The American Spectator’s bogus scoop

October 11, 2006

It’s hard to imagine anyone taking a “breaking story” from The American Spectator seriously, but the barely-breathing magazine — or, more accurately, its blog — “reported” yesterday that it had learned from Democratic sources that the entire Mark Foley scandal was orchestrated by Democrats as some kind of “October surprise.”

Indeed, to hear the Spectator tell it, there was a grand plan to use the Foley story, which was moved up to accommodate the changing political landscape.

One of the stories going around Democrat Party circles is that party operatives like Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and American Family Voices weren’t quite ready for primetime with the opposition research materials they had gathered for the 2006 election cycle.

According to one political consultant with ties to the DNC and other party organizations, “I’m hearing the Foley story wasn’t supposed to drop until about ten days out of the election. It was supposed the coup de grace, not the first shot.”

So why the rush? According to another DNC operative: bad polling numbers across the country…. So how to remedy? “You pull out the bright shiny things that distract the average American voter away from the issues we all know they care about — national security, anti-terrorism — and focus on the ugly: Foley and Iraq.”

The piece claims to cite a Democratic consultant, a DNC “operative,” and a House Democratic leadership aide, all of whom are anonymous, and coincidentally, all of whom use far-right talking points while speaking to a reporter for a far-right magazine. Amazing, isn’t it?

Indeed, the right-wing noise machine crafted a fictional defense for the Foley scandal a week ago, based on the notion that the entire defense is a Dem plot. Then, wouldn’t you know it, three Dem insiders, who have no incentive to make the party look bad a month before the election, magically come forward to tell The American Spectator that all of the right’s fears are absolutely true. How terribly impressive.

Does anyone, anywhere, seriously believe this story?

First, we already know Dems weren’t behind the story. ABC and The Hill both reported the Foley scoop came from Republican sources, and follow-up reports confirm the earlier reports. It’s probably time for the right to give up on the conspiracy theory. Frankly, I’m surprised anyone would think Dems are cunning enough to pull off this kind of stunt anyway.

Second, if Dem insiders had knowledge of some kind of secret plot that confirmed the right-wing dream scenario, why in the world would they share it — complete with far-right talking points — with The American Spectator?

And third, let’s not forget that we are talking about The American Spectator, which has less credibility on Democratic plots than Donald Rumsfeld does on the war in Iraq. This is, after all, the same magazine that smeared Anita Hill in 1992 with a piece its writer later admitted was fabricated, and smeared Bill Clinton with the trumped up “Troopergate” scandal that has been completely discredited.

Two weeks into the Foley scandal, this is the best the right came come up with, a transparently ridiculous story in a magazine even leading conservatives describe as “dead.”

Sure, Spectator, Dems were behind the whole thing. Sure they were.

Yup – This is what NC Rep Patrick McHenry has been dreaming of.

  • Ummmm… actually, the story appears a bit more complex than we’ve all thought it was. While after reading this article in today’s Washington Post I would still say the right wing’s conspiracy theory is the usual rightie crock of shit, there is enough here that these desperate shitheads will try to make more of it than is there. But there’s “enough” for them to make the attempt and for some folks to end up believing them. Turns out, a Democrat was involved. Perhaps more than one. But it was no “October surprise.”

    Read more here (forewarned is forearmed):

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001379.html

  • “Does anyone, anywhere, seriously believe this story?”

    Well sadly, yes. However, that matters not. The plan is for the GOP media apparatus to scream this message as loudly as possible as much as possible. They need to “catapult the propaganda.” No need to listen to the truth when there is a din of acrid partisan rhetoric drowning out everything else.

    I’m only surprised this didn’t end up being Clinton’s fault. After all he did set the precident for a sexual free-for-all in Washington.

    Wankers wankers wankers!

  • The Democratic party has finally found its Karl Rove– someone whose dirty tricks wreak havoc among Republicans and leave not a trace of a Democratic fingerprint. The name of this manipulator? Dennis Hastert.

