I’m going to write this as calmly and as rationally as I can muster.
Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, it’s time to take a step back and regain your honor. Perhaps you should consider what your latest political strategy is doing to the American public. Perhaps, if you have any sense of dignity or pride, you should stop and regain a sense of responsibility in the misinformation you are giving to the public and it’s ripple effect on people.
From the Washington Post:
Worse, Palin’s routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric‘s questions for her “less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media.” At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, “Sit down, boy.”
…
The reception had been better in Clearwater, where Palin, speaking to a sea of “Palin Power” and “Sarahcuda” T-shirts, tried to link Obama to the 1960s Weather Underground. “One of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” she said. (“Boooo!” said the crowd.) “And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’ ” she continued. (“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.)
“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.
Palin also told those gathered that Obama doesn’t like American soldiers. “He said that our troops in Afghanistan are just, quote, ‘air-raiding villages and killing civilians,’ ” she said, drawing boos from a crowd that had not been told Obama was actually appealing for more troops in Afghanistan.
This game you’re playing to win…it’s dangerous. In fact, it’s beyond dangerous. Your lies and your smears and your attempt to insight riots and zealots and extremists is irresponsible and disgusting.
I’m not one to talk, but I at the very least have a heart and conscience.
I will hold you accountable for your attempts, your words, and your strategy. I will also continue to write and talk and blog every lie and every smear and every misstep, because I can very clearly see what you are doing and that you will stop at nothing to get there.
For every voter you get to yell racial slurs I will find ten, including my own mother, to knock on doors for Senator Obama.
For every voter you get yelling ‘Kill Him’ at a rally, I will find 50 to blog in support of Senator Obama.
For every voter you inspire to create offensive t-shirts, or buttons, or waffle mix, hang offensive flags or put up disgusting lawn signs, I will find 200 to donate to the Obama campaign.
For every single voter you get to spread your hate, I will find thousands willing to stand up to your evil.
Game over. Enough is enough.
Hello Dan,
Obama did write a “blurb” for one of Ayers’ books. It may not have been on the slip cover, but according to dictionary.com it was a blurb.
1. a brief advertisement or announcement, esp. a laudatory one: She wrote a good blurb for her friend’s novel.
–verb (used with object)
2. to advertise or praise in the manner of a blurb.
So, it is NOT “complete BS”, and yes, I do check my sources.
QoS,
Thanks for your comments, and I truly have no desire to abuse your site.
The AP article, IMHO, does nothing to mitigate the fact that Obama has/does hang out with a known unrepentant terrorist. In fact, it confirms it. We can dance around the issue by questioning motives and putting forth hazy maybes, but the fact remains that Obama has chosen his associates quite poorly. Jeremiah Wright, Father Phlager (sp?), Bill Ayers. Just these three alone show a long history of paling around with anti American radicals. This is not partisan vitriol, this is not hate speech, this is nothing but facts.
I am sure Obama is a nice guy, but Presidential he is not. Not by a long stretch.
One last thought. Since J. Wright screamed damnation on the “US of KKK A”, I wonder what he will say if Obama is elected? Scream damnation down on him?
This kind of baggage is just too much for me to stomach.
Take care,
Daniel.
Daniel clearly you do not know or understand the history behind any of these affiliations.
I would highly recommend you read from a olleague of mine, Prof. Kim Pearson, who has written extensively on the subjects.
http://www.blogher.com/patriotism-wrights-jeremiads-and-michelle-obamas-pride
and
http://www.blogher.com/node/17236
and Maria Niles who covers race for BlogHer
http://www.blogher.com/blog/maria-niles
Furthermore, I would encourage you to own up to the faults of the candidate you are voting for while you so easily condemn the one you say you are not voting for.
are great places to start.
Mmmm…lynch mob mentality politics. Thanks for calling it out, QoS. I will be blogging in favor of Obama even MORE than I already have been. Although, of course, I will do far less good than you. And you are doing great work.
WTG! Wonderful post! I agree with all you are getting across here!
I am countering the negative comments for Obama with positive ones on those sites. The Old Fart and the Hussy are losing face and ground so they are desperate. They say ‘It’s always darkest before the Dawn”…but when the Dawn breaks through..guess what?….”That One”…is gonna be President 🙂
I’ve read some of the comments and they are all compelling.. I wish I could say I felt Obama was the answer or that McCain is the answer. Our state of affairs is bipartisan and if you research you might find Clinton signed the bill for housing; mortgages became available to home buyers with no documentation ( exempting the need for qualifying income or credit history).. the ball began rolling bankers and brokers became aware of the sub prime buyers and the money they all could make, it was a downhill fiasco…which to this moment has not been clearly addressed….
