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More Fear & Loathing than Hunter S. Thompson & more dangerous than Arthur Zimmermann, when properly analyzed it is no exaggeration to state that American political lobbyist, consultant & sometime strategist for the US Republican party, Roger Stone, is the most influential person of the post-war era playing an increasingly major role in the victory of every Republican President from Nixon to Trump.
Stone began his political career being involved in the infamous 1972 Watergate scandal, far from the last scandal he was involved in. Having been muddied by the 20th century political swamp so young it is from this time Stone turned the adage, There is no such thing as bad publicity, into a lifestyle choice. He even expanded on this notion in a series of "rules" he purports to live by;
When he entered the US political scene he was initially an outsider but soon found himself the very architect of the 21st century "D.C. Swamp" through his influential roles in the murky world of political lobbying & political action committees (PACs). His political consulting firm is widely seen as an important factor behind Ronald Regan's 1984 re-election campaign. Indeed it can be argued that if not for him neither George W. Bush nor Donald Trump would have been successful in their respective Presidential campaigns. Bush through Stone's masterful manipulation of events after the "hanging chad" debacle in the 2000 election & Trump through not just his official (& unofficial) strategic & advisory roles in Trump's successful Presidential campaign but as the very reason Trump entered politics in the first place. In other words Stone has played a substantial role in the victory of every Republican President in his adult lifetime & he is now 64 years old. Can anyone else claim the same amount of influence? I think not."Unless you can fake sincerity, you'll get nowhere in this business”
"Politics isn't theatre. It's performance art. Sometimes, for its own sake."
"Don't order fish at a steakhouse,"
"White shirt + tan face = confidence,"
"Undertakers and chauffeurs are the only people who should be allowed by law to wear black suits."
"Hit it from every angle. Open multiple fronts on your enemy. He must be confused, and feel besieged on every side."
"Always praise 'em before you hit 'em."
"Be bold. The more you tell, the more you sell." (attributed to advertising guru David Ogilvy)
"Losers don't legislate." (from Richard Nixon)
"Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack."
"Nobody ever built a statue to a committee."
"Avoid obviousness."
"Get your carbs from booze, not sweets"
"Never do anything till you're ready to do it."
"Look good = feel good."
"Always keep the advantage.”
“He who speaks first, looses.”
“Attack, attack, attack, never defend.”
“When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun.”
“Democrats are the party of slavery; Republicans are the party of freedom.”
“Folks want government out of the bedroom and the boardroom.”
“Roy Cohn wasn't gay. He was a man who liked having sex with men.”
“Lay low, play dumb, keep moving.”
“Never turn down the opportunity to have sex or be on TV.” (attributed to Gore Vidal)
“Nothing is on the level.”
The 2017 American documentary film Get Me Roger Stone is far from a masterpiece but this is due to the flaws of the filmmakers'; Dylan Bank, Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehme, repeatedly referred to by Roger Stone disparagingly as his political polar opposites; i.e. liberal progressives, who have a clear leftist agenda rather than the subject matter of king maker Roger Stone. The major flaw of the documentary is to excuse Hillary & the Democratic party of responsibility for both the contents of their leaked emails & their failure to use secured servers in order to paint Stone as somehow responsible for the Wikileaks email scandal.
A libertarian who sometimes poses as a conservative Stone is undoubtedly been a chameleon although he now seems to have given up all pretense of dressing as anything other than the political pimp he his. Even if he doesn't directly sell sex -& while no stranger to sex scandals himself- he seems to have made it his signature move to take down his opponents -of any political hue- through dissemination of sexual misconduct allegations (true or not) be they former Democrat Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer, Literally writing the book on Bill Clinton's many sexual improprieties or indeed fellow-Republican Ted Cruz (who stood between Trump & the Republican party nomination).
I personally believe Stone, through Trump, is sincere in his manifesto to drain the Washington Swamp having exploited it himself for so many years he recognizes its depravity for what it is even if he himself is no paragon of virtue .
See this documentary for its window into Stone's life. He is certainly an unsung hero -or anti-hero- of the American political scene. Like the man himself, the documentary is great, despite its flaws.
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