Thread by @kurteichenwald

1. The GOP - as it did in 1972 - is working hard to unethically - and in this case, illegally - manipulate Democrats into taking out the candidate that Republicans believe is the strongest.

So, a history lesson about the Canuck Letter, CREEP, Donald Segretti and Watergate...

2...now, before people start lashing out, this is not about whether Biden is the strongest candidate. I don't play that game of predicting who is and who isn't. It's about GOP mindsets.

In 1972, the GOP did not want to run against Muskie, who they feared was the strongest...

3...instead they wanted to run against McGovern, who they considered the weakest (and they proved to be right that time.) And, back in 1972, the equivalent of Fox News - a media outlet eagerly willing to lie for Republicans - was the Manchester Union Leader, an influential...

4...newspaper in New Hampshire, with its primary back then than had infinitely more influence on presidential nominees than it even has now.

Muskie was moving to winning NH, when the Union Leader published a letter two weeks before the primary. It claimed to be from a....

5...person who met Muskie & his staff & asked how they would know how to help African Americans, since there were so few in his home state of Maine. The letter said Muskie replied Maine didn't have blacks, "but we have Canucks" - a derogatory term for French-Canadian Americans...

6...and, as could be expected, there were a very large number of French-Canadian Americans in New Hampshire. Muskie responded poorly, since the idea of GOP flat-out lying with forgeries was not yet standard operating procedure. He went to the Union Leader and condemned....

7...the paper and its publisher. In the process, he also talked about the paper attacking his wife and the general impression was that he started crying (Muskie said it was melting snow.) Suddenly, it spread everywhere that Muskie cried at a political event. Back then...

8...something like that could turn public opinion, and did. Muskie lost New Hampshire.

Now, the truth: The Canuck letter was a fraud. It had been written by Donald Segretti and Ken W. Clawson, political operatives with Nixon's Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP)...

9...this fell into the category of "dirty tricks" or what the Nixon guys called "ratf*cking." Now, again, these days it is considered a night on Tucker Carlson, but back then, it was considered outrageous, unethical and potentially illegal. It was swept up into the Watergate...

10...scandal because the break-in was the ultimate operation of these people who were involved in the campaigns illicit activities, that was a crime, and led to the coverup.

Which brings us to today. GOPrs keep repeating Biden Biden Biden to link him to an imaginary...

11....scandal. Do GOPrs even know anymore what's real and what's fake? I dont know. Ratf*cking took time to become part of what GOPrs did in government as they used levers of power to aid in political campaigns. I dont know if they are so deep in they can't tell what's real...

12...but by repeating "Biden scandal Biden scandal Biden scandal" over and over again, they are attempting to lead democrats to go "Hmmm...is there a Biden scandal" or "Boy, this stuff about a Biden scandal might harm him. Better vote for someone else."

Now, whoever wins wins...

13...I am not advocating for Biden. In fact, I have never advocated for anyone in this race, because I never make an early decision.

But, don't let Republican dirty tricks manipulate your vote. Dont vote based on lies. These people have lost all sense of morality, they...

14..clearly believe that anything goes. One thing I hope this teaches Biden - the idea that he can work with Republicans is foolishness. These people come to the negotiation table with bazookas.

So, even if you don't support Biden, push back. And when the lies start about...

15...Warren, or Bernie, or Harris, or anyone, push back. Don't let your vote be manipulated. Don't reward the Republicans for ratf*cking. Because it is not going to stop until this election ends. And if you, as a democrat, start pushing their lies, you are falling for their con.