First, one GOP-er lobs out of left field a scurrilous, preposterous claim about a Democratic big wig. The claim is so vicious and out-there that it knocks the recipient on his/her back foot. (And you know how easily–if I may mix figurative expressions–Democrats get the wind taken out of them).
Then, one-by-one other GOP-ers take up the scurrilous refrain as if they’re singing a round. Then when there’s an outcry, they say they’re tewwibly, tewwibly sorry, and of course they would never dream of saying what they just said.
That’s called affirmation by negation. You can thank one of my college rhetoric teachers for being supplied with that factoid.
At least the Democrats seem slightly less gobsmacked by the latest assault (s).