Is the “Politics of Personal Destruction” Alive and Well in the U.S.A.?

They say that politics is a “full contact sport” and that if you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen, but is trying to ruin another person's reputation and life for partisan political purposes really acceptable, morally, in our society?  

The answer should be a resounding “NO”, as it is an abuse of the 1st Amendment of guaranteed free speech.  No, it is not against the law to “bad mouth” someone else (including a political opponent), but if what is said about that other person is false, demeaning, and personally damaging to that person's reputation and good name, it is morally wrong, that is, if we have any moral indignation left anymore.

This trashing of another person, especially in politics, seems to be practiced more by the liberal left than by the conservative right (just what the late radical author of “Rules for Radicals”, Saul Alinsky advocated).  Since the 1990's, the knives have been out and the “politics of personal destruction” has been in full force by the left in trying to shut down dissent on the part of people and candidates on the right.  It all started by the “verbal lynching” of the late jurist Robert Bork and, then, Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee.  In the Thomas case, some tawdry sexual allegations were presented by a former colleague to try to besmirch his reputation and thereby hoping to have him drop out of the confirmation process.  It did not work, he was confirmed, but the bogus charges are still brought up on occasion to discredit him and his decisions on the Supreme Court.  Besides Clarence Thomas, there has been a whole list of political opponents of the “right” who have come into their cross hairs and have been made part of the left's “politics of personal destruction”.  Here's a list of the other victims of this immoral practice of personal vilification.

• Newt Gingrich
• Herman Cain
• Allen West
• Chris Christie
• Sarah Palin
• Tom DeLay
• Rick Scott
• Dinesh D'Souza
• Rick Perry
• Scott Walker
• Mitt Romney  etc. etc.

The charges against all of the above were baseless or were exaggerations of policy disputes that were turned into personal attacks, using innuendo and untruths to damage the reputations of those people for partisan political gains.

In addition, look at how the “hated” IRS has been used by politicians (Democrats) to harass and hurt people and groups who were political opponents.  All this under the guise of an Administration that was supposed to be open and fair to all sectors of our society.  The word “transparent” was mentioned over and over again by Obama and his campaign flunky's.  It looks like the “modus operandi” of how politics is run in the City of Chicago has been attempted in Wash. D.C., with Obama at the helm leading the charge.

Since the Democrats are expected, as of now, to be big losers in the off-year elections this coming November, you'll probably see a ramping up of the “politics of personal destruction”, by the Democrats, to try to rev up their base and the “low information” voters, in an attempt to try to impugn the integrity of their opponents in order to garner votes (Saul Alinsky must be smiling in his grave?).  Let's hope their efforts fail.  Throw the rascals out this coming November.  VOTE!

Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann