If the Democratic National Committee has its way, Democrats around the country will soon be following Republican candidates around with video cameras or smartphones, hoping to catch them in some game-changing gaffe. The DNC today unveiled “the Accountability Project,” a website where supporters can upload video or audio recordings of Republicans. Aides tell the Huffington Post they’re hunting for another “Macaca moment,” like the one that sank George Allen.
Still, Democrats say they’re not encouraging aggressive tactics or ambush interviews. The site lays out almost lawyerly instructions for eager videographers. “There is no wink-wink, nod-nod about that,” says the project’s director. “We are really just looking to record what is naturally happening out there.” The RNC, meanwhile, says the DNC’s done “a complete 180,” since two weeks ago they were decrying trackers as a “gotcha game,” in the wake of Bob Etheridge’s freakout. (More Democratic National Committee stories.)