Chain Email Smears And The Success Of Obama's Rapid Response

laflIn our high-tech world, John McCain fears going online but some of his supporters have no trouble writing vicious smear emails and sending them to everyone they know, creating the chain-effect. It was supposed to be a below the radar tactic that riled up people's irrational fears of Muslims. When it wasn't effective enough, they added that Obama could be the anti-Christ. It is an absurd idea, but this is America and people will believe a lot of stupid shit.

Normally this would be allowed to go on and while Democrats were aware of such smears, they wouldn't do anything about it ('staying above it all' mentality) and yet the garbage emanating from the GOP hacks still stunk things up. Now I though that this pattern of immobility would continue this year while the attacks worsened in their frequency and 'quality,' especially with a black man as the Presidential nominee. I treated the rapid-response team with skepticism, wondering if anything could put the spine back in our party.

Well my doubts have been beaten out of me with the help of a couple stories in the press that have shown the growing toxicity of these malicious emails. In South Carolina Mayor Funderbunk of Fort Hill has been chastised for sending along the chain email. Today we found out that Dutchess County's GOP Chair Corinne Weber resigned her post after it was exposed that she too took part in spreading hate-filled lies about Obama. No longer are these GOP officials allowed to conduct themselves like this without scrutiny.

These are two examples that show people are not going to get away with this ridiculous political, racist and obscene hackery. Not only do these stories make Republicans hesitate before pressing the send button but it provides ample opportunity for people to learn that the email is pure garbage, before they even get it in their inbox from one of their McCain-supporting family and friends.

Smear emails like purporting that Obama is the anti-Christ thrives on getting around in the shadows. When we shine light on it like the rapid-response of the campaign has done, the effectiveness of the tactic disappears

Obama Is Ready For The Right Wing Smear Machine

Don't expect the Obama campaign to be anything like John Kerry's general election bid from four years ago. Gone are the days where it takes weeks or months for the Democratic nominee to respond to myriad attacks from the right. Gone are the times where we do not stand up for the principles we believe in. Gone are the ways that Republicans can win through fear and manipulation. This year, our candidate is going a different route, he is fighting back and fighting hard. That is partly due to the creation of an anti-smear squad, because smearing is the only way Republicans can win.

From TPM:

Barack Obama's campaign is taking the various rumors about him very seriously, and have rolled out a new Web site specifically to combat them, FightTheSmears.com.

The final straw was the story that there was a tape of Michelle Obama making incendiary statements at Trinity United Church of Christ -- a story that appears to have been based on a political novel. Other phony rumors being addressed so far are that he is supposedly a Muslim, was educated in a madrassa, that his books contain racially offensive statements, and that he won't say the Pledge of Allegiance.

By November people will know who Barack Obama is not from false attacks, but from what they see and hear from Barack Obama and his prior accomplishments. As for John McCain, his record will show through whatever he tries to spin, either about himself or attacking Barack Obama.