The Republican party learned about overplaying hands when they went after Bill Clinton hammer and tongs by impeaching him. The voters became rather angry with that misguided bit of strategy and the Republicans paid a price for it at the polls. But some people never learn. The Washington Post details how the tactics of personal smear are being used by a number of local Democrats in the wake of the Foley scandal. There is a very real danger here, but the attacks are going on anyway.
In New Jersey, Democratic candidate Linda Stender this week sent voters a two-page brochure accusing Rep. Mike Ferguson (R) of improperly preying on young women in a fashionable D.C. nightclub. Stender, who is shown by polls to be within striking distance of Ferguson, said the Foley affair "opened the door to talk about the ethical challenge of my opponent." Ferguson has denied the allegations, and a spokeswoman last night called the attacks "pathetic and desperate."
Democratic candidate Chris Carney is running an ad accusing Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) of "repeatedly choking" and "attempting to strangle" a young mistress. Foley and Sherwood share "the arrogance of power," said Carney. "They're willing to cover up these types of things to retain power."
Sherwood has apologized for the affair but said in a television ad that the "allegation of abuse was never true."
Democratic candidate Kirsten Gillibrand is calling on GOP Rep. John E. Sweeney in Upstate New York to explain a drunken driving arrest 30 years ago and a more recent car accident. "Your decision to release any and all records related to your arrests and other incidents with law enforcement will send an important signal about your willingness to come clean with voters," Gillibrand said in a letter to Sweeney this week.
The Sweeney campaign has said that the details of both incidents are out in public and that the congressman has nothing to hide. The lawmaker fired back yesterday by calling on Gillibrand to release her tax records, suggesting that she has her own secrets.
"It is attack and distract," said Maureen Donovan, a spokeswoman for Sweeney.
All three races highlight a much broader Democratic campaign to politicize the Foley page scandal over the final four weeks of the campaign, Democratic candidates and strategists say.
Top Democratic officials believe "that anybody who had a personal vulnerability before this is totally [at risk] with the spotlight on scandal," said a Democratic aide familiar with the party's plan to take advantage of the Foley affair. "Frankly, it is a tough environment out there if you have a problem with the bottle or the zipper."
Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), said the effectiveness of the charges "often depends on what the person is accused of having done and their reputation and standing in the community — national climate has nothing to do with it."
The problems with this kind of campaign can outweigh the benefits. That was amply demonstrated in Brazil just a few weeks ago. The tendency to overplay hands has been all too common in the Democrat's strategies recently, but they continue to head down that road at every opportunity. If the local Republican candidates remain focused on local issues and refuse to rise to the bait to nationalize the elections, they can weather this election cycle. If the Democrats overplay too badly, they risk a backlash of positively biblical proportions. As I have said before, this is the dirtiest campaign season I have ever seen. It looks like it isn't improving as we come down to the end, either.
