McClatchy reports that People for the American Way and perhaps other groups are "quietly" beginning a "politics of personal destruction"/"Joe the Plumber"-style campaign against Frank Ricci, the firefighter who'll be testifying at the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation (link). In 1995 he sued New Haven over him being rejected from their fire department due to his dyslexia; in the settlement he received attorney's fees and a job with the department.

Now, PFAW is referring to his "troubled and litigious work history" and is encouraging reporters to look into that history. One source following PFAW's lead is Brian Beutler of TalkingPointsMemo (link).

Your assignment is to watch for others doing the same and then use this technique on the specific reporters involved, as appropriate.

UPDATE: On June 9th, Alison Leigh Cowan of the New York Times offered "Here Comes the Judge (Before Sotomayor)" (link). It contains links to the various documents in the 1995 case, but she mainly concentrates on a conflict of interest issue. It appears to be more a case of reporting than a smear attempt, although the exact motivation of course can't be determined. If someone starts pushing the issue now given PFAW's push, that's suspicious. So, I'll start a chronology (all times Eastern):

* The TPM post: July 10 at 1:26PM

* Dahlia Lithwick of Slate offers "Fire Proof/The New Haven firefighter is no stranger to employment disputes" (July 10 at 6:50 PM, link)