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Say what?

Per usual, the South Carolina Republican primary promises to be nasty. Latest case in point is a bogus holiday card purportedly sent by Mitt Romney that brings to light some of the doctrines of the Mormons that some Christians might call heretical, while the rest of us would just call them delusional. Be that as it may, I got a kick out of this:

Such a mailing isn’t surprising for South Carolina politics, a state known for political mudslinging and backdoor maneuvering.

Those tactics backfire, said Warren Tompkins, a political consultant who ran George Bush’s 2000 campaign in South Carolina and now is Romney’s top consultant in the state. “Anything this outrageous and childish and nonsensical would have a significant fallout on whoever did it and on whose behalf it was done,” Tompkins said.

Wouldn’t that be the same Warren Tompkins who ran the campaign in South Carolina that anonymously smeared John McCain by spreading a rumour that he had fathered a black child? As Tompkins must know, that smear worked all too well. McCain’s substantial lead melted like snow on a warm spring day and Tompkins, with considerable help from the invisible hands of Karl Rove, gave us the gift of George Bush.

It’s great to see Republicans forming their own circular firing squad. One must wonder, however, why the reporter in this instance let Tompkins’ statement go unchallenged.

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