af40's Blog

I'm not sure if many people remember what happened to John McCain during the 2000 primary season. Like this year, McCain had won the New Hampshire primary and for a while after that he looked like the Republican Party's frontrunner.  But his surge fizzled when supporters of G.W. Bush's flagging campaign decided the time was ripe for some good ol' fashioned Southern "hospitality", dirty campaign trick style.

 As the 2000 South Carolina primary approached (South Carolina is notable for being the first southern primary, along with having a deep-seated love for its Confederate-flag covered trucks), thousands of e-mails and fliers started popping up in people's mailboxes accusing McCain of fathering an illegitimate baby with an African-American woman. Other e-mails claimed Cindy McCain, his wife, had been a drug addict. Now, I ask you to note a few interesting aspects about these vicious attacks.

First, it's clear South Carolina probably has not moved beyond its racist, segregationist past. It's not enough to claim that McCain had an illegitimate child (a ridiculous claim), but that, "on top of it all", the child is part African-American. Only in a state like South Carolina, right? Secondly, the claim that Cindy McCain had used illicit drugs is not only irrelevant (even if true, which it was not, it would have no bearing on her husband's capacities), it is most ironic because it was an accusation launched by friends of G.W. Bush, who himself admittedly had numerous problems with drugs and alcohol. Finally, and again ironically, it appears these mailings were sent by a professor at Bob Jones University. If you know anything about this charming little southern school, it is the place where Jesus Christ, xenophobia, latent segregationist fervor and racism seem to merge into an odd mix of holdout antebellum nostalgia and yearnings for "better times", as Trent Lott might say. African-American students were not even allowed admission here until 1971- well after the landmark Brown case and passage of the 60's civil rights laws.

Needless to say, McCain eventually lost the SC primary, and the nomination, as Bush sailed through the remainder of the southern states on exaggerated Christian zeal and an odd claim to "superior" moral credentials (his own personal demons were conveniently cast aside or downplayed).  McCain was too honorable to highlight Bush's very real personal limitations.

So in the end, John McCain, a true war hero who spent nearly 6 years of his young life in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton", a man who actually volunteered to go to VietNam (his father, an Admiral, could easily have found a quiet, safe desk job for him) was beaten by an opponent whose life was marked mostly by youthful transgressions, academic mediocrity, and financial failure.   

 Now fast-forward eight tumultuous years. McCain, as in 2000, is in a relatively strong position following his New Hampshire win. But also as in 2000, we are seeing some of the same dirty tricks being launched against the aging Senator.

 This time around there is one notable difference. We have definitive proof of who's actually slinging the mud: a Colorado-based company by the name of "Common Sense Issues" (CSI?) that conducts automated push-poll calls to registered voters.  A push poll is a campaign ad disguised as a "poll", in which leading questions are asked designed to encourage a specific impression, usually a bad one, about a political candidate.

Although the state's attorney general has denounced the company's tactics and is questioning its legality, the damage may have already been done ("CSI" is no doubt a member of the esteemed club to which "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" belongs).

 

A few of the little gems that listeners were treated to in the past few days:

   

"Fact: McCain voted to allow scientific experiments to be done on unborn children."

   

"[John McCain created] the most restrictive assault on free speech ever passed in America" [with McCain-Feingold, the law that tightens rules on campaign contributions, and is ironically designed to cut down on dirty campaign tactics].

 

To be fair, I should add that CSI is not launching its underhanded attacks only against McCain. Apparently, callers are first asked whom they support, and if the answer is not Mike Huckabee, they are given a series of talking points on why their favored candidate is incompetent to lead America. The only candidate that seems to come off with flying colors is the former Arkansas governor himself.

 

Now, there's an old saying about the Mafia. If you want to find out who started a mob war, you look for the guy who's still standing after everyone else is shot dead. It's not hard to deduce (even for a South Carolinian) who's still standing here: Huckabee himself.

 

And to think, all of this time I was getting these good vibes from the jovial, guitar-playing former Baptist minister who has made frequent appearances on the 'The Colbert Report', a show known for its light-hearted brand of humor and general sense of optimism. Huckabee, for his part, denies any involvement in the calls.

   

Now I want to give Huck' the benefit of doubt here and say that it's not his fault that some overzealous supporters have crossed the line of civility, ethics, and probably even legality.  But I am reminded of GW Bush's failure to act both in 2000, when the first McCain attacks were launched, and in 2004, when decorated VietNam vet John Kerry was dragged through the mud by the now-infamous swift boat vet ads. Those latter ads probably diminished Kerry's votes among undecided voters just enough to make a difference. They also launched a new term ("to swift boat"), representing down-and-dirty- but effective- ad hominems.

 

In politics, failure to denounce attacks upon one's opponent is tantamount to tacit approval, and Bush certainly benefited from his failure to act.  If Huckabee will refuse to staunchly condemn the vicious attacks of a group like CSI, he will turn out to be just another shallow Christian demagogue, claiming a stake to moral superiority but dragging himself through mire fit only for a man like Pontius Pilate.

 

I really hope it's not so, however. I may not support McCain myself, but he, of all people, deserves better.

And Mike Huckabee, as a former Christian minister, should know better.