Florida 2000 recount protester
On Friday a piece from Roger Stone came out which claimed that the Koch Brothers had offered $100 Million if Mitt Romney were to pick Paul Ryan as his running mate. Huge story, very bad implications for the Romney campaign. Of course, some political sources immediately jumped on the story, crying foul and blasting the campaign for such a scheme.
Unfortunately, the facts do not weigh in Roger Stones favor.
While it is known that the Koch family does have an estate in the Hampton’s, and have held a fundraiser there over the July 6th weekend, as reported widely at that time, the Stone report instead says that they struck the deal at a fundraiser on July 22nd, at the same estate.
The problem comes with the knowledge that Romney was nowhere near the Hamptons at the time of the deal, instead fundraising in San Francisco at the time. An off place to hold a fundraiser, considering that the state party is effectively dead and that the community frowns upon his anti-homosexual rhetoric. However, it does have one thing going for it:
It is as far away from the Hampton’s as possible.
So, why, one must ask, would this story come out? Is it someone deceiving Mr. Stone? Was he fed bad information? Before you answer, think on who Roger Stone is for a moment. He is part of a cabal of dirty tricksters working for the Republican Party. He has been at the root of dozens of dirty tricks, from the planting of fake donations to political adversaries for Nixon during the Watergate scandal to being an “outraged voter” who managed to physically stop the Florida recount back in 2000. He was even tied to the 2004 National Guard papers story which cost Dan Rather his job.
And then the picture comes into focus. If a political strategist were to plan on a way to take the heat off of the Romney tax record, and the Ryan plan to kill medicare, they would have to discredit those accusing them first. By planting a story, custom designed to fuel the common refrain from the Democrats by exploiting the Koch brothers, the Hamptons upper class, and SuperPAC bribery all at once, and then discrediting it when the time was right handily, they could destroy the entire Democratic parties credibility at once. And who would be better to plant that story than the master of dirty tricks himself, Roger Stone?
They gambled on the hopes that those on the left would recall the Koch Brothers fundraiser in the Hamptons at the beginning of July to make them jump at the bait. And some did, indeed, bite. However, the story is too perfect, too ideal, and ultimately, as phoney as Milli Vanilli’s first album.
With the misfiring of their last attack earlier this week, the Republicans are reaching back into their history, and are digging out the worst of the worst to try to salvage what has become an unmitigated disaster for the party. And that indicates how desperate they have become.