I’m hopeful whoever wins will address energy, (all fronts) dependency and better use by our nation. In addition our economy strengthening the dollar along with our reputation everywhere in the world.We’re considered bullies.. And regarding our media why would we care about Putin (or however you spell his name) and give him any time on prime news especially his black belt… There is so much screwed up in our country…I doubt any of us in this century will see relief, its to dam corrupt on all fronts….AIG and their big bash is a great example of where we’re still naive…who will in the end address what they’ve spent and make them pay it back.
Frankly at 62…I’m appalled and wonder if anyone running will really address our issues or if it will be business as usual once elected. There are two things I respect that McCain professes…that he loves this country and will serve us (rather then be served) I wish I knew if he meant it…
Pardon my uneducated, however, honest thoughts…I wish I really knew more…
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Couldn’t agree more! You summarized everything in a short, sweet sentence: Enough is enough! Don’t these people get it, manipulating the masses for their own benefit is just wrong… and resurrecting racism does a lot of harm in the long run.
Hope everything is settled for the best
Bravo! Excellent post! This just had to be said.
I love the fact that the Republican slogan is always “lower taxes” and this administration is spending , spending, spending every time we turn around. Bush has run our budget into the depths of hell and set the example for the rest of the country. Remember Bush’s recommendation after 911? America, Go Shopping! Brilliant. Buy big houses that you can’t afford. Your “small government” will bail you out.
When the Democrat moves into the White House, he will set the example and pay the debts that piled up under the 8 year term of his predecessor. Where will the money come from? Yes, he will have to raise taxes. Simple math, my friends. That is if you’re the type who pays your bills. I hope it comes from the golden parachutes of the fired executives (where is their incentive to succeed?) and from the profits of Big Oil, not middle class America.
Should I assume Daniel is a typical McCain supporter? His words echo the over sensationalized bashing we hear at the McCain rallies. It is truly embarrassing for our country. But that ridiculously inflammatory rhetoric just makes the decision easier for the reasonable voters. If you don’t have answers you go on the attack, a sign of a weak candidate. I only hope the truly noble American spirit rises up out of this race and elects a leader with integrity.
AMERICA NEEDS CHANGE. AMERICA NEEDS OBAMA.
You might be interested to note that this morning, when I was listening to the BBC hour on my local NPR station, they did not mention McCain ONCE in their coverage of the American election. Instead it was, “important players from both sides, Palin and Obama, are here,” or even better, “here in the Palin campaign…”
Did they forget she’s not running for president? Or is McCain just doing that good a job of hiding behind her?
Hey!
Well said! More and more of us need to stand up to the outright lies and hatred that are spreading like wild fire in and around the McCain-Palin campaign! I am not a follower. I have been an independent all my voting life and have made my decision for President based on the one most qualified to do the job. The US is the laughing stock of the world right now and we need a leader that will bring us hope and change. I urge the American people to visit http://www.factcheck.org and http://www.snopes.com to check the facts! I for one am not comfortable electing a man to be President that will resort to fear mongering to get what he wants. When McCain dies, do you really think Palin could be the leader of the free world? There are more than just hockey moms and Joe six-packs that vote. I don’t want a President that will sit down and drink a beer with me. I want a leader, not a friend! I have enough of those thank you!
Keep your posts coming!
Hello QoS, I believe we are connected on twitter and I hope we remain so.
I personally believe in taking people at their word. I am not super excited about the McCain-Palin ticket, but Obamas associations in the past have me very concerned – not that he is a terrorist or a member of an unpopular religion, but that his ideology is too far left for this country.
It does seem that people at the some of the Palin rallies have said things that any American should find reprehensible. Let us be clear that Sarah Palin is not saying “kill him” or “he is a terrorist”. Those are individual Americans, in very small numbers who attend rallies and exercise (in at least one case, abuse) their right to free speech.
Just as I agree with you that we should not call Obama a terrorist and that it is unfair to say that he holds the same views as Ayers because of proximity and association, it is likewise unfair to try to say that Palin is racist or hold her responsible for the sentiments of a few extremists.
Palin certainly has her drawbacks and has made her share of gaffes, but she has been unfairly targeted by extremists that support Obama. One famous comedienne even publicly suggested that she needed to be gang-raped. Is this the position of the Obama camp? No, of course not.
But it is the position of one Obama supporter.
So let us be fair – both sides have their share of wackos, extremists, idiots and menacing rogues. The American left has their bad apples and to pretend they don’t is to blind yourself with partisanship.
