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Overheated rhetoric and personal attacks on our opponents distract from the big differences between John McCain's vision for the future of our nation and the Democrats'.
- Rick Davis, McCain campaign manager, 3/11/08
This is getting really disturbing. Every day, John McCain and Sarah Palin stir up more and more violent hatred at their public appearances. As they hammer relentlessly at Obama's supposed connection with William Ayers, their audiences shout "Socialist!", "Kill him!", "Traitor!", "Treason!", "Terrorist!", "Off with his head!", and "Bomb Obama!" (that last one was actually at a Saxby Chambliss rally, but it's part of the same trend).
For the most part, both candidates have completely ignored these yawps from the Republican id, with McCain making pleas for decency only in response to direct questions... and getting booed by his own supporters when he does. The Republican base is getting bolder and meaner, and McCain and Palin are either deliberately inflaming the situation, or have lost control of it, afraid to antagonize their own mob.
I'm betting on the former, but it's a strategy that plays very badly with the non-crazy, non-base, non-racist demographic. Are the McCainiacs really betting that more than 50% of American voters are not only racist, but so racist that they're willing to overlook the Epic Fail that is modern conservatism?
McCain's playing-with-fire campaign isn't just immoral, it's self-destructive. The Republican Party's brand is already associated with corruption, incompetence, torture and war; exposing its angry eliminationist underbelly will poison it even more. It could make the difference between losing "only" six Senate seats, and losing eleven or twelve... and God only knows how many in the House.
And it's only going to get worse. The pressure is building, and I think it's going to boil over before the election. I don't know what form the explosion will take, but it will be something so gut-punch monstrous that it shocks and appalls everyone but the diehard crazies. I'm desperately hoping that it will be "merely" ugly and not tragic - that McCain and the Republicans are the only ones who get hurt, and only figuratively.
John McCain cannot deny responsibility for the scary turn his campaign has taken since Rick Davis's long-forgotten memo. He could have fired Steve Schmidt at any time, and he hasn't. Senator Honor & Courage is either perfectly content to roll in the gutter, too out-of-touch to realize that he's in the gutter, or too weak to stand up to a subordinate. Not exactly character traits Americans look for in a Commander-In-Chief.
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ElI!
Please forgive my immediate OT but the Franken -v- Coleman debate is just starting on CSPAN.
Elliott!
I’m, uh, watching Lake Dead on Sci-Fi…
Now I’ll talk expressly about Straight Talk
Good post Eli. I too am seriously afraid that something really bad is going to happen, and like you, hope it is only to McPalin and that it’s just something very shameful so they can slink away to their burrows. But their defending all this crap as that “Obama is attacking these good people” is if anything, even more shameful that all the screeching and name-calling.
The whole thing just makes me sick.
It is dangerously ugly. They *might* be backing off a little, Palin just gave a speech that didn’t mention Ayers once - she just limited herself to talking about Obama killing babies…
Aloha, Eli! Love the title!
Aloha, CTut! Thanks!
That’s just it - they stuck with Ayres just long enough for that one to take on a life of its own - they don’t need to talk about him anymore. Off to the next one. So it’s killing babies next. Then it will be Tony Rezko, Rev Wright, ACORN, secret Muslim, or whatever.
I just wish there was some way to get out in front of this trash. But I don’t see how we can. Us talking about it dignifies it, reinforces the legitimacy of it, and ultimately doesn’t change the mind of any of these rabid idiots anyway.
The think I worry about most is all of it creating doubts in the minds of the undecideds.
McCain Rally Pastor: Obama Win Insults God
At a McCain event, as the crowd waited for McCain himself to arrive, Pastor Arnold Conrad of the Grace Evangelical Free Church of Davenport, Iowa, gave an invocation that included the following: “I would also pray, Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god—whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah—that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and Election Day.”
http://blogs.abcnews.com/polit.....-mess.html
Until McCain can display the leadership needed from him to stop people like that pastor from making such theologically divisive remarks at his campaign events, he should not display hypocrisy when Politicians like Rep. Lewis accuse him of using divisive tactics. Lewis is NOT even associated with the Obama campaign and is NOT stumping for Obama like ALL those stoking divisive rhetoric at McCain’s events including His own veep …
Ack! *thing*
(preview is your friend!)
i don’t think “Socialist!”, “Traitor!”, “Treason!”, “Terrorist!”, are problematic on the other hand, “Kill him!”, “Off with his head!”, and “Bomb Obama!” are.
imo, two completely different categories.
who let the dregs out?
