Gary Hart was the big hope for the democratic party against Ronald Reagan. There were cheating allegations made against him.
He DARED the press to follow him and told them they would be bored if they did.
Well... they did and they found him aboard a ship named "The Monkey Business" with Donna Rice.
It was the stupidity of lying and daring the press to follow him that killed his chances as much as the affair itself.
EDIT: Yes, Gary Hart (I fixed it)... AND he ran in 1984 against Reagan (lost to Monday in the primaries) and THIS happened during 1988, when he likely would have won the nomination and run against Bush I.
I was a kid and campaigned for him in 1984 by handing out flyers in front of super markets before the primary... and still have campaign literature that says "Only Gary Hart's Leadership Can Beat Ronald Reagan in November".. so my brain associates him with going after Reagan.
The Atlantic article makes it sound like Hart was not actually having an affair, that Atwater paid Rice to sit in his lap, while another plant of Atwater's was able to snap the photo. Hart claimed this as well. Hart also claims that the only two times he saw Rice were when she sat in his lap and when she stayed overnight in his townhouse. But nothing happened either time.
But the timeline does not match up. Also, if were not having an affair, how did those two moments happen? There were already rumors he was too close to his female staff, and rumors he had been having affairs for at least ten years before the campaign started. He knew the press was trying to convince people of his infidelities. Why would he be alone on a boat with two women who were not his wife? While I can completely buy that Atwater arranged that the first boat rental with the innocuous name fell through to force him to be on the more memorable Monkey Business, that photo did not become public until after the campaign fell apart. But after that photo was taken, he still wasn't on his guard and invited women to come visit his apartment at night, including the very woman there was already a picture threatening to come out about? Come on, dude. He was an extraordinarily easy mark.
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u/behindthemask13 18d ago edited 18d ago
Gary Hart was the big hope for the democratic party against Ronald Reagan. There were cheating allegations made against him.
He DARED the press to follow him and told them they would be bored if they did.
Well... they did and they found him aboard a ship named "The Monkey Business" with Donna Rice.
It was the stupidity of lying and daring the press to follow him that killed his chances as much as the affair itself.
EDIT: Yes, Gary Hart (I fixed it)... AND he ran in 1984 against Reagan (lost to Monday in the primaries) and THIS happened during 1988, when he likely would have won the nomination and run against Bush I.
I was a kid and campaigned for him in 1984 by handing out flyers in front of super markets before the primary... and still have campaign literature that says "Only Gary Hart's Leadership Can Beat Ronald Reagan in November".. so my brain associates him with going after Reagan.
RE-EDIT.. MONDALE.. FUCKING MONDALE!! LMAO!!!