Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Echoes of LBJ

Massa denies he sexually groped male staffer

Full disclosure: I've been trying very hard to ignore the "Congressman Massa (D-NY) resigns" story.

BUT: this headline is such a perfect reminiscence of a - perhaps apocryphal - LBJ story:
During a Congressional campaign, LBJ told an aide to announce that his opponent had had carnal knowledge of his swine.

"You want me to call him a pig-fucker?", the aide queried.

"Make him deny it", Johnson replied.
The story exists in several versions, each with the same point.
[I'd guess my version of the story derives from Hunter Thompson... but it could be from Robert Caro's LBJ bio, as pre-published in the New Yorker.]

I just couldn't help thinking of it when I read Massa's denial in the headline!
There are a number of incumbents I'd like to see compelled to offer similar denials in October!

No comments:

Post a Comment