Heh, hockey fans showing their love for the hockey mom…!
Ain’t it cool? ;-)
Socialist is borderline, but traitor, treason, and terrorist are not. What do we do with traitors and terrorists?
Boy is that preacher dumb. First of all, “Hindu” isn’t a god. Allah is a name for the same god he’s praying to. And Buddha isn’t a god either. I thought these dopes had to go to college to get to be a minister.
Oh yeah, you can ‘buy’ a minister thingy on the internet. Ooops!
Please bring in the wise people and the grownups…how ridiculous and repulsive.
McCain is profoundly unwell, and those close to him know it. It’s why his team wouldn’t listen to him even if he did tell them to change course. It’s also why he doesn’t realize how off course he’s gone.
When he sits in front of Sean Hannity, reasonably well-spoken storm trooper, and defends Sarah Palin and her invocation of Bill Ayres, you know it’s not just blind ambition. It’s illness.
Heh, hockey fans showing their love for the hockey mom…!
Does that mean she isn’t gonna stick around for (or enter) The “Ultimate Hockey Mom” contest?
I want film of that undoubtedly high-minded occasion.
Hi Eli, all!
Except that you need to consider what the law says is the “appropriate” punishment for those found guilty of treason and as traitors or terrorists.
Hi jayt!
You know there’s something strangely familiar about Sarah Palin. . .
Hey, whats up with those cheesy old geezer plaid shirts from Woolworth’s that McCain wears?
Palin/McCain are channeling James Earl Ray.
Or summoning.
McC is now “riding the tiger” - unsafe to stay on and terribly dangerous to get off. He only has himself to blame but he is so mentally screwed up I doubt he knows it.
Digg This post!
I had this editorial cartoon idea of a tiny little McCain and Palin riding a giant rampaging bull labelled “Republican Base”, and a sign labelled “Finish Line” way off in the distance, exclaiming, “We’re gonna ride this baby to victory!”
I look for packs of these brownshirt wannabes to take it to the polling places and harass voters, or worse.
I really dislike what I am seeing. McCain seems out of control of his campaign. Palin seems to relish the role of hate monger. But I have to say, all these people we’ve been seeing on you tube who walk along sneering at the photographers, saying “go back to russia” and “yes he’s a terrorist” are accountable for their behavior too. Being angry and afraid about the state of the world is no excuse for their aggressive hateful attitudes. Not everyone who goes to a McCain rally is screaming “kill him”. I think decent minded Republicans at those rallies need to put a stop to that.
That will do nicely. They are scary to watch - self-destruct doesn’t even begin to describe it.
well, we call bush and cheney traitors all the time on these threads. and my this is my favorite t-shirt (still gets a lots of double takes, although not as many as a few years ago).
what do we do with people accused of being traitors and terrorists? why, we give them a fair trial. ‘natch. *g*
still don’t see it as a problem. but if it is, we’re going to have to temper our language here if we want to condemn our opponents without mountains of hypocrisy.
but again - i think “Kill him!”, “Off with his head!”, and “Bomb Obama!” are signs of a dangerous hate mongering.
No argument here. But by ignoring the haters, McCain and Palin are tacitly declaring that this mentality is perfectly okay.
I don’t think I’ve called them traitors, but they *have* done a hell of a lot more damage to constitution and country than Obama has, and there is no question at all that they have broken the law on multiple occasions.
How long until the warrant for Da First Dood is issued, I wonder?
(I was reading some of the TrooperGate Report today, and Mr. Palin - is waaay out there in perjury-land in the sworn Affidavit he submitted earlier this week.)
At least Ferraro’s husband wasn’t breaking the law on her behalf…
OT - Al Franken just declared himself a “maverick”.
heh.
I wanna be a maverick too!
He’s sooo fucked….
I guess that we could call this Obama Derangement Syndrome? Selise is right about the fact that we have all pretty much rhetorically “taken it to” Preznit Bunnypants and Darth Dick over the years, but the actual threats of phyiscal violence being directed at Obama and Biden (and all Democrats… see “Liberal Hunting Licenses“) are so over the top that it’s not funny…and they do reflect the mainstream thought of these knuckledraggers who seem to be showing up with ever-increasing frequency at McGollum/Failin’ rallies.
