graphomanic reactionary who twisted and distorted John Kerry's military record in 2004 has now spewn out all the tired (and false) GOP canards in the form of a book that accuses Obama of being a Communist, a radical, and a Moslem (my New Jersey acquaintance may be disappointed to discover that the book apparently came out too late to incorporate the GOP's "Paris-Hilton-like celebrity-wannabe" theme.) And by some strange coincidence, the name of this book (which I will not use here so as not to give it or its author any free publicity) is the same as the not very clever term Blakeman keeps using to disparage Senator Obama. "I am shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"

Let Obama present any complex policy proposal and the Republicans will trivialize it to death. Let Obama show any sign of bipartisanship and the Republicans will scream flip-flop even if the position is one Obama has espoused for months if not years. Swift-boating worked four years ago, so the Republicans, led by John McCain, say over and over again that Obama "would lose a war to win an election," implying at the very least an unpatriotic if not treasonous mindset. Just think of the outrage if any responsible Democrat would have responded with the equally offensive and inappropriate accusation that McCain would be prepared to sacrifice the lives of thousands of GIs to win the presidency. No one would think of challenging the patriotism of a war hero, which gives the war hero and his posse license to question the patriotism of those who do not agree with them and the Bush administration on how to extricate ourselves from Iraq.

A perfect example of the Republican playbook was the McCain camp's blatant exploitation of the Holocaust during Barack Obama's recent visit to Israel. Following his visit to Yad Vashem, Israel's national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, Obama in the museum's guest book: "At a time of great peril and promise, war and strife we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man's potential for great evil but also our capacity to rise from tragedy and remake our world. Let our children come here and know this history so they can add their voices to proclaim 'never again.' And may we remember those who perished, not only as victims but also as individuals who hoped and loved and dreamed like us and who have become symbols of the human spirit."

You'd think that no one, but no one, could take issue with these sentiments. But no. Leave it to the McCain PR hacks to again -- I emphasize, again -- exploit the Holocaust in a desperate attempt to score cheap political points. According to the Republican spin doctors, the anti-genocide views Obama expressed at Yad Vashem are somehow inconsistent with his desire to end the Iraq war.

But then, what should we expect from the GOP attack machine who jumped all over Obama less than two months earlier when he misspoke and referred to Auschwitz rather than a sub-camp of Buchenwald as the Nazi concentration camp his great uncle had helped to liberate at the end of World War II.

Please note that no Democrat sought to criticize McCain when he visited Yad Vashem in May, or when he wrote "I am deeply moved. Never again. John McCain" in the same guest book. Specifically, no one suggested that Senator McCain's "Never again" comment in the Yad Vashem guest book should be viewed in the context of the C grade he received from the Genocide Intervention Network for his legislative stance on the Darfur genocide. Barack Obama, meanwhile, received an A from the same group. According to the Genocide Intervention Network, Obama's rating was "for supporting and voting in favor of all significant Darfur legislation" and taking "crucial action to end the genocide in Darfur." McCain's mediocre rating, again according to the Genocide Intervention Network, was due to his "not actively supporting Darfur-related legislation and failing to consistently champion the cause. Co-sponsoring one or two resolutions or providing a few favorable votes is not enough. Elected officials must continually support efforts to end the genocide in Darfur."

I don't believe for a moment that exposing the McCain camp's "mock, disparage, ridicule, distort" tactics will get the Karl Rove clones to rethink their scorched earth agenda. But perhaps this year, unlike 2000 and 2004, they won't get away with it. And perhaps at least once in a while when the Republicans play this card between now and November 4, someone will channel Ronald Reagan, wag a finger at them, and tell them, "There you go again."

Menachem Rosensaft is a lawyer in New York City.

Comments

[realpolitic]

The only way for Republicans to win elections any more is to mock, disparage, ridicule, and distort. As suggested, they are helped by a chorus of sycophants in the media like Hannity, Limbaugh, and O'Reilly. They know no bounds and any charge is salient as long as it will help win the election. Recently Hannity congratulated John O'Neil, a Swift Boat veteran spokesman, for helping steer the last election, even though all the Swiftboat charges were demonstrably false. Democrats must play the game. After entering office, Democrat's policies are more humane and, in this case, the means justifies the end.

[fsuthai]

What 'flippin' war hero????

I don't understand how Rosensaft and other intelligent writers & reporters can keep referring to John McCain as a "war hero". At the very best he was a minor collaborator (willingly signed the North Vietnamese paper admitting that he was a 'war criminal' by attacking Vietnamese) and, more likely, he was a outright traitor! Several fellow prisoners tried to bring charges against McCain upon return from Viet Nam but the Pentagon, needing 'heros' instead of enemy collaborators, squashed their charges. Must be nice for an incompetent to have a respected U.S. Navy Admiral as his dad!

