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The Democrat-Republican Suicide Pact

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Joe Klein: “In my book about the evils of political consulting, Politics Lost, I described one of the great descents in the history of negative advertising. The mad genius Pat Caddell was running Senator Alan Cranston’s 1986 re-election campaign in California. There was a problem: Focus groups showed that Californians didn’t like anything about Alan Cranston. Not a thing. Zilch. What to do? Cranston was running against a moderate Republican tech executive Ed Zschau. Little was known about the guy. He was a blank canvas and Caddell painted it black. All negative, all the time. Cranston the unloved won that race. And a slimy tactic was born.”

“We’ve seen many such races since. And we are likely to see another in 2024. Only this time the bar has been set even lower.”

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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