Author Joseph Cummins‘ new book traces the various ways in which American elections have been influenced through chicanery. He joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to discuss Anything for a Vote: Dirty Tricks, Cheap Shots and October Surprises in U.S. Presidential Election Campaigns. After the 2004 campaign and the “Swift-boating” of Senator John Kerry, Cummins said he wanted to write a book that describes some of the country’s least flattering examples of democracy, and the result is a year-by-year catalog of various dirty tricks that have helped elect our presidents – from both parties.
Some fun insults are used in this interview: hermaphrodite, atheist, and “lady of the night.”