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  Book rates George Wallace’s ’70 campaign as the nastiest
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ContributorThomas Walker 
Last EditedThomas Walker  Dec 08, 2006 02:04pm
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CategoryOpinion
News DateSunday, March 5, 2006 08:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionMONTGOMERY — Political campaigns didn't get any dirtier than George C. Wallace's 1970 race for governor, a back-alley brawl that featured unabashed racism, altered photos, betrayal of friendships and personal attacks on family members.

As if it wasn't infamous enough, writer Kerwin C. Swint gave it the top spot in his new book, "Mudslingers: The Top 25 Negative Political Campaigns of All Time."

"It was the last openly racist campaign in America," said Swint, who put the campaign ahead of even the notorious Andrew Jackson-John Quincy Adams presidential race of 1828 that focused on the legality of Jackson's marriage.

Swint, a political scientist at Georgia's Kennesaw State University, said the 1970 Alabama campaign finished No. 1 in his book because it was more recent and combined the most dastardly tactics. "It's very much deserving," said former Gov. Albert Brewer, a former Decatur resident who was the loser in the race.
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