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Opposition research
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==Origins and history== In the 1st century BC, [[Cicero]] is said to have gathered information that was damaging to opponents and used it in attacks against them. He accused one political opponent, [[Catiline]], of murdering one wife to make room for another. He attacked [[Mark Antony]] in speeches known as the ''[[Philippicae]]'', eventually prompting Antony to chop off his head and right hand and display them at the Roman Forum.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kamber |first=Victor |author-link=Victor Kamber |title=Poison Politics |location=New York |publisher=Insight Books |year=1997 |page=[https://archive.org/details/poisonpoliticsar0000kamb/page/9 9] |isbn=978-030645628-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/poisonpoliticsar0000kamb/page/9 }}</ref> Opposition research also has its origins in military planning, as evident in such ancient texts as ''[[The Art of War]]'', published in the 5th century BC by [[Sun Tzu]]. This manual for warriors describes the necessity for understanding an opponent's weaknesses, for using spies, and for striking in moments of weakness. In 18th-century [[England]] and [[Ireland]], opposition research took the form of scandal-mongering pamphlet wars between the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] and [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] parties. Writers such as [[Daniel Defoe]], [[Jonathan Swift]], and [[Henry Fielding]] participated, often writing under assumed names.<ref>Kamber, p. 11.</ref> This tradition of robust attack was replicated later in the American colonies, when writers such as [[Thomas Paine]] and [[Benjamin Franklin]] conducted opposition research and published their results. The first appearance of the phrase "opposition research" in ''The New York Times'' occurred on December 17, 1971, in an article that describes the infiltration of the [[Edmund Muskie]] presidential campaign by a female Republican volunteer: "...an article appeared in a Washington newspaper describing the 'opposition research' program at Republican headquarters..."<ref>{{cite news |first=James M. |last=Naughton |title=A Republican Spy in Muskie's Ranks Is Unmasked and Sent Out into the Cold|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.htmlres=FA0D10F83C5E127A93CBA81789D95F458785F9 |access-date=February 3, 2012}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Opposition research became systematized in the 1970s, when [[Ken Khachigian]], a [[speechwriter]] in the [[Nixon Administration]], suggested that the GOP keep files on individuals as insurance against future races, rather than "scramble" in an ''ad hoc'' fashion, race by race.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
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