Betsy Devine: Funny ha-ha and/or funny peculiar

Before the 1972 election, Nixon’s tricksters worked long and hard to shape the Democratic primaries. Bernstein and Woodward’s catalog of their dirty tricks shows how
Donald Segretti tried to knock down the Democrat front-runners–Muskie and Humphrey–with great success. Nixon wanted to run against McGovern. Once McGovern had the Democrats’ nomination, the Republicans rolled out their long-hidden big guns–remember the war cry “Acid, Abortion, and Amnesty”? McGovern, portrayed as a far-out radical, lost all but one state.

So doesn’t it seem strangely familiar–the way Republicans are suddenly ganging up to attack John Kerry? Both Kerry and Howard Dean have talked about a need for “regime change” in Washington. What else to you expect Democratic candidates to want? Republicans, however, are pulling out all the stops in denouncing Kerry–and only Kerry–for these remarks.

Check out these recent
comments aimed to hurt Kerry:

• Republican National Committee chair Marc Racicot: ‘Senator Kerry crossed a grave line when he dared to suggest the replacement of America’s commander in chief at a time when America is at war…this use of self-serving rhetoric, designed to further Senator Kerry’s political ambitions at a time when the lives of America’s sons and daughters are at stake, reflects a complete lack of judgment.”
• House Speaker Dennis Hastert: ”We are at a serious and somber point in this conflict, and unfortunately both American citizens and Iraqi citizens will lose their lives….What we need is for this nation to pull together, to support our troops, and to support our commander in chief.”
• House majority leader Tom DeLay: ”America before New Hampshire.”

I think the Republicans are dead wrong here, and not just morally wrong but stupid-wrong. They’re stupid because those good old Nixon-tricks can’t pass unnoticed by bloggers and their memes. They’re stupid because the counterfit coin of their flag-waving can’t match even one of Kerry’s Vietnam medals. They’re stupid because Dean won’t be easy to beat.

Dean is going to win in 2004, I’m going to work my butt off for him between now and then, and won’t it be great to see an honest guy in the White House for a change?