James Carville

James Carville was the campaign manager for Bill Clinton in 1992 and a close advisor to Clinton.

In 1998, Larry Flynt took out an ad in the Washington Post offering a $1 million reward for scandalous stories that could be used to smear leading Republican Congressmen as they prepared to impeach President Bill Clinton. Carville refused to repudiate Flynt's offer:

Jim Nicholson, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said last week that 'when General James Carville declared war on the president's enemies, Private Flynt enlisted.' ... Judicial Watch also uncovered, after a lengthy court fight, Carville's 40,000-page archive of "opposition research," which included investigative information about Ken Starr, former FBI agent Gary Aldrich and other Clinton critics. ... On Dec. 20 [1998], James Carville, who is unfailingly obedient to Clinton, was a guest on NBC's "Meet the Press." Pressed by host interviewer Tim Russert to disavow Flynt and his sleazy tactics, Carville bobbed, weaved and dodged. Finally, Russert asked Carville this: "Well, if Larry Flynt says he's the James Carville, will you say to Larry Flynt this morning, `knock it off, no more?' " Carville's answer: "No."

While purporting to represent the interests of the poor, downtrodden, and oppressed, and against debasing public discourse, Carville referred to President Clinton's former employee Paula Jones, who had accused the President of sexual harassment, as "trailer park trash." According to the Howie Kurtz of the Washington Post, Carville's signature-style comment only "helped fuel (Jones's) determination to press on with the sexual harassment suit that ultimately led to Clinton's impeachment."

Further reading

• http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg011399.html