Political skullduggery

The recent bizarre and completely off-the-wall attempt to blackmail Joe Moreno with a relatively innocuous and dated photo has got The Dope thinking of political dirty tricks. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that some will go to get elected, gain power, retain power, or even more viciously, get revenge.

Underhanded or even illegal campaign tactics are as old as politics itself, and it's been elevated to a fine art by some. We've all heard tales or rumors of such things as taking down opponent's campaign signs, and other fairly benign attempts to screw the opponent. But some of these efforts are truly monumental.

Originating during Nixon's golden reign, the right even coined a word for such things. Screwing your opponent by nasty means was referred to as "rat f***ing" them.

As recently as 1999, bald shyster Ben Ginsberg, lawyer to Bush and the Swift Boat Liars, described the effort to create safe, white districts in New York to ensure Republican victories "Project Rat F***", and bragged about it.

I know some of you boys and girls out there have heard of some, shall we say, "creative" tactics that have been employed during campaigns in the area.

So out of pure purient interest, I'd like to hear about them. Of course, you don't have to name names, candidates, or races, but it would be very interesting to hear some tales of the underhanded shenanigans that have actually happened, or are rumored to have happened, even if they occured far in the past.

Whether they're appalling or amusing, share your more memorable.