Smith supporters waste no time with dirty tricks

Wow! Supporters of Chief Justice Jim Smith have wasted no time getting their hands dirty in this judicial race. Smith has already found himself at the center of a controversy that is the target of an investigation by the attorney general.

From the Clarion-Ledger:

Bogus telephone opinion polls – “push polls” – have cropped up in at least three of the judicial races.

“We are looking into these sleazy, bogus calls to determine if they violate our criminal and/or civil laws,” Hood said Monday. “We call on any person who has recorded one of these calls to call our office at 1-800-281-4418 or e-mail us at agjimhood.com.”

So what are push polls?

Push polls pretend to be legitimate opinion polls, but they’re actually nothing more than a way to spread lies or negative propaganda regarding candidates, said Joe Parker, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Southern Mississippi.

He recalled those done when George Bush faced off against John McCain in the Republican primary in South Carolina in 2000. “McCain was really decimated with those push polls,” he said.

Among the lies spread by those push polls – McCain fathered a black child. “They did a number on him,” Parker said. “He didn’t even get a majority of veterans when they got through with him.”

Of course, all Smith’s campaign wanted to talk about was trial lawyers.

In addition to those supporting businesses, “you’ve got trial lawyers coming in here from all over the country,” [Smith campaign spokesman Morgan] Baldwin said. “Both sides are throwing money at independent expenditures.”

Funny. I don’t know of a single group who has done anything on our behalf in this race.

Even funnier is the idea that the Smith campaign knows nothing about these push polls. I call bull$#!% on that one.

And in a couple of days, I bet some fairly strong evidence showing Smith’s campaign is involved in a coordinated campaign will emerge.