The Nixon presidency was unlike any administration preceding it. Hunter S. Thompson once famously compared President Nixon to a junkie, saying, “The trouble with Nixon is that he’s a serious politics junkie. He’s totally hooked and like any other junkie, he’s a bummer to have around, especially as president.”

It doesn’t come as a surprise, then, that anyone who got involved in politics during the Nixon years is sure to have a warped sense of ethics. Enter Roger Stone. Answering to either “veteran political strategist” or “longtime dirty trick operative” Stone is nearly a living legend for his rumored ability to pull off ridiculously long cons. As he once said of himself, “If it rains, it was Stone.”

Stone’s latest foray into the swampy region known as politics is a new anti-Hillary 527 group called Citizens United Not Timid. In typical Stone fashion, nothing can be taken at face value, so get out your Super Secret Acronym Decoder Sheet and uncover the secret word in his title so I don’t have to write it in this column.

The full name of Stone’s organization is Citizens United Not Timid, a 527 Organization About What Hillary Clinton Really Is. Yes, we are now standing at the intersection of multimillion dollar politics and high school locker room humor.

First thing’s first, though Let’s clear up what exactly a 527 organization is. Opensecrets.org states 527s are “tax-exempt organizations that engage in political activities, often through unlimited soft money contributions.” Infamous 527s include the Swift Veterans and POWs for Truth, formerly known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Stone’s organization’s Web site is simple and direct, consisting of a giant picture of its logo (think the Black Crowes’ banned album cover for “Amorica”). There is no mission statement; the goal is to sell T-shirts of the same logo for a $25 “donation” to the organization. To facilitate this goal there is a large button you can click on to order your own T-shirt, assuming you aren’t distracted by the headless, busty model wearing what seems to be her little brother’s shirt that appears directly below the link.

Stone’s Web site may be bold and simple. It’s also tasteless and indicative of what is largely wrong with campaigning in America. While Stone laughingly refers to his organization’s name as an “unfortunate coincidence,” he also admits in an interview with the Weekly Standard that despite her “reinventions” Hillary is “what Citizens United Not Timid stands for . you can’t transcend your own essence.”

I used to ponder politics, viewing it as the rarified domain wherein our most intelligent individuals considered the best course for the nation. The continued presence of organizations like this has turned my view of politics into a Thompson-style Fear and Loathing of the surreal and freakish.

Starting what is in essence a hate club is below sophomoric. I am reminded of Calvin and Hobbes’ G.R.O.S.S. club, Get Rid Of Slimy girlS, which is essentially the same idea. Perhaps the master stroke on Stone’s part is that his group will still get publicity, either from its supporters or its critics.

What are we to do about people like Stone? Such a blatantly crude attack almost begs for censorship. It’s Bong Hits 4 Jesus meets 2008.

But raging against such free speech only serves to undermine our proclaimed freedoms and liberties. Free speech is weapon that exists to be turned upon the society that grants it, for what else do we need free speech for except to criticize?

Nevertheless, we do censor the public arena: the DOT routinely denies personalized license plates which it deems “obscene, lewd, lascivious, derogatory to a particular ethnic group or patently offensive.” Where does the line between obscene and painfully true exist?

If I can say nothing of else of Stone’s Web site I can say this: It is controversial and it will get noticed.

Maybe the best choice is in the words of Jello Biafra: “Don’t hate the media, become the media.” Stone’s use of the free market and free speech are perhaps the guerilla tactics needed to win the increasingly stalemated partisan war. One thing for certain: When Stone crashes a political race, hang on – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

– Quincy Miller is a senior in English from Altoona.