Lie, Cheat, Steal - It's the Republican Way (8/2/03)
by Dean Hartwell
The Republican Party’s attempt to recall Democratic Governor Davis of California is a shameless use of a political tool. But it certainly isn’t the first time in recent years that Republicans have circumvented the legal process.
Many people recall the Watergate scandal of 1972, when Republican President Nixon’s operatives broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters. But few know of other Nixon antics, including the planting of lies in the media about Democratic presidential candidates. For instance, Nixon’s team spread false rumors that Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson was a homosexual (See Almost America "The Impeachment of Nixon").
The next Republican elected president, Ronald Reagan, also cheated to win election. Fearful that Democratic President Jimmy Carter would rescue 52 United States hostages in Iran right before the election of 1980, Reagan made a deal with the Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s spiritual leader. He arranged for the release of the hostages after the election in exchange for his Administration’s sale of weapons.
Reagan campaign officials have denied this allegation, sometimes called the “October Surprise.” But John Anderson, an independent candidate in that election, told me that Iranians approached his campaign and made a similar offer, which he refused. Anderson also reported the offer to the Carter Administration, which had sole authority to conduct foreign policy. Yet the Carter Administration never received any such report from the Reagan camp. (See Reprise of the October Surprise by Richard H. Curtiss, May/June 1991). I find it hard to believe that the Iranians talked to a third party candidate but not the Republican.
Republicans have also shown that there are no holds barred in political campaigns. In 1988, candidate George H. W. Bush’s campaign frequently questioned the patriotism of his Democratic opponent, Michael Dukakis by attacking Dukakis’ veto of a bill that punished teachers who did not start the day with the Pledge of Allegiance. To scare voters, the Bush campaign also used pictures of a black man who raped a white woman while on furlough from Dukakis.
More recently, Republicans have used impeachment as a weapon against Democratic President Bill Clinton, whom they could not defeat at the ballot box. Clinton had had an affair with an intern, Monica Lewinsky and then lied about it at a deposition. Instead of a logical punishment, such as a congressional resolution condemning the president’s conduct, the Republicans insisted upon impeaching him for perjury and obstruction of justice. This decision mercifully backfired when the Senate voted to acquit him.
And, in the 2000 Presidential Election, George W. Bush’s campaign team stole the election. Led by Bush’s brother, Jeb, it ordered a private company to delete names of legitimately elected minority voters in Florida (most of whom vote Democratic). These voters would easily have made up the scant official difference between Bush and Democrat Al Gore (See GREG PALAST / Journalist who investigated the 2000 electoral fraud in the USA.)
Now it’s a recall attempt against California Democratic Governor Gray Davis. One would think that Davis committed some crime. But that’s not the case. Instead, the Republicans say that Davis lied about the extent of the budget deficit in the last campaign. The reality is that Davis used the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to come up with his budget prediction before the campaign. Later, the LAO increased its estimate shortly after the election.
Republicans have changed the course of history with their unethical and sometimes illegal actions. Now the voters in California have the chance to hold them accountable by voting NO on their latest shenanigan, the recall of Governor Davis.