  • I think this “blame the Dems for everything” is starting to wear on everyone – the polls seem to indicate that…so keep fingers crossed. McCain was on morning shows blaming Pres. Clinton for North Korea, we have heard the R’s blaming Clinton for 9/11, now Dems are blamed for Foley. After 5 yrs in the White House, control of Congress: at what point do their actions or non-actions come into play. Lame. so lame. And so funny that the best they can come up with is “yea, but what about the Dems?” Nice to know those is charge are so mature and brilliant scholars.

  • “The Republican leadership is lying when they claim that Democrats have engineered an ‘October Surprise’; there was never a plan undermine the G.O.P. or to destroy Hastert personally, as the speaker has vaingloriously suggested. I know this with absolute certainty because Harper’s was offered the story almost five months ago and decided, after much debate, not to run it here on Washington Babylon.” (Harper’s)

    Read more:

    http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001772.php

  • There’s nary a more pathetic sight than a Republicans facing loss…

    Another example: Here in Ohio, Mike DeWine ran an ad… and the DOD is investigating whether he put a soldier at risk by doing so….

  • My reaction to this whole thing is: So what? Are the Dems not supposed to use political ammunition before an election? Only the Repubs can do that? And when they do it it’s legitimate? Even if the revelation of the scandalous stuff was timed for political advantage, does that change the substance of Foleygate? They’re just trying to change the subject and use a potential October surprise as their own October surprise. Push back Dems!

  • Let’s just take the AS at its word and assume its true that the dems leaked this story about Foley so what. But really would it be any different than repukes telling the american people if you vote for dems you and your family will be killed by terrorist.

    To bad that the right wing can’t get their stories straight first the dems don’t have any ideas then their smart enough to plot the Foley scandal.

    I was just listening to McCain bashing Bill Clinton again for trying to do the right thing with N Korea and talking directly with them. Seems to me that one of theirs Richard Nixon stepped outside the lines and went to China to talk to them and seems pretty far out at the time but not when we look back it was a turning point in our relationship with China. Up to now I had alot of respect for McCain but everyday that he preaches to the right-wing wackos he losses my respect. So now you can put me in the anyone but McCain catagory.

    One thing that I would like to mention here is any blockade of N. Korea is an act of war according to international law.

  • the barely-breathing magazine — or, more accurately, its blog — “reported” yesterday that it had learned from Democratic sources that the entire Mark Foley scandal was orchestrated by Democrats as some kind of “October surprise.”

    hah! *in an Edna Krabapple voice* like the Democratic party can orchestrate /anything/.

  • Attack, attack, attack.
    SOUR grapes from a bunch of sorehead, angry, Republican LOSERS.

    Repeat, repeat, repeat.

  • Paula Jones, The American Spectator, trailor trash: such ugly conjurings!

    Any media outlet that allows anyone to talk about anything other than what this sordid affair is about is doing a disservice to America. This putrid circumstance involved a man of power preying on underlings in a most insidious way for what now seems to be years while other powerful men ignored the travesty, and now Americans of all ilks want someone to step up and take responsibility for such ugliness. I want to hear from the American Spectator what its editorial board thinks of man on youth indiscretions. Does it condemn it, or does it defend it by lashing out at its adversaries for political gain? What about all others on this matter? Newt Gringrich? Rush Limbaugh? President Bush? What about the men who could have done something, but didn’t for a period of extended time? Any comments of condemnation?

    Vote the Rascals Out in ’06 and ’08! -Kevo

  • The story is what the Republicans, who were responsible for BOTH Congress and their own caucus, knew about Mark Foley, when they knew it and what they did or did not do about it. That’s the story…period. This is a Republican story through and through.

  • I agree with previous commenters: so what? “Politics ain’t beanbag” was invented by a Democrat. Effective timing (I’d like to assume that’s the case, not mere blundering) shouldn’t be the exclusive prerogative of Rove and the GOP. Take the gloves off — find still more “surprises” to spring on the damn bastards. Put them on the defensive whenever possible, and quit being so damn nice.

