This Hunter S. Thompson passage is particularly poignant in light of that David Cameron and the pig story
'Christ, we can’t get away with calling him a pig-f****r'
![Hunter S Thompson, the master of gonzo journalism](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2013/02/17/19/christopher-hitchens1.jpg)
Your support helps us to tell the story
In my reporting on women's reproductive rights, I've witnessed the critical role that independent journalism plays in protecting freedoms and informing the public.
Your support allows us to keep these vital issues in the spotlight. Without your help, we wouldn't be able to fight for truth and justice.
Every contribution ensures that we can continue to report on the stories that impact lives
![Head shot of Kelly Rissman](https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/support-us/kelly-rissman.png)
Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
In 1972, Hunter S. Thompson set about covering the presidential campaign, paying special attention to the Democratic Party’s George McGoven as he failed to get into office.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 was serially published by Rolling Stone throughout the year. In one of the articles Thompson makes a poignant comparison to a campaign that happened in Texas in which Lyndon Johnson attempted to create a rumour to denounce his competitor.
It reads: “This is one of the oldest and most effective tricks in politics. Every hack in the business has used it in times of trouble, and it has even been elevated to the level of political mythology in a story about one of Lyndon Johnson’s early campaigns in Texas.
“The race was close and Johnson was getting worried. Finally he told his campaign manager to start a massive rumour campaign about his opponent’s life-long habit of enjoying carnal knowledge of his barnyard sows.
“Christ, we can’t get away with calling him a pig-f****r,” the campaign manager protested. “Nobody’s going to believe a thing like that.”
“I know,” Johnson replied. “But let’s make the sonofab****h deny it.”
![David Cameron holds Florence the piglet, one of the two which he donated to Coggs Farm in 2014](https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2015/09/21/10/Cameron-Pig.jpg)
With the recent accusations put against David Cameron, could any supporter of Corbyn have created this rumour to take negative media attention off him? Probably not, but Thompson would have absolutely loved the PigGate story.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments