John Cole goes into detail on the family the Right has decided to smear:
If you look through this family's dossier, it appears they are doing everything Republicans say they should be doing- hell, their story is almost what you would consider is a checklist for good, red-blooded American Republican voters: they own their own business, they pay their taxes, they are still in a committed relationship and are raising their kids, they eschewed public education and are doing what they have to do to get them into Private schools, they are part of the American dream of home ownership that Republicans have been pointing to in the past two administrations as proof of the health of the economy, and so on.
In short, they are a white, lower-middle-class, committed family, who is doing EVERYTHING the GOP Kultur Kops would have you believe people should be doing. They aren't gay. They aren't divorced. They didn't abort their children. They aren't drug addicts or welfare queens. They are property owners, entrepeneurs, taxpayers, and hard-working Americans. I bet nine times out of ten in past elections, if you handed this resume to a pollster, they would think you were discussing the prototypical Republican voter. Hell, the only thing missing from this equation is membership to a church and an irrational fear of Muslims and you HAVE the prototypical Bush voter.
They are, however, not without fault. They are unable to afford insurance through normal means (and now that they have pre-existing conditions, probably couldn't get traditional insurance anyway), and managed to get several of their family members injured in a traumatic accident. And, it appears, those are the big blind spots for compassionate conservatism. That, and the real big sin- allowing themselves to advocate for a policy that the Decider was going to veto.
Some are saying that the Frost family brought this on themselves when they let their child tell his story. They are saying that when they explained the difference that S-CHIP made in one family's life, they invited personal attacks, smears, harassing phone calls, the interrogation of their neighbors, etc, etc etc. That's madness. These are the same individuals, moreover, who were appalled that anyone would levy a personal attack against General David Petraeus, who'd made himself into a major national figure through a press strategy relying on profiles, interviews, and public testimony.
There is no coherence here. No principle. Only a vicious ritual of destroying those who disagree with them. And I use my words carefully. They are not arguing with the Frost family. They are not questioning their decision to share their story. They are trying to destroy the family's credibility and intimidate them, and others who might step forward to enter their personal stories into the public discourse, into silence.
