Sunday, October 5, 2008

Darling's Desperation

Most political junkies have to have a certain level of skepticism. I've mentioned before that most politicians are more than willing to stretch the truth, carefully craft their words, embellish their own accomplishments, and exaggerate the flaws of their opponent. If one takes every politician literally, one would quickly either become insane from all the congruity, or become so sickened by it that they would just walk away from politics altogether.

I prefer to hold a level of cynicism, whether I like the politician or not. I feel that this is the only cognitive way to maintain whatever small influence I have on the world around me, without getting caught up in all the muck that goes with politics (for the most part anyway).

Sometimes, when a politician is feeling desperate, or if they're just slimy, they will go over the line in their exaggerations and embellishments. A fine example would be Palin's thinly veiled attempts to play on people's latent racism and fear in her attacks on Obama. Even though this strategy is used much too often, it does have inherent risks of creating a backlash against the person doing the smearing, and destroys any chance they might have once had.

All of the above is just to explain why I had to chuckle with the latest verbal scuffle between State Representative Sheldon Wasserman and Senator Alberta "Duffer" Darling. Darling has been having a tough time in this race as evidenced when she told us that her staff won't be outworked by Wasserman, going through fits of faux outrage and using fear and smear tactics.

Now we have another round of Darling having a snit fit. It started out when Wasserman sent out a campaign mailing claiming that he has held true to the "no new tax pledge." Darling hastily responded, claiming that Wasserman was lying. She didn't offer any incidents of when Wasserman was supposed to have voted for a tax, but only complained that he would consider a tax on cigarettes and wouldn't support such ill-conceived bills like TABOR.

The problem with Darling's argument is two-fold. One is that she offers no specific examples of a violation. The other is that she uses Charlie Sykes as her source of information. Using Sykes as a source of honest facts is like going to a vegan restaurant for a steak. You're only going to be disappointed. In fact, Charlie is so full of it, that I understand that there is even a blog dedicated to pointing out all of his lies and hypocrisies.

Wasserman responded with a press release of his own:
Alberta Darling can twist and stretch the truth all she wants, but the fact is that I have not voted for a single tax increase since I signed the pledge. What’s most disturbing about her latest attack is that she can’t get her facts straight. I signed the pledge in 2002, five years earlier than she gives me credit for.

And the first example she gives of how I supposedly broke the pledge is an example of her breaking the pledge. Although she calls it a tax “freeze,” 2007 AB 507 allowed taxes to go up. By voting for that bill, Alberta Darling broke the pledge.

She should know better. Voters are not going to be hoodwinked by her distortions and negative campaigning.

Not being one to quit while she's behind, Darling comes back with yet another press release. She also apparently doesn't understand the issue of using credible sources. This time she extensively cites Americans for Tax Reform. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? That is until you actually look at who runs that group. ATF was founded by Grover Norquist, who has ties to the NRA, Newt Gingrich and his Contract on America, Jack Abramoff, and who had a hand in drafting Bush's tax and economic policies. We all know how well those things, especially the economy, has worked out for us.

If Darling is going to go after Wasserman, she would be wise to use better and more respectable sources of information. But then again, perhaps she doesn't have any credible resources to build her self up or to tear Wasserman down.

Perhaps, Duffer Darling doesn't really want to win, and she is just going through the motions so that she can go to Florida on November 5th. I hear they have some pretty fine golfing venues down there that are open year round. Judging by her job performance, that may not be such a bad idea after all.

3 comments:

  1. Lemmeesee, heah, Bonzo:

    Calling Ayers a domestic terrorist is RACIST?

    OK.

    How about calling Ayers a M*F*?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have yet to see a lawn sign for Wasserman in Germantown, Meno Falls, or Mequon. Lots for Darling though.

    Wasserman is a tinhorn liberal in a conservative district. He will not be elected.

    germantown_kid

    ReplyDelete
  3. Daddio,

    You're not that obtuse. Stop acting like it. You know damn well what the link is about. And you can call Ayers anything you want, except capper.

    gk-

    Too bad for Darling that signs don't vote and the district is much bigger than your little part of it.

    ReplyDelete