I don’t mind the negative attacks on either side. Sometimes they are legitimate and informative and sometimes they say more about the attacker than their opponent. I trust the America people to wade through the distortions, the false associations and the listen to enough different sourced to settle on something as near the truth as can be ascertained.
I saw the things coming out of dailykos a few weeks ago – where was the outrage then? It was on the right – because it was their ox being gored.
So let us all keep in mind that this issue is not about negative attacks or the truth or associations, it is about oxen. Everyones oxen gets gored a few times in an election, but standing up and saying “my ox was attacked” is just whining. Making it about honor and principle is much smarter and more effective so with that, I commend your acumen.
I am taking the samurai approach to this election – I am going into it assuming my candidate has already lost, so I am not troubled by fears and aprehension. Perhaps I will be surprised, but I have no expectations.
Hate speech shouldn’t be tolerated from either side, and the difference to me isn’t that there are wackos yelling stuff out- it’s that the speeches from those campaigning are leading them there. And find that very, very clear. McCain and Palin are calling him out as ‘palling around with terrorists’ and being ‘not like you and me’ which leads to this. From Obama’s side, you see him on stage saying ‘I disagree with Senator McCain, here’s why…’
My problem is that McCain and Palin are instigating this, they ARE responsible. They are setting the tone that is fueling the hate. And I believe they are doing it knowingly.
Is Sarah Palin more culpable due to the physical proximity at the rally?
There are plenty of wackos on both sides saying all sorts of terrible things. On the web, in person, in print, etc. if 10,000 people show up to a rally, a certain number are going to be unbalanced.
As to the “paling around with terrorists”, I do not hear anyone trying to say that Ayers is not a domestic terrorist. They try to use words like “revolutionary” and “60s radical” but his people acquired explosives, set off bombs and people died as a result. The word terrorist clearly fits but I suppose “palling around with” is open to interpretation. Should she have said “engaging in literary exchanges with” or “working with community groups with”?
It is her job to go for the most negative interpretation of the relationship between Ayers and Obama. Obama has not helped himself by downplaying the relationship and saying he was not aware of Ayers past. Now he is having to clarify things which, to some people (especially those who oppose you) looks like back pedaling or changing your story.
Obama has relationships that he has been evasive in disclosing. That is a calculated political decision. He has also withheld a lot of other documents that *some* candidates release. Again, this is a political calculation – what is going to be easier to handle – openness or speculation?
At the end of the say, we all see what we want to see. There is a broad spectrum of possible interpretations of a candidates actions (really, any persons actions). Some on the right see Palin as a crusader who is warning people about a candidate that is truly dangerous. These people have a very high level of trust and relate strongly to Palin while having high distrust of Obama. Your interpretation is on the other end of the scale – you see her actions as desperate, dangerous and motivated by the darkest part of her humanity (hate). Easily explained by the fact that you have no trust in Palin and very high trust in Obama.
This is all very predictable, but let us not pretend any of this is objective. It may well be reasonable – I am sure all the democrats see your post as reasonable. I think its reasonable given your views but objectivity is nowhere to be found here – on either side.
Is it really any different to Obama supporters I’ve heard talk about McCain hopefully keeling over from old age before the election?
Holding the whole party responsible for remarks shouted by very very very few, THAT’S what I’d say requires the need to “step back and regain your honor”, let alone composure. Blogs and stories like this actually make me think McCain and Palin are doing much better than I’d guessed, considering the depths of dredge people are digging into to fight them.
Whatever, so long as it takes the pressure off of Obama and legitimate criticisms against him, eh?
AMEN.
Thanks for putting to words everything that goes through my mind whenever Sarah Palin walks to a podium, and starts spewing downright lies. And you’ve done it much more eloquently than I ever could! 🙂
Count me in too! I’ll be right there with you rallying everyone that I know including MY own mother as well, to stop the fear and hate tactics of this campaign!
Let’s go!
Palin is kind of cute. But the woman spouts nonsense. Never mind if it is true or not, her extemporaneous stuff doesn’t even make sense. Her rehearsed debate speeches made grammatical sense at least, but they didn’t answer the questions. Since when did it become permissible to sidestep the questions and just say what you had planned to say. I have yet to see a debate. What is she going to do smile and wink at the heads of the g8? Stammer and giggle?
This game you re playing to win…it s dangerous. In fact, it s beyond dangerous. Your lies and your smears and your attempt to insight riots and zealots and extremists is irresponsible and disgusting.
It’s time McCain is “hoist on his own petard”…Olbermann broke the story on his show today that McCain HIMSELF has links to Ayers as well!
Egg on your face much Daniel?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27461933/