The laughably anti-Semitic robocall* from “Washington Post reporter Bernie Bernstein” offering “$5,000 to $7,000” for stories about Roy Moore that would not be checked for legitimacy might seem like an incredibly stupid maneuver. The truth is it happens in every close election, and not just when Republicans are involved.
Every political aide and operative you talk to has a story similar to, though almost always less stupid than, the one above. You might recall the 2000 South Carolina primary, in which robocalls went out to likely GOP voters that John McCain had an illegitimate black child. The story was widely reported and blamed on Karl Rove, though his fingerprints were never found.
We only heard about that dirty trick in the aftermath of the election, not while the election was going on. I don’t know if this came out so quickly because of how hotly this race is being contested, or our linked-in social media landscape, but it has the potential to upend how dirty tricks are played in the future.
It’s been a feature of politics in the past decade or so that the person who reveals dirt faces as much danger for releasing the information as the target does — remember Chip Flowers trying to smear Velda when word of his problems with a woman came out? Dirty tricks have become boomerangs.
Ultimately this is bad news for the not-too-bright, which means Republican voters. Research has shown conservatives are more susceptible to believing lies. Which means that Jason’s idea of turning their tactics on them holds a good deal of promise.
*The idea of a newspaper relying on robocalls to reach sources is absurd. Newspapers aren’t going to waste 1.3 cents per call when their reporters can do it as part of their jobs at no extra cost.