Reply #9: You Missed One

[NashVegas]

Jerry Brown. Although a lot of liberals hate him now for going paternal, in 1992 Brown had a populist message and a $100 limit for campaign contributions.

As he was building a challenge to Bill Clinton, he got pounced on. First a new organization (I heard the tape on CNN) taped a conversation between their reporter and a phone bank where donations were made via credit card. The reporter kept hitting up the operator for ideas on how he could get around the $100 limit. He wouldn't take no for an answer and refused to give up. I can't remember if she eventually said something like 'there are ways but I can't tell you' or if she did give him a hint. But either way, they found a way to make Brown look bad.

Then there was the business where someone put together a smear job where a state trooper said he witnessed people using coke at parties at Brown's house back in the 1970s. Brown denied ever having witnessed such events. In a Nightline interview, Ted Koppel destroyed the credibility of the witnesses. Didn't matter, the script was written.