From the "Sauce for the Goose" Department:

I ran across a great article in the Rutland (VT) Herald for January 25. It appears the Democrats are finally learning to use the rethuglican's own dirty tricks against them.

The Rethuglicans, of course, are not taking it well.

GOP cries foul
Dems bring up Douglas quotes as 19-year-old
January 25, 2006

MONTPELIER — Vermont Republicans say they are outraged that a Democratic-leaning Web site has posted a Middlebury College newspaper article from 1970 in which a young James Douglas apparently questions the existence of segregation.

The author of the 35-year-old article in The Campus said Tuesday it was "nonsense" to assert that Douglas was a racist then or now. But Democrats continued to call on the governor to explain the article's statements, in which the then-president of the Vermont Young Republicans also expressed support for the Vietnam war and the bombing of Cambodia.

Gee, a pro-war, racist young Rethug, supporting the prototypical "Imperial Presidency". Who'da thunk it?

Republicans, from the governor to his spokesman to the chairman of the state GOP, said posting the article — and alerting the media to its existence — was an exercise in race-baiting and character assassination.

"Here's the bottom line: The Democratic leadership of Vermont are adopting a new policy of character assassination against their political opponents," said James Barnett, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party.

"We're talking about a truncated quote that is the polar opposite of anything the governor believes now or I suspect he believed then," Barnett said. "This was from a time when he was 19 years old, and it is being disseminated by a legislative leader of the Democratic Party."

Yup, exactly what Rove and his cronies do. Constantly. This is exactly what the Goopers have pulled countless times. Now that they're on the receiving end, though, it isn't so much fun, is it?

The article, written by Ted Hobson and called "Nixon's Man on Campus," said in part: "In relation to Vermonters, Douglas' conservative outlook might pass unnoticed, but on a college campus Douglas is somewhat of a political loner, defending Nixon's Supreme Court nominees … his segregation policies ('I'm not sure there is segregation'), Vietnamization ('a very admirable plan') and even the Cambodian invasion ('I personally would have liked a little more')."

Sure sounds like a rethuglican/budding neocon wingnut. No segregation? How frickin' stoopid can he be? (Don't answer that - as a Rethuglican, he can be dumb as dirt and still become Governor. Or preznit.)

Douglas, through his press secretary, said he did not recall Hobson interviewing him for the article, but unequivocally said he never held the belief that segregation didn't exist.

"The governor doesn't recall this article, but he's been very clear that he did not believe that then and he doesn't believe that now. He doesn't remember sitting down for the article," said Jason Gibbs, Douglas' press secretary. "This is a disappointing display of the politics of personal destruction, and there's no place for this kind of trash in Vermont."

"He doesn't remember sitting down..." Of course not. He stood the whole time. You have to really parse what Rethugs say... they're the world's greatest prevaricators. And I love the bit about "personal destruction"... the Rethugs do it all the time. Little different when you guys are on the receiving end, ain't it?

"At the very least the leadership of the Democratic Party would ask this guy to step down from his legislative leadership post, and frankly if he wants to spend all of his time doing dirty tricks and character assassination instead of the work of a legislator, he should step down," Barnett said.

Hell, if all the Rethuglicans who pulled this kind of shit were forced forced to step down, there wouldn't bee a single "R" in office anywhere in the U.S.

The episode is reminiscent of the flap caused during the 2004 gubernatorial election in which Barnett and Republicans released old newspaper clippings showing Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle marching in a parade celebrating the 10th anniversary of the communist overthrow of the Nicaraguan government. Clavelle was Douglas' Democratic opponent two years ago.

Of course it's reminiscent... it's the standard Gooper battle plan: find a quote from thirty years ago, and use it in a smear campaign.

"The governor spoke out loudly and clearly in that case," he said. "Those same individuals should be held to their same standards."

And so should the rethugs.

Old quotes being bandied about the Internets to smear some poor innocent Rethuglican.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA

IOKIYAR, my ass. How do you fuckin losers like it?

Asshole Republicans.