The NY Times covers Republican tactics in the latest fight over S-Chip.
So when Democrats enlisted 12-year-old Graeme Frost, who along with a younger sister relied on the program for treatment of severe brain injuries suffered in a car crash, to give the response to Mr. Bush’s weekly radio address on Sept. 29, Republican opponents quickly accused them of exploiting the boy to score political points.
Then, they wasted little time in going after him to score their own.
In recent days, Graeme and his family have been attacked by conservative bloggers and other critics of the Democrats’ plan to expand the insurance program, known as S-chip. They scrutinized the family’s income and assets - even alleged the counters in their kitchen to be granite - and declared that the Frosts did not seem needy enough for government benefits...
As for accusations that bloggers were unfairly attacking a 12-year-old,
Ms. Malkin wrote on her blog, “If you don’t want questions, don’t foist
these children onto the public stage.”
Use of children, as part of a non-violent movement, can be a legitimate tactic when you’re fighting for those children’s interests. The civil rights movement certainly did it, not just at Little Rock but also in marches in Birmingham which were met with a brutal crackdown (due disclosure interestingly Malcolm X was critical, so not everyone does buy this argument). Counter argument against a movement that uses children is also certainly legitimate, but it does force opponents to decide whether or not to go after the children or to stick with attacking the adults or, in an ideal world, the actual arguments. It’s also reasonable to complain about the tactic if you think it is being
misused or overused. However, given many examples of recent behavior by Malkin and her allies, its no surprise that many on the hard right went rhetorically and creepily after the kid (but not violently, unlike the responses to the civil rights movement).
But do Republicans use these tactics? What happens when they do? Ezra Klein has the answer.
Anyone remember Ashley’s Story?... And here’s another question: Does anyone remember DailyKos launching a feeding frenzy trying to smear or discredit Ashley? Anyone hear of Markos Moulitsas camping out outside her house to see if Ashley was really grieving?... Or did the Left raise some questions about the political appropriateness of the ad without trying to destroy the family’s name and reputation?
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