Trailing G.O.P. With Cameras, Seeking Gaffes

[cali]

Doug Mills/The New York Times



AMHERST, N.H. — Aaron Fielding quietly stalks his prey — Republicans — with his video camera, patiently waiting for a political moment worthy of YouTube.

At 27, he is a full-time “tracker” for American Bridge 21st Century, a new Democratic organization that aims to record every handshake, every utterance by Republican candidates in 2011 and 2012, looking for gotcha moments that could derail political ambitions or provide fodder for television advertisements by liberal groups next year.

The organization has hired a dozen professional trackers like Mr. Fielding, outfitted them with the latest high-tech cameras and computers and positioned them in key states where Republican candidates are busy chattering away to voters. If all works as planned, incriminating moments captured by American Bridge will quickly become part of the political bloodstream.

Combined with a team of 20 researchers in a Washington “war room” that has a large rack of computer servers, the effort is part of a push by Democratic groups to bolster their opposition research. Republicans also have trackers, but so far have not assembled the kind of centralized video archive of political caught-on-tape moments that their rivals envision.


<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/us/politics/09trackers.html?_r=2&hp

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. People at random should wiretap the GOPers everywhere and report their doings online

I think that might provide us with a whole new look into the MFs.

[lob1]

2. Good news. This is long overdue.

[msongs]

3. perhaps, as long as they are true observers and not instegators nt

[Arkana]

4. He sounds like a Democratic Breitbart or O'Keefe to me.

[underpants]

5. George Allen would have probably been the GOP POTUS nominee but for 100 seconds on youtube

"Senator Macacawitz" as he became known around here after that

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

6. sweet jebus, I am glad they are doing this, but really

can't they just use the actual responses on the cable news shows, such as when, last week, Rev Al subbed for Cenk (I believe) and some repub congressman was going on about how billionaires (not millionaire, but billionaires) should not have their taxes raised.

[lunatica]

7. As long as they don't set anyone up or manipulate the situation

this seems OK. But the urge to control the situation might be too great for some.

Of course, this is politics, so the dirtier the better I guess.