Democrats playing dirty to save Newman from recall

SACRAMENTO — Those of us who follow elections know that “politics ain’t beanbag.” That was the saying from the fictional Mr. Dooley, an Irish-accented character created by newspaper columnist Finley Peter Dunne in the late 19th century. In other words, politics is a rough-and-tumble process. Those who play that game better be tougher than those who play children’s games.
But even such tough pastimes need to have some ground rules. Candidates and activists who behave