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Left’s Pre-emptive Hits on Walker, Christie, & Perry
Townhall.com ^ | September 27, 2014 | Matt Batzel

Posted on 09/27/2014 10:35:45 AM PDT by Kaslin

Just this week, two seemingly unrelated events unfolded, but they actually reveal a new liberal tactic. The Hillary Clinton Front-Group, American Bridge, filed a bogus federal complaint against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and then a federal probe into New Jersey Governor Chris Christie found no evidence linking Christie to “Bridge-Gate.” Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry was indicted last month. Make no mistake, these events are related. Emerging is a new liberal tactic to gin up legal proceedings against conservatives and then use the media to amplify the investigations and make the officials look guilty. These attacks are part of a coordinated hit job on Republican Presidential Prospects to weaken them, while simultaneously smearing conservatives as untrustworthy criminals.

All three of the separate attacks on Walker, Christie, and Perry have too much in common to simply ignore as politics as usual. The Left’s tactic is simple: 1) find a friendly investigator or action to investigate; 2) highlight the worst of the accusations; and 3) watch the national media have a feeding frenzy. Let’s take a deeper look at each of these smears to see the common threads.

Governor Scott Walker currently is running his third campaign in four years and the Left is trying to take him out with a John Doe Investigation- Wisconsin’s version of a grand jury. But two judges (state and federal) have shut down the investigation and the partisan prosecutor has a personal vendetta against Walker (On Wednesday the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals undid the federal district court injunction because the state court had already stalled the investigation). The court’s rulings have not stopped the liberal group American Bridge from attacking. In February, American Bridge launched a website called JohnDoeWalker.com, devoted to exposing information about Walker. This week, the American Democracy Legal Fund asked the US Justice Department to investigate Walker over the passage of mining legislation as it relates to campaign contributions he received. The Left hopes they can defeat Walker this fall or severely wound him from 2016 contention.

In early January, the media reported that Governor Chris Christie's Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Kelly was involved in the planning of New Jersey toll lane closures. Rapidly, the Left sprung into action, accusing Christie of personal involvement in the scandal and then covering it up. An investigation was soon underway. According to Politico, the Democratic noise machine sought to “permanently cripple his [Christie’s] reputation as a likable and honest political maverick, kneecapping him as a 2016 competitor in the process” regardless of what the facts were. Polling showed damage to Christie’s reputation. But on Thursday, reports came out that the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation has found no evidence that he knew of the traffic lane closures in advance.

In August, a grand jury indicted Governor Rick Perry for alleged abuse of power. The issue was his threat to veto funding for a District Attorney’s unit unless the prosecutor stepped down. Again, the leftwing machine fanned the flames and the national media pounced, ignoring the circumstances and motives for the veto threat and indictment. Almost absent from reports was the fact that the motive for the veto was the hypocrisy of a DA running a Public Integrity Unit when she had been drunk driving at nearly three times the legal limit. The media also missed the biased nature of a grand jury member, the special prosecutor’s questionable past, and how this District Attorney’s office regularly targets conservative officials.

These three attacks are coordinated to convince the public that conservatives are corrupt criminals and are directed at popular Governors, who could decide to run for President in 2016. The Left understands that Governors often have an easier time running for President, partly because they are able to better control their brand.

The national media plays willing accomplice in the smears because they run with the most damaging headlines, without providing context. The media regularly trumpets pieces of information that look devastating and hardly mention the big picture when all the information comes out. In Walker’s case, after the prosecutors’ legal theory had been dismissed, they leaked documents to the press. The media then ran with headlines such as, “Walker part of Criminal Scheme.” Two weeks later when the prosecutor admitted Walker was not a target, there was barely a mention on the same websites and newscasts.

The Left is pre-emptively attacking these Governors to clear a path for a Liberal (Hillary Clinton?) in 2016. They have calculated that the easily distracted public will only remember headlines like “Perry Indicted” and “Walker, part of Criminal Scheme” in upcoming elections. Their goal is to make all conservatives appear as criminals and to hurt the Governors in the long-term. The media is missing how all of these attacks are part of a new tactic, meant to clear the way for the Left’s presidential nominee. Thankfully, the Left fails to understand that the public is smart enough to see through the lies.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: bridgegate; chrischristie; newjersey; rickperry; scottwalker; texas; wisconsin

1 posted on 09/27/2014 10:35:45 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

I’m not sure I agree with the last sentence.