It probably won’t be until after the election, though.
Perjury?
Rule of Law! Rule of Law! Rule of Law! Rule of Law!
Remember that? Where’s Ken Starr when you need him?
Say what you like about McCain–he has the hate-filled ignoramus/nutcase vote totally locked up.
The Libby trial already showed us just how much the Republicans care about perjury when it’s one of their own.
I like when the media concern trolls tell us that the Democrats have to repudiate us liberals so we don’t scare off the moderates and undecideds.
FYI, IMO we need to all vote early if we can.. McCain is bringing out the whackos and who knows what they plan on election day. Let us make sure our vote counts and if we can, vote early.
Say what, my fellow prisoner?
Does that mean the Frist Dood will get a Preznitial Pardon too? LOL…
They’ve been wrong about everything so far. We may just show them a thing or two this election. Nothing would make me happier.
I think it’s safe to say that the Democratic base is a hell of a lot less scary than the Republican base.
If this continues I fear Barack will have to ride in a Popemobile to his Inaugural.
hi, LH!
but, but — ACORN!
FYI, IMO we need to all vote early if we can..
already did.
If last Wednesday at 2:00 is any indication, early voting here in IN is heavy. Lots of people of color voting early here.
I specifically asked *when* my vote was going to be counted - was told it would be the night of Nov. 4/early morning hours of Nov. 5.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Indiana were to get called for McGramps early, only to be changed later when the early (and mostly black) vote is counted…
I’ve got my ballot and will fill it out tomorrow. May need to ask for Teddy’s help on some of the propositions, though.
He’s going to have to regardless of whether this gets worse or not. I hope the Secret Service maintains their non-partisan status. Unlike a certain US Attorney from Denver.
Where’s the MSM, too? Justice Department Scandal Almost Buried by Financial Crisis…
We’re now in the fifth decade of the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy. This feeding of racial bias is not new. The degree to which it is both explicit and tolerated and even encouraged might be, but only because the collapse of Republican political and economic dominance are upon us now. The desperation is that they are losing now and will continue to lose for another generation or more.
There is more than an economic unwinding taking place. It is inseparable from the ideological underpinnings that gave it legitimacy — from Milton Friedman and the Chicago School through the anti-union, anti-government Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, to George W. Bush. Half a century of political and economic orthodoxy is collapsing.
The racism at the heart of the Southern Strategy was an essential part of the political base that enabled that orthodoxy to have its sway. It is being threatened overtly by Obama’s candidacy and by a generation of Americans who have grown up in an integrated society and can’t figure out why — after almost eight years of Bush/Cheney and by the carnage on Wall Street caused almost entirely by white guys — anyone in their right mind can possibly believe in the notion of white supremacy.
Arugula eating, latte sipping surrendercrats, cowardly and weak and effeminate who are intent on destroying America with their power.
-G
I think McCain is scared to death of what he and his partner have unleashed out there - this all reminds me of the ID monster from “Forbidden Planet”. the beast is out of the box and McCain doesn’t know how to put it back in. And of course, what we see at rallies and so on is just the people who are willing to get out there and say this stuff in public; it’s not the people sitting at home. If the NSA is listening in on people, I’d sure like them to listen in on these people too.
Yeah ACORN. A bunch of hungry, homeless people getting paid for trying to register cartoon characters and sports teams. That’s totally dangerous.
It actually isn’t vote fraud either - cuz no one would show up to vote - even if the registrar didn’t catch it.
Although the poor guys are being thrown in jail for doing it.
And the Obama campaign is NOT paying anyone to register voters since they are doing it all themselves.
Please vote early if you can. Personally, I am not comfortable with what the whackos are going to do on election day. In fact, I am so uncomfortable about polling places on election day, that I called my sons and said vote early.
I do so hope that we are finally reaching the era where racism loses elections instead of winning them.
I’m looking at a possible connection between mob uprisings from the right and the army unit stationed in the US for crowd control. Any excuse for martial law? It may not come from the left but from the right.
You forgot the orange juice and the herbal tea and the ‘exotic’ Italian ham sandwich.
And NO Democrat has apparently EVER served in the military - and if they have they are all still a bunch of lying cowards.
Where’s the MSM, too?
From your cite:
jhfc. Only the bush administration could consider itself *lucky* that Wall Street crashed on its watch, so that a different disaster would pass unnoticed.
