Larry Johnson and the New Smear Machine

Larry Johnson and the New Smear Machine

Larry Johnson and the New Smear Machine

During the whole Valerie Plame imbroglio, former CIA agent Larry Johnson emerged as a netroots hero for loudly sticking up for Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame, and articulating, in no uncertain terms, what he thought of the cretins that revealed her identity to score political points.

Then, during the primary, he went off the deep-end, spreading vile and unsubstantiated rumors about Obama, his wife, his church etc. Dave Weigel tells the tale.

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During the whole Valerie Plame imbroglio, former CIA agent Larry Johnson emerged as a netroots hero for loudly sticking up for Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame, and articulating, in no uncertain terms, what he thought of the cretins that revealed her identity to score political points.

Then, during the primary, he went off the deep-end, spreading vile and unsubstantiated rumors about Obama, his wife, his church etc. Dave Weigel tells the tale.

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Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

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