GOP operative behind Murtha smear campaign

[sabra]

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/11/goper_has_fun_a.html#more

GOPer has 'fun' at Murtha's expense

<snip>

Bill Pascoe, a Republican consultant from Chicago who has worked for a variety of Republican candidates, proudly acknowledged Thursday that he's the man behind the e-mails and a web site sent around the capital in recent days attacking the ethics of Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.), who was up for the House Majority Leader post. Murtha lost Thursday to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Pascoe--who in 2004 worked for Republican Senate candidates Jack Ryan and his replacement Alan Keyes--helped develop the site, www.youdontknowjack.org, earlier this year while working for Murtha's Republican challenger Diane Irey.

It was the campaign's official "attack site," Pascoe said, and included numerous articles critical of Murtha, including stories discussing the role he played in the 1970s Abscam scandal and an over-the-web video of an Abscam surveillance tape.

During the campaign, the site didn't get much attention. When Irey lost, though, Pascoe decided to revive it after Murtha's named got bandied about for a leadership job.

I said, 'OK, I'm going to have some fun,'" Pascoe said.

He bought the web site from the Irey campaign, tweaked it a little bit and on Wednesday began e-mailing the site to chiefs of staff, legislative directors and press secretaries of Democratic House members, as well as 125 members of the national media, radio talk show hosts and bloggers.

This time, the site created quite the stir. Speculation ran wild that the site was created by Democrats opposed to Murtha. Others correctly guessed it was Republican operatives. The link to Pascoe wasn't that hard to find. At the bottom of his e-mail was the Chicago address of the political consulting firm he helps head.

[City Lights]

1. Democrats can return the favor with mccain and the Keating Five

scandal.

[Tellurian]

3. And the CREW advocates..

send them packing!

[blm]

8. Except the corpmedia won't run antiMcCain stuff like it does antiMurtha, antiDean

and antiKerry propaganda.

They target certain Democrats who aren't part of the coverup wing of the Democratic party.

[Old and In the Way]

11. Character assassinations are a Republican specialty.

Think how they'd have taken down JFK, RFK, and MLK if they had the media machine in place 40 years ago. Much cleaner, no messy commissions to deal with.

[blm]

12. Absolutely. This is a much cleaner way for them to do it, too.

And in some ways the cruelty rubs off on the other Dems they coopt to complete the undermining of their targets. Thus the shunning of McGovern for years.

And besides, this way they have no 'martyr-effect' to deal with afterwards.

[Selatius]

2. This is like how Repubs jam up Democratic primaries

Get in the game and jam it up so the guy you don't want to win loses.

[Sensitivity]

4. Shame on us for letting them destroy each of our leaders who dares be too bold

They may smear, but WE BUY IT AND ACT ACCORDINGLY.

[Supersedeas]

5. this is the REAL Republican Party in action

[Nikki Stone1]

6. kick and recommend

:kick:

[grizmaster]

7. more smear from the smearing smearers

[Bandit]

9. Republicans think it is "fun" to try and destroy people..

How they get any votes at all amazes me but then again a lot of Americans are pretty cruel people who love violence and confrontation..

[The Wielding Truth]

10. This is why we must keep shouting the truth! Rep lies must be silenced.