But, please give us a break from the "hero image"! Despite being opposed to the Viet Nam War, I recognize the bravery of flying combat missions into hostile territory. However, getting shot down, captured, and 'surviving' (more comfortably than most) as a prisoner by frequent briefings with his captors sounds a lot more like a traitor to me. All U.S. officers are trained to provide only "name, rank, and serial number" when questioned and taught that it is their duty to try to escape.

What a pathetic excuse for an officer and a gentleman!

Paul Hammond, Capt. USAF, retired in Thailand

[castrochavez08]

Mock, disparage, ridicule, distort.

Isn't this the same game plan used by Democratic party leaders against Dennis Kucinich?

[YesWeCanada]

Mock, disparage, ridicule, distort.
This is only part of the Steve Schmidt game plan.
Add in truthiness, branding, smear and repetition as a few of the other techniques that McCain's new team and their surrogates are employing to great effect.

I'm seriously worried that if O's team doesn't get with the program that they may lose this thing come November. Maybe they should look to hire a few people that understand the whole reptilian brain concept.
Obama's shtick is starting to come across as a hybrid of McCain's 2000 straight-talk approach and John Gary's long winded high brow campaign of 2004.

I truly wanna believe that these guys have more game then this weak stuff.

[2cntswrth]

It's not supposed to be good to blame the media. But for the most part, it is the conservative hacks who have for months now spun their lies and planted ideas in the minds of voters. It is hard to fathom what makes anyone believe all of the drivel regardless of what party or candidate they support. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Pat Buchanan, etc. all say the same things and even use the same words. And the latest review of all the media attention that Obama gets noted that most of it from all sources (about 78%) is negative. So, that might explain why people who want to believe lies about Obama--still do. Where else would they hear it from? Ya think?

By now, if there are really people who say they beleive that Obama is a communist, a muslim, and a radical terrorist, then it is pretty safe to say that it is not a matter of misunderstanding, but it is what they choose to believe and agree with. They are more comfortable with the lies than they are the truth. What's sad about it is that people prefer to be treated like dummies, fed baloney, and tricked into keeping the status quo so that big business prospers, the war continues, jobs continue to close down, and we sit around wondering about how high the prices will be next week at WalMarts; yet go ahead and vote against our own interests! And the cycle continues.

[JRandomPoster]

The veneer of civilized politics has been stripped away. For the Right (and for at least some on the left), it is about pure, raw, unadulterated power.

[The 13 Colonies]

McSame's entire campaign is based on LIES.We should call him deoge the 3rd.

[HBeachbum]

You forgot the last item ... win.

[booksnmore4you]

Rove is a strong supporter of mockracy.

[mbafromharvard]

LOL!!! As usual, all you libs can do is whine. "Boo-hoo! The McCain camp isn't playing nice!" The blogosphere has been rife with posts like this one while Obama continues to take the "high road". That's nice. He'll have a long career as a Senator.

And McCain is the next President.

FOUR MORE YEARS!!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!!

[MajorKong]

And yet you guys are the first to cry "foul!" when we take a page out of your playbook. Republicans can dish it out but they sure can't take it.

[tel8034]

mbafromharvard,

Where is Rove? Should he not be testifying right about now?

I see you are impressed by all of the illegalities over the past 8 years........ You hate nice and love dirty.

Selling your soul to the devil is definately not a good idea.

After 8 years Americans are no longer fooled or swayed by the Karl Rove tactics, and the rest of us cannot wait for DECENCY to emerge once again from the White House once Obama is in place.

[anon004]

Wow! I just hope you were being ironic here, and I'm too tired to recognize it, because, otherwise, you seem pretty angry and somehow pitiable. I'm almost 50, I'm a child of the 60s, and I can't remember a time when Americans weren't fighting the culture wars. Forgive me for being just a little tired of all this anger and vitriol. Are you trying to say that it is pointless to hope for better than the lowest of the low when it comes to political discourse? I guess it's time for me to pull out my copies of the Federalist papers and Lincoln's speeches if I want to read any political discourse that is uplifting.

[zendem1]

mbafromharvard? Whose, your Daddy's? Run along now. Target's having their back- to-school sale. Go buy some pencils.

[sawdustinhershoes]

To revel in the slime that's been created by the republicans is to be mentally ill. I would not like to live your life. Did you know that our brains actually perform differently when we tell lies versus the truth? Did you know that our brains produce heathy hormones when we see OTHERS perform an act of charity? The point is, we're hardwired to live a life of integrity. People like mbafromharvard can't live the life nature intended. Their brain chemistry lacks the essential elements needed in order to be an actual human.