Letter: Republican smear campaigns | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

My political awareness started in the early '60s with the Kennedy-Nixon campaign. I didn't understand all the issues, but it was an awakening to learn more. Then came Vietnam and I paid a lot of attention to what was happening.

My first vote was in the Nixon-McGovern election. I lived in Massachusetts, which was the only state to not vote for Nixon. He pulled a lot of government contracts as retribution. Later, we were made aware of Watergate and Nixon's "dirty tricks" and his "enemies list" and his subsequent resignation in disgrace.

Since then, Republicans have used "dirty tricks" and "swift boating" as the basis of their platform to get elected. There was not a dirty trick that they wouldn't use.

Utah's own Karl Rove became the master of Republican dirty tricks and smear campaigns for George W. Bush.

Recently, Rove said that Hillary Clinton suffered brain damage from a fall and insinuated she was not fit for the presidential office. I hope Republicans continue with this sort of smear campaigning. It will guarantee that their list of lunatics will never get into the White House.

Bill Revene

West Valley City