2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: If Bernie had any toxic secrets in his past, he would never have run. [View all]Armstead
(47,803 posts)what Nixon did to Hubert Humphrey.
I also remember mpore recently how the GOP contuinually refers to Obama as a "Saul Alinsky communist community organizer from the ghetto of Chicago." .....We all know how well that one has worked out. The wingnuts buy it, but most people roll their eyes.
The GOP crap usually works when their opposition either puffs themselves up, or tries to hide something or portray themselves as something they aren't.
Keyy's biog mistake (IMO) was in portraying himself as the Second Coming of George Patton instead of who he really is, which is a damn smart and decent liberal. So when the GOP threw the Swiftboat stuff at him, it made a dent.
I think Bernie will stand up to it for a simple reason. He makes no bones about who and what he is.
For example, Bernie has an illegitimate son. Now if he had hidden that son away and made secret payments to the mother or something that'd be a vulnerability. But he is a real father, and his son travels with him on his campaign. So it's not some deep dark secret they can drag out. And he'd probably respond "yeah. So what?" Which is what the average voter would say in this day and age.