The actress Ashley Judd dropped out of the running as a possible Senate candidate in her home state of Kentucky last month, but the drama doesn't end there.
Judd's erstwhile opponent, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly planned personal attacks in the media against her, citing supposed suicidal tendencies and mental instability. Recordings of strategy meetings involving McConnell and his staff discussing these plans have been obtained and released by Mother Jones.
"She's clearly, this sounds extreme, but she is emotionally unbalanced. I mean it's been documented. Jesse can go in chapter and verse from her autobiography about, you know, she's suffered some suicidal tendencies. She was hospitalized for 42 days when she had a mental breakdown in the '90s. Phil Maxson found this, which sort of I think is a pretty revealing interview," says the moderator of the meeting with McConnell and his aides, speaking about Judd.
The purpose of the meeting was to outline possible lines of attacks against Judd. Opposition research is a common tactic by politicians of all parties and usually consists of a thorough vetting of the history of possible opponents for soundbytes or past positions that would make them unpalatable to voters.
McConnell's office were in luck. Judd has been a national figure for many years, and she is an outspoken political activist for progressive causes. There are plenty of comments from her that could have been used in political campaigns. Those present at the meeting seemed to agree with that assessment.
"Ashley Judd -- basically I refer to her as sort of the oppo research situation where there's a haystack of needles, just because truly, there's such a wealth of material," said the presenter. "The good news is, she's to the far left of every issue she's taken a public stance on, not just far left, nationwide."
The presenter then proceeds to play a series of clips of Judd, in which she takes progressive stances on multiple issues including gender equality, abortion and Obamacare. "You know I talk a lot about health and Obamacare, which I use in a positive way, not derisively," Judd says in one of the clips.
"Hi. I'm Ashley Judd and I'm reaching out to you today on behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice America," she says in another.
The presenter also plays clips in which Judd seems to imply she does not consider Kentucky her home, a harsh criticism in an area where hometown pride is unquestioned.
The odd thing about opposition research is that is caters to very specific demographics. A conservative Republican listening to the recording of the meeting likely would think McConnell's team had uncovered damning evidence of Judd's unelectability. But a progressive Democrat listening to the same tape may well decide then and there to support her candidacy.
It is a consideration unique to modern campaigns -- there is only a single message. Candidates can no longer cozy up to one demographic behind closed doors or in small town meetings while espousing different positions in front of other audiences, as Mitt Romney found out during last year's presidential election.
And in a turn similar to Romney's secretly recorded "47 percent" remark, it turns out that McConnell's office was not aware of the recording and is claiming it was done in secret, without authorization. They have called in the FBI to investigate the breach of privacy.
"Senator McConnell's campaign is working with the FBI and has notified the local U.S. Attorney in Louisville, per FBI request, about these recordings. Obviously a recording device of some kind was placed in Sen. McConnell's campaign office without consent. By whom and how that was accomplished will presumably be the subject of a criminal investigation," McConnell's office told NBC News.
Still no response to the content of the tape, however.
Judd isn't running in 2014, so this will likely blow over, but it does demonstrate the lengths political candidates will go to when faced with a viable opponent.