2 posted on 09/27/2014 10:40:33 AM PDT by johniegrad
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To: Kaslin

Here in Arizona, the DNC commie ‘RATS are blaming “increased class sizes” on every Republican running for something. The Republicans aren’t responding at all so I guess they’ll be getting their clocks cleaned in November. The Republican running against Obama’s baggage handler, Ann Kirkpatrick, in my district appears to have “gone missing”. Haven’t heard a peep out of that guy. Same thing that happened in this district in 2012.


3 posted on 09/27/2014 10:45:39 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Stop flooding our schools with unaccompanied illegal aliens. Do it for the children!)
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To: Kaslin
No leftist hits on Romney or Jeb Bush. All the liberals are urging them to run and urging Republicans to support them.

Gee, I wonder why that is.

4 posted on 09/27/2014 10:46:01 AM PDT by detective
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To: Kaslin
new liberal tactic?

I'm not at all sure Scooter Libby or Tom Delay would think it's new this time around.

HF

5 posted on 09/27/2014 10:46:25 AM PDT by holden
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To: Kaslin

Interesting article. I had not considered these events related. Probably should have given previous races in other locales like Alaska.


6 posted on 09/27/2014 10:48:03 AM PDT by johniegrad
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To: Kaslin

Why would the left be afraid of Christie, Perry or Walker? One is a liberal doofus who would make Romney’s run look spectacular, one is a talker who thinks I am “heartless” and the other one has no real national following.


7 posted on 09/27/2014 10:58:09 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Not that I hold any love for Christie, especially, at all, but they need to get together and hold a joint press conference, and when the lapdog media starts asking questions, they should reply with a few choice quotes such as “What difference does it make?”, and other selected replies from the various hearings of criminals, in Congress.


8 posted on 09/27/2014 10:59:17 AM PDT by mrsmel (One Who Can See)
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To: Kaslin

Why not use this tactic? It worked on Palin, who had the Left in a panic.

Of course in stead of running to her defense, the RINOs folded like a cheap tent and even joined in the attack.

Expect to see more of this until the GOP finds a spine.


9 posted on 09/27/2014 11:11:11 AM PDT by RedMonqey ("Gun-free zones" equal "Target-rich environment.")
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To: RedMonqey

They don’t need a spine, they have no principles to defend. They only attack conservatives who might upset their gravy train.


10 posted on 09/27/2014 11:18:03 AM PDT by mrsmel (One Who Can See)
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To: Kaslin

I like Walker (he’s put his state in surplus by courageously challenging the liberal fascist union thugs)

Not so much perry (remember he’s the one who said anyone who doesn’t agree with in state tuition for illegals “doesn’t have a heart”)

And Chris Krusty the klown is a big fat phoney failure


11 posted on 09/27/2014 11:35:06 AM PDT by Cubs Fan (Where we're headed is worse than mere socialism http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-tyranny)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

FR nicks — the libelers have some.

Partisan Media Shills ping.


12 posted on 09/27/2014 11:51:10 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: GeronL
Why would the left be afraid of Christie, Perry or Walker? One is a liberal doofus who would make Romney’s run look spectacular, one is a talker who thinks I am “heartless” and the other one has no real national following.

Because they are flailing. The 'rat second tier isn't strong at all, and and all it could take is one stumble and fall on stage by Hillary and/or evidence that she gave MANPADs to terrorists and it will be all over. Who's next in line if Hillary can't run? Biden? Fauxcahontas?

13 posted on 09/27/2014 11:56:04 AM PDT by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
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To: johniegrad

I’m positive that I don’t agree with it. Otherwise, how did we wind up with the usurper in the White House not once, but twice?


14 posted on 09/27/2014 12:31:14 PM PDT by mrsmel (One Who Can See)
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To: Kaslin
It worked against Palin.

She never should have resigned because of this harassment.

15 posted on 09/27/2014 12:49:37 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
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To: Kaslin
The Democrats are taking the wrong approach.

They should attack the Conservative credentials of possible Republican nominees.

For instance, I will never vote for Christie.

He is center-left on every issue I care about.

I don't know much about Governor Perry, but my instincts say he would betray us on immigration if we elect him.

Governor Walker I know almost nothing about except that he stood up to the teacher's unions and some other state employees.

If the Democrat Party could make the case that none of these guys are bona fide Conservatives, that all of them are Democrat “lite,” I think that approach would work much better than digging up political dirt.

16 posted on 09/27/2014 3:04:52 PM PDT by zeestephen
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To: Kaslin

Not only are the Rats afraid, they’re absolute scu*bags.

IMHO


17 posted on 09/27/2014 3:04:56 PM PDT by ripley
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