So, there’s a fascinating article over on the Atlantic you ought to see. In Was Gary Hart Set Up? James Follows answers his own question with, yeah, probably.

You’ll recall that Gary Hart was a frontrunner for president in 1987. But, then, surprise! He was caught in what looked like an affair aboard the U.S.S. Monkey Business, and that was the end of Gary.

However, just before Republican operative Lee Atwater passed on, he made a kind of “deathbed confession” that he had actually sort of staged the whole affair…luring Hart into a classic Honey Trap and then making sure it was widely publicized. Atwater also apologized for the act…though, a little late now.

Okay, but, for me, there is more here than just one personal tragedy and the feeling that the country would have been a lot better served by a President Hart than a President Bush. Specifically, you wonder, why is it that this kind of tactic is so much the norm in Republican circles? (Can you say “Pizzagate?”)

The answer might well be that the Republican Party has become a sleaze machine, and that nothing it says or does or believes should be trusted.

So, when we all head to the polls next month, let’s keep in mind that any scandals that may attach themselves to Liberal candidates will almost certainly be the direct, linear heirs…

Of Monkey Business.

 

 

 

Posted in Blog and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,