Hi, pups… wowzah, great minds think along the same track, Eli. Just put up a diary at Oxdown that I posted at my homeblog.
Gettin’ back in the groove, vacation’s almost over, gotta leave the tall timber after 10 colorous northern Minnesota days. So, the satellite’s been a little erratic in the mixed-rainy weather. Anything happen while I’ve been in and [mostly] out? /s
Back to catch up with comments now…
Me and sis already did.
Another reason for early voting - it allows the canvassers to focus on other people instead of taking time to call you. That really helps on that last very busy day.
An interesting sidenote from the man who prosecuted members of the Weather Underground:
Interesting that the prosecution was screwed up by the Infamous John Mitchell and Deep Throat himself W. Mark Felt… Imagine that, republicans doing illegal things with wiretaps, illegal activities and such.
Speaking of appeasers…
That’s gonna crimp McBush’s style!
Our ballots are huge this year. We have A-M locally, too.
All I know so far is NO on 8 & 4. And Yes on 1A (rail).
Confused on 7.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful!
I would certainly like to imagine a country where both candidates for election acted like the Obama campaign has struggled to do this time. They haven’t been perfect, but it has been a serious attempt at a more civil discussion of the issues and for that I am most grateful.
for rethugs, the expression of popular grassroots activism (or even awakedness) is a conspiracy against the state in need of squashing.
My guess is that this is the last of the republicans as we know them. The dems will win, times will get really hard and the repugs will take the opportunity to reinvent the party. Elephant as a mascot? Too fat, too “African”, better replace it with an Eagle. Next the name, Republican? GOP? Sounds pretty old fashioned to me. Let’s rename the party the Nationalist Party and how about free, snappy uniforms for the first ten million to join? Heil, Gingrich!
And ACORN turns in the registrations in three piles: checked and good; incomplete but probably valid; and worrisome and likely invalid. But Loud Obbs never mentions in his rants that ACORN is legally required to turn in every form that gets filled out — they would be committing voter registration fraud if they held any back!
The Rick Davis “responsible campaign” memo just makes this all the more ironic. But I guess once McCain realized he couldn’t win on the issues, he went to Schmidt and his Karl Rove playbook.
Teddy, I though Cali was going to put a limit on the number of propositions on the ballot? I remember the year there were 32 statewide ones and we had about a dozen more local ones as well. Egad - takes you an hour just to color in all the little circles!
Another reason to vote by absentee or early!
Great! I heard some pretty scary news today about concerns about the whackos and election day. The news came from a McCain supporter who knew I supported Obama called and said vote early.
Could that be a roundabout way to discourage turnout? If it takes forever to fill out the ballout, then the lines are going to be huge.
Yeah, and that Denver ‘raid’ what a crock. ACORN had been begging for anyone - county, state, or feds to investigate a couple of the signature gatherers because they thought they had been infiltrated by some GOP operatives who were deliberately trying to make them look bad.
So then ACORN gets raided! After providing all this info to three different levels of government. Unreal!
ACORN has been a Republican boogeyman for quite some time now. Their mission is against everything the GOP stands for.
Sorry.. I’m confused. Why are we urging people to vote absentee? Generally speaking, I like the idea of everybody who can physically do so going to the polls on election day.
I don’t think that’s it - I think the system for putting referendums on the ballot is a bit out of control in California. The legislature is required to put any new spending stuff on there (courtesy prop 13) and that’s probably a big part of it this year since Cali is in a financial meltdown. Big bond issues usually take two-three times to get through so differing agencies sometimes stack them up to try and get some passed. It also takes a 2/3 plus 1 to pass these so even if they are popular, sometimes they don’t pass first time around (Prop 13 again). Californians have never been really very trusting of the legislature - and the Rethugs there are if anything, even more obstructionist than the national legislature. So half of the legislative business that actually gets done in Cali is done through the ballot box.
And given the hiring freeze, Ahnold’s roll-back of state salaries, $7 billion budget deficit in a mandatory balanced budget state, etc. I’m not surprised it is such a mess.
Voting absentee is a method of early voting for states that don’t have that option in person.
Absentee voting is noted on the voter rolls, and as I said - if you have already voted - either early in the states that allow that, or by absentee ballot where not - the campaign workers don’t have to spend time calling all the people who have already voted and can focus on those who have not.
Yes, NO on 8 for sure. I can get out my CTA recommends if anyone is interested.
