McCain alleged that ACORN “is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."
That allegation got a big boost last week when the Associated Press reported that the FBI is investigating whether “ACORN helped foster voter registration fraud around the nation before the presidential election.”
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This investigative report presents significant information on the strategic underpinnings of questionable political tactics at this late point in the campaign. But Parry also shows that this sad story is a present-day iteration of similar techniques used in earlier presidential campaigns. The combined effect is a chilling look at the ease with which the highest echelons of the US legal system can be--and have been--misused for purposes of electoral propaganda. This isn't as much a partisan concern as it is an alarming call for public scrutiny and critical analysis of campaign rhetoric, and a demand for accuracy in reporting.
However, the citation of an FBI investigation as a way of instilling doubt and spreading suspicions has been used before. Indeed, it’s becoming a well-worn page in the Republican playbook. Nearly identical rumors about federal investigations of ACORN were spread in 2004 and 2006, later becoming a factor in the scandal surrounding President George W. Bush’s firings of nine U.S. Attorneys because some refused to bring politically timed indictments of ACORN officials. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “GOP Exploits ACORN Probe.”] But the AP’s “FBI-is-investigating” leak has another historical precedent, during President George H.W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 1992, as Republican panicked over another young Democrat – in that case Bill Clinton – heading toward victory. As that election clock ticked down, George H.W. Bush’s operatives saw little hope for the President’s comeback if they couldn’t find some “silver bullet,” a Clinton scandal so vile that it would take the challenger out once and for all.
It is disheartening to note the similarities between “Dirty Tricks” campaigns in previous administrations and those being used today. The Constitution’s principle of checks and balances of power between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government also relies on an impartial and independent media as the “Fourth Estate” whose reporting is based on fact.
I fear that we have become a nation divided through rhetoric into squabbling partisan red and blue tribes with warring loyalties. When did "party" become more important than policy? Have we lose sight of the beliefs outlined in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? It's time to rethink blind partisanship and focus on the values that bring us together.