this should come as no surprise, this sort of skullduggery has been part of the republican campaign toolkit for years. they have a long and sordid history of this, and it can be followed right up to the present time. conservatives have been pulling this kind of stuff at least since the days of the nixon/segretti dirty tricks dept. but it is perfectly justifiable, they are fighting communism and they have god and the founding fathers on their side.

"Segretti was a lawyer who served as a prosecutor for the military and later as a civilian. However, his license was suspended for two years following his conviction. In 1995, he ran for a local judgeship in Orange County, California. However, he quickly withdrew from the race when his campaign awakened lingering anger over his involvement in the Watergate scandal. In 2000, Segretti served as co-chair of John McCain's presidential campaign in Orange County.[2]

"Karl Rove, a 21st-century political operative is said to have been Segretti's protégé, either directly or indirectly."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Segretti