When Matt Drudge brought up the claim that John Kerry had an affair with an intern, the mainstream media ignored it. Joe Conason, who dredged up the charges adultery charges against the first President Bush in 1992, recently wrote:
Is American politics suddenly returning to the bad old days, when Washington journalism became frenzied with sheet sniffing and keyhole peeping?
It will if Larry Flynt has anything to do with it.
The Hustler publisher and former candidate for governor of California is claiming he has proof President Bush paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in the ‘70s. Flynt says the evidence will be published by Kensington Press sometime this summer. He claims he is still unsure if he will expose the woman’s identity:
"I've talked to the woman's friends," Flynt said. "I've tracked down the doctor who did the abortion, I tracked down the Bush people who arranged for the abortion," Flynt said. "I got the story nailed."
This comes on the heels of the techno musician and Kerry supporter Moby’s suggestion that it’s possible to seed doubt among Bush's” far-right supporters on the Web”:
"You target his natural constituencies," says the Grammy-nominated techno-wizard. "For example, you can go on all the pro-life chat rooms and say you're an outraged right-wing voter and that you know that George Bush drove an ex-girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her to get an abortion.
Will the press ignore this unsubstantiated smear campaign the way they did Kerry’s intern story? Or will they apply a double standard when the accusations are against the President? We'll soon find out as this story will put them to the test.
1
Oh Lord...
I hope that's not true. That could turn out to be mighty nasty.
But we (Christians, not the media) have to keep in mind that he was a wild child back in the '70's and most likely wouldn't make the same decisions now.
You watch - the media will get hold of this and run with it, because Bush is their whipping boy.
posted on 02.18.2004 5:53 PM2
I'm sure Moby's comments are a coincidence. Just like MTV's promise of "shocking moments" prior to Janet's (sorry... Miss Jackson's) halftime performance.
posted on 02.18.2004 8:02 PM3
Are you listening to yourself? Why do you take these people seriously?
Larry Flynt's job is to be provocative. He planned to run private photos of Jessica Lynch (but backed down); early in his career he ran peeping-tom photos of Jackie Onassis; he got sued (and won) in a famous free-speech case after running a cartoon of Jerry Falwell losing his virginity to his (Jerry's) mother in an outhouse (and no one deserved it more). This is not mainstream stuff; nobody thinks he's a respectable social commentator. Hint: People don't read Hustler for the political news (they read Playboy for that).
As for Moby, do you think maybe you're getting a little too wrapped up in the election when you find yourself fulminating against a "techno musician and Kerry supporter"?
Relax. It's just a big game. These are the wacky guys in the stands wearing orange wigs and beating huge bass drums. Keep your eyes on the ball.
[Re: Bush - I don't know that it matters that much even if the story is true. His opponents won't vote for him because he's pro-choice-by-convenience; likewise, his supporters won't like it but probably won't turn away. If he was pro-choice and changed his mind (I don't think that's the case), it neither helps nor hurts. If he was anti-choice but encouraged abortion when his own interests were on the line (anecdotally, very common among "pro-lifers"), that would merely be another example of his self-indulgent hypocrisy. That again would neither prove anything we didn't already know, nor change the opinions of those who either are or aren't willing to accomodate that tendency. I think, actually, that everyone already knows everything they need to know about Bush as a person and about his policies generally; the fluctuation in poll numbers is not on these issues but in response to specific external events either good or bad. I doubt there is much of anything - other than his actual renunciation of Christianity - that could change his supporters' or opponents' basic beliefs about him anymore.]
posted on 02.18.2004 8:53 PM4
As I wrote on my own blog:
Pro-life evangelical Christians, the core group whom Flynt and Moby are trying to keep at home, can sometimes be legalistic and harshly judgemental (and I'm speaking as one), but if there's one thing we understand, it's repentance and forgiveness. We're the ones who took in Jane Roe. We can certainly forgive the President.
What do I think? If there's any truth to the rumors, any at all, then the best thing for President Bush to do is go public, confess his mistakes, and ask for forgiveness. I think his testimony would not only be good for him, but also would benefit the pro-life movement. And if there's nothing to the rumors? Well, then Bush doesn't have to do anything at all. Even the press isn't buying this one.
posted on 02.18.2004 9:51 PM5
Even if they find proof of such a thing, it means nothing. Evangelicals (and fundamentalists) understand the concept of repentance, even if the media and the left doesn't.
Bush will not lose any pro-life votes (if it turns out to be true), though he could lose some pro-choice vots, because I am sure he could denounce what he did. That may steam some of his pro-choice supporters.
This kind of revelation will be difficult for liberals, though, because they can't admit ever being wrong.
posted on 02.19.2004 11:38 AM6
"Are you listening to yourself? Why do you take these people seriously?"
Look, Flynt is a filth-peddler but he's been proven correct about the following:
1) Bob Livingston cheating on his wife ,
2) Bob Barr's secret abortion
3) Dan Burton's out-of-wedlock child
4) Henry Hyde breaking up his mistress's marriage
5) Newt Gingrich's secret girlfriend
Flynt's book is supposedly coming out this summer. If this is true then it has to be nipped in the bud beforehand. If not then fight it with gusto.
posted on 02.21.2004 7:51 AM