No one could have anticipated . . .
Thanks for that stroll down memory lane!
Any kind of early voting is essential - it helps with ‘turnout’. In states like mine where weather can be brutal at this time of year - it can be an obstacle for people to actually get to the polls. Stuff happens - your car breaks down, someone gets sick, you have to work late, this way you really ensure that your ballot is there - and counted.
Thanks. I’m still of the view that everybody should vote on the same day, except for those who have genuine physical disabilities. But then again, I also think that voting should be mandatory :)
Plus if you live in a state or area where you know the GOP is going to be challenging voters - you want to avoid that whole process if at all possible.
Join the movement to make Election day a National Holiday. Or move it to a weekend day. That way it would probably be a lot better. I agree with the mandatory thing by the way.
Oregon doesn’t have polls anymore. Their entire election system is by mail. Their voter turnout is the highest in the nation.
The idea of mandatory voting would be really interesting to pursue - it would go a long ways towards stopping all this disenfranchisement by the GOPers - since everyone would be required to vote they wouldn’t have much leg to stand on to be trying to stop people…
Just vote early! On electiond day we need a clear Obama win
Kirk
has new post up!
Join the movement to make Election day a National Holiday.
I like the idea of a friend of mine who suggested that Election Day should be moved to July 3rd, so that our new President is known on July 4th.
And that every citizen who votes gets a $1,000 tax deduction.
Woo Hoo! I’ll vote for that!
Love the idea but I would prefer that ballots be sent to you home address.
What in the world was McCain doing in Davenport? McCain has no chance in Iowa and Illinois will go for him just after Hell goes Baptist.
Tryting to pretend that he’s still got a chance of winning…
Eli, thank you for this important post.
You should writeup an Oxdown Diary about that!
His campaign is stupid and ignorant.
How about a what if game. McCain yesterday challenged his constituents. Let’s pretend that he was approached by not the Secret Service but somebody else, who said you are going to cause havoc on election day. So he does tone it down but he still lets his lipstick person on the trail spewing hatred. Who will be held responsible for violence on election day by the MSM? Vote early for Obama.
Regarding early voting - i heard Greg Palast on Air America say that we should not send any vote in by mail - but deliver it in person. Too much chance of them not bothering with things that come in the mail. Arrggh!
That Army unit is at most 8,000 people. They won’t be able to do a lot.
The recommendation from Calitics:
Yes: Prop 1A, Prop 2, Prop 3, Prop 5, Prop 12
No: Prop 4, Prop 6, Prop 7, Prop 8, Prop 9, Prop 10, Prop 11
(I’ll be voting No on 2, because I don’t think it belongs on the ballot. It’s another animal-rights mess.)
The McCain Campaign has successfully ordained the Republican Party as a Hate Group. I believe this will cost them many Republicans. I have a few Republican friends and they are ashamed of what this campaign has done and do not want to bask in the reflected light of the redneck racists. We may not turn them into DEMs just yet, but several now call themselves Independents.
Well you never know who might show up to the polls.
Particularly the Hollywood Blvd. precinct.
And neither do they mention that Republicans have been submitting ballot initiatives for decades that have an AVERAGE of 20% illegal signatures. In fact the fraud is considered so “normal” that the Secreatary of State simply asks the signature collectors to turn in 20% more signatures and then canvasses a small sample of those submitted to see if they need to undertake a more complete assessment.
No one is arrested, and the Republicans certainly aren’t embarassed in the slightest to submit illegal signatures at this massive level.
Hasn’t McCain been back-pedaling as of late yesterday? What happened to that? are they back-pedaling or did they back pedal on their back-pedals already?
McCain practically ripped the mike out of the hand of one elderly woman
who called Obama an Arab (terrorist?) and denied her claim yesterday.Much to her surprise, I might add.
He poured just enough poison into the campaign to risk (to their delight) a race-tinged battle, hoping that Democrats would react in revolting fashion. So far, they have pretty much held their peace.
1) It’s “money in the bank”.
2) In addition it frees up people who can do canvassing, poll observation, or GOTV activities to participate in those. A person in one non competitive State can even go to a State that is competitive to help out there. People who have cars can drive those that don’t to the polls.
3) People standing in line might get discouraged, go home thinking they’ll come back later…then don’t. Or they may find they have an emergency that needs to be dealt with. If only 1/100 people have this ha