Politico: Democratic Trackers Leave GOP Candidates Unnerved

      The increasing use of trackers to intrude and expose the lives of candidates is raising eyebrows this year. Politico reports Democrats are leading the way as they attempt to brand opponents as rich and out of touch with "working families".
      Trackers are not new. Having operatives tag along at campaign events produced the famous "mucaca moment" in Virginia.
       Now the technique involves poking around and photographing the homes of GOP candidates to expose their opulence.
        That raises the issue of how far Dems will go to defeat competitive challengers like NNY's Matt Doheny, the wealthy, self-made and aggressive candidate who almost beat Rep. Bill Owens two years ago and is positioned for a close race again this year.
        Still unanswered is whether a helicopter spotted over Doheny's posh St. Lawrence River home the day of his wedding was one such Democratic ploy.  Wedding guests say the chopper looked like it was shooting photos on low passes. The Doheny campaign suggested it was forces hostile. They had fairly elaborate ground security for the wedding to prevent crashers. (Everybody possibly involved now tells the WDT the story is laughable and didn't happen. It could have been sightseers from the Luna)

Fairly Typical Wedding Scenes...But Was There an Eye in the Sky ?

        The campaign had been burned in March when a tracker shot the candidate in some unguarded moments at a DC restaurant.
         If Democrats are doing this, it is certain Mr. Owens would have plausible deniability as the trackers are not directly his people.
         However, the increasing use of these tactics raises real questions about the limits of decency in a campaign. In NNY,  little is reported on personal lives but that has changed.
         The current emphasis on class warfare runs hand in hand with the reality that only the well to do can afford to compete in campaigns.
         In the Hamptons this weekend attendees at Mitt Romney fund raisers ran the gauntlet of media looking for a "let them eat cake" quote.
        It's surely fair game to make an issue out of wealth and in Doheny's case, his island home is a very visible manifestation of wealth. Buzzing his wedding likely didn't reveal anything you couldn't see on any day from a boat.
        The act may have been an example of modern politics at its worst,  but then again politics is not bean bag....especially at that level.
GOP unnerved by Democrats' candid camera techniques - Alex Isenstadt - POLITICO.com