Description
Recounts the centuries-old American tradition of mudslinging and name-calling by political opponents, going all the way back to the Founding Fathers, highlighting brutal handbills that mocked Abraham Lincoln and Grover Cleveland right through the 30-second sound bites of today. Original. 35,000 first printing.
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Two Centuries of Scandalous Rumors, Over-the-Top Insults, and Low-Down Slurs. We bemoan the loss of civility in public discourse these days, but mudslinging is an American tradition as old as the republic. Not everyone admired the Father of Our Country. President Washington's enemies called him a cheapskate, a hyena, a horse beater, a spoiled child, and a tyrannical monster, among other epithets. "You are utterly incapable to steer the political ship," wrote one outraged critic.And so it has gone ever since. From the King Mob label denigrating Andrew Jackson to the wingnut and latte liberal tags of the past few years, every era has its share of politically motivated insults. Slinging Mud gathers memorable words and expressions from two centuries' worth of going negative.
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