If You Can't Beat 'Em, Cheat 'Em Cont'd.

Rethug politicians have become infamous for their dirty tricks.  The art of smear politics was nurtured and perfected by the likes of Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, and a host of operatives from Nixon's Murray Chotiner to Reagan/Bush's Lee Atwater, Roger Stone and Karl Rove.  Now, we see the most recent example of smear politics in the race for the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina, pitting Dem Elizabeth Colbert Busch against transcontinental hiker and trespassing specialist Mark "Gaucho Mark" Sanford.

"Push polling" is a deceptive way of introducing false narratives to potential swing voters by asking questions that imply wrongdoing on the part of the opponent.  Via Think Progress, here are some examples of the push polling questions being asked by a shadowy right-wing outfit apparently supporting Gaucho Mark:

“What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?”
- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you a judge held her in contempt of court at her divorce proceedings?
- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if she had done jail time?”

Colbert-Busch had a stellar debate performance against a fumbling Gaucho Mark last Monday, and the polls are showing her with a lead six days before the election.  No wonder the Rethugs are pulling out all the stops to smear her and stop her progress.  Now that the story is out, let's hope it backfires big time against the hacks.