Jeffrey Feldman knows how to fight the right-wing smear machine.If Democrats don't wake up, we might as well kiss 2008 goodbye!
If you think that Jim Webb would be a Senator today if his team hadn't been prepared for right-wing smears from the Allen campaign, you should spend the next 2 years in Disney World where living in fantasy doesn't have apocalyptic ramifications.
Here's some of the ammo a DNC Task Force of Right-Wing Smears could have supplied the Edwards campaign.
Bill Donohue's Claims of "Anti-Catholicism" are False: There is no organized or disorganized oppression by "secularists" of religious people in the United States. Period. Religious participation in the United States is on the rise, more and more people on a regular basis are enjoying religious freedom. No matter how many out-of-context quotes people like William Donohue pull up, the idea that Americans are being denied their civil right to practice religion in America is patently false.
Donohue Leading Voice in Ongoing "War on Christmas" Smear: Bill Donohue has worked for years to convince the American public that Christmas is under assault by "secular liberals," arguing among other things that the availability of Christmas themed consumer items in a supermarket is a civil rights issue. His efforts have been amplified by Republican strategists working with media outlets to create the false impression that Democrats contribute to the oppression of a Christian majority by enforcing the will of a non-Christian (often a euphemism for "Jewish) minority.Candidates Should Fight Donohue by Reframing Debate on Legal/Electoral Issues: Candidates should not follow Donohue's lead by discussion or defending themselves from false accusations of "anti-religion" or "anti-Catholicism," but should instead reframe the debate to focus on the legality of Donohue's attacks and the danger Republican smear post to free and fair debate in U.S. elections.
Donohue's Attack Mimics Rhetoric of Henry Ford's 1920s Anti-Semitism: While Donohue is not explicitly arguing against Jews in his attack on Edwards, his style of argument is a virtual replication of Henry Ford's rhetoric in the 1920s series of editorials The International Jew. In that work, Ford laid the foundation for a political argument claiming oppression of a Christian American majority by a non-Christian minority. Many of Donohue's claims about Hollywood and liberals are virtually cut-and-pasted from Ford.
Candidates Should Defend Campaigns on Air, Refuse to Be Intimidated: The best way for candidates to defend against this attack would be a combined effort from all campaigns--first Edwards, then all other candidates--to defend the hiring of campaign staff, and then boldly refuse to be intimidated by Republican smear campaigns. In addition, all candidates must make use of their campaign networks to show that Donohue's smear campaign does not speak for Catholics, Christians or otherwise religious Americans. This is critical.
State and National Bloggers Ready to Coordinate Democratic Response: Bloggers familiar with Donohue's work and with the broader Republican effort to smear Democrats as "anti-Religious" are ready to work with all Democratic candidates on this issue. The TFRS will coordinate contacts and facilitate this united effort.
Instead, Edwards was left alone to face public opinion as the lapdog media bought in to the right wing smear factory, led all the way by the right-wing propagandists at Fox news.
These people own the media, and they don't play fair. Either fight back, or America loses.
C'mon Democrats... Wise UP!!!
Please.