Roger Ailes Quotes

35 years later Richard Gephardt used the same phrase to describe Republican tactics.

Asserting that her campaign was not dealing in negative campaigning:

The Grammar Curmudgeon

His older brother was running for Consul—the highest elected office of the Roman Empire. The Handbook, was his advice to his brother as to how to conduct his campaign.

In the latter part of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, one of the tactics of conservatives was to accuse liberal candidates and office holders of being un-American, unpatriotic, and disloyal to the country. The tactic goes back to the beginning of the nation when Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans claimed the Federalists were un-American--monarchists and Anglophiles. In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy attacked President Truman, Secretary of State Acheson, Secretary of the Army Stevenson and many others for “un-Americanism.” Even wounded war hero, paraplegic, Senator Max Cleland was accused by Republicans a of being unpatriotic which led to his defeat at the polls. So accusing the President of being un-American, was that unique an act even though it shocked most Americans.

The Congress was debating President Johnson’s Voting Rights Bill. Southern Democrats and Conservative Republicans were opposed to legislation that would prevent states from discriminating against Black and other minority voters. Johnson needed the support of minority leader Dirksen and the moderate Republicans. Dirksen was at the White House discussing the strategy for the passage of the bill. This quotation illustrates the “partisanship of the day” where opponents were quite friendly even when they were “denouncing” each other, The venom and personal disrespect and hatred of the beginning of the 21st century was absent in the 1960s even though the most radical and controversial legislation was being debated. The Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Non Discrimination in Housing and Medicare were all passed that year with filibusters and cloture votes. Yet there was always comity.

Personal attacks have been made in the Congress ever since that body first met. However, they were infrequent and raised concern when they were made. However, in the late 1980s, there was a series of personal attacks made across the political parties culminating in the resignation of Wright as the Speaker of the House. Some Republicans had objected to the failure to confirm John Tower as Defense Secretary because of his serious alcoholism problem which was made public, and in turn made public some of Wright’s indiscretions. From then on the personal invective and attacks increases and there was retaliation by both parties that went on for decades. At first it was exposures of real incidents but by the 21st century, the attacks were often fabricated. For example, Barack Obama was called a “Socialist Muslim” by Republicans. See {624107}

This quotation is interesting for two reasons. It is a clever put down and more important it illustrates the character of public discourse in the runup to the 2012 Presidential elections. Many of the Republicans and a few Democrats had been very successful with repeated character assassination and negative campaigning about their opponents. The Republicans had become so successful, that in 2011 with a number of Republicans seeking the party nomination for the 2012 Presidential election, the aspirants and their supporters began to apply the successful techniques against members of their own party. Frum who was supporting Mit Romney had this to say about Ron Paul, another candidate, who was a libertarian and had some views that many Republicans did not care for although he had a strong base of supporters amongst Republican voters.

Baldwin when Prime Minister would not arm England to stop Germany and after he left office, supported his successor, Neville Chamberlain, in his peace efforts which turned out to be appeasement, See {626936}.

At the time political parties and some candidates had their own newspapers and attacked their opponents through those rather than directly themselves which would have been seen as gross and undignified, Slander and attacks have been a part of American politics since its inception. The degree and extent reached its pinnacle in the early 21st century.