  • Y’know what? Democrat, Republican, whatever, I don’t care about ‘October surprises’… If you don’t want an October Surprise, then don’t be doing bad things that can be found out and reported!

    And, c’mon. So, when some reporters found out that a congressman was preying on pages, they should have held it until after the election? That defies belief…

    And, in this case, there is the ultimate truth that, even by Hastert’s own admission, he knew of this a year ago (probably much longer, but at least he has admitted to this much). This means that the Republicans could have blown this out of the water last year, and not have to worry about an October Surprise.

  • “My reaction to this whole thing is: So what? Are the Dems not supposed to use political ammunition before an election? Only the Repubs can do that? And when they do it it’s legitimate? Even if the revelation of the scandalous stuff was timed for political advantage, does that change the substance of Foleygate? They’re just trying to change the subject and use a potential October surprise as their own October surprise. Push back Dems!” – Smiley

    My reaction would be: “So what? You knew about Foley and did nothing. We found out about his emails, offered them to the FBI and they did nothing, so we investigated, found out about the Sext Messages, and released them at a time that would ensure he resigned. He resigned when ABC confronted him, not because Rep Reynolds told him to. We protected American children from a sexual predator when there was every indication that Coach Hastert had no intention of doing so himself.

    And you blame us for that?”

    “you don’t want an October Surprise, then don’t be doing bad things that can be found out and reported!” – Castor Troy

    Nah! To obvious.

  • Here’s my favorite fake quote from the piece.

    “You pull out the bright shiny things that distract the average American voter away from the issues we all know they care about — national security, anti-terrorism — and focus on the ugly: Foley and Iraq.”

    We’re really supposed to believe that a DNC operative said that? Please. If you’re going to make up a quote, at least try to make it more believable.

  • Who will believe this crap from The American Spectator? Only those who are looking for a second round of kool-aid (probably 10 to 20 percent of the population). Desperation is definitely in the air.

  • Sigh. They likely believe all this crap.

    Of course if it was true that the Democrats time the “release” though not the events, then Republicans would have just been getting a does of their own medicine.

  • Of course, they completely ignore the fact that Foley is a pedophile who preyed on Congressional pages, and Republican leaders knew about but didn’t care because they had a majority to protect.

    And come on, the poll numbers weren’t that bad that the DNC would have to pull the trigger so far from election day. Anyway you look at the news hasn’t been good for Republicans without the Foley scandal. 34 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq in October (so far). That war is breeding more terrorists and making the U.S. less safe. North Korea conducts a nuclear weapons tests. Then there’s the White House-Abramhoff meetings. All that was going to propel Republicans to a victory?

    But if it was a dirty trick, so what? It’s about damn time Democrats learned how to hit back against the dirtiest, sleaziest group of wet shits in politics. If it turns out Democrats were behind this whole smear campaign, I won’t be complaining.

  • Change the subject, change the subject! La la la I can’t heeeeaar yoooooou!

    And by the way, ignore that amusing game of hot-potato the GOP played when this story first broke. In fact, just ignore anything negative about the GOP that you might hear any where, even if it comes directly from the GOP. We’ll get back to you with the truth as soon as we make some new tin foil hats.

    tAiO – Channelling the Editors of the American Speculum (probing the arse end of the political spectrum.)

  • Yep. The october suprise meme was featured yesterday on Limbaugh.

    But according to Limbaugh, the Dems were planning on launching the Oct suprise 10 days before the election for max effect.

    The problem however was that the Ds panicked in the face of surging public opinion for Bush and the Rs. Fearing the R wave and losses in the midterms, the D’s released the suprise early in desperation.

    Fortunately, reassured Limbaugh his uneasy listeners, it will all backfire against the Ds, the real truth will emerge and victory will be ours …blah, blah, blah.

    One panicked caller urged Limbaugh to go on Meet the Press and straighten out Russert and the rest of Country. Course he won’t because he’s full of s*&^%t and is a coward to boot.

    • Comments are closed.