McCain’s attacks fuel dangerous hatred
John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence.
At a Sarah Palin rally, someone called out, "Kill him!" At one of your rallies, someone called out, "Terrorist!" Neither was answered or denounced by you or your running mate, as the crowd laughed and cheered. At your campaign event Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa., the crowd was seething with hatred for the Democratic nominee – an attitude encouraged in speeches there by you, your running mate, your wife and the local Republican chairman.
Shame!
John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who put principle ahead of mere political gain.
You have changed. You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate.
John McCain, you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that surround the issue of race in this country. You also know that, post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious matter. You also know we are a bitterly divided country on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there.
Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs.
John McCain, you’re walking a perilous line. If you do not stand up for all that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot, fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters when they scream out "Terrorist" or "Kill him," history will hold you responsible for all that follows.
John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations.
Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people – forever.
We will hold you responsible.
Frank Schaeffer is the author of "Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back." His e-mail is frankaschaeffer@
Tracy Abell 
thanks for posting this.
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A friend had just sent me this and then I read your post and realized the op-ed needed more exposure. We’ve got to fight back against this ugliness before there’s no turning back.
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i wholeheartedly agree
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Amen! I’m appalled by the tenor of the McCain-Palin campaign, and I’m frightened by the potentially horrific ramifications of their recent rallies.
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Meant to add…This afternoon, McCain had to repudiate the hateful, misinformed statements made by members of his town forum audience. I believe I witnessed a disgraced man being forced to swallow his own soul.
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“a disgraced man being forced to swallow his own soul.”
So perfect. Yes.
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Never mind, I see that seaheidi already linked to what I mentioned. I didn’t want to just delete and run.
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I found this on factcheck.org useful.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/he_lied_about_bill_ayers.html
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This whole line of attack reeks of desperation. Too bad the crazies at McCain rallies aren’t reading stuff like this.
Thanks for the link.
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I found this on factcheck.org useful.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/he_lied_about_bill_ayers.html
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Ugh, American politics sure is ugly. I was just reading about this, so I’m glad you posted this piece.
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This has moved beyond mere ugliness into the danger zone. This is deliberate rabble-rousing. And the only reason McCain finally spoke up was he realized it wasn’t working and was damaging his already tattered reputation. You notice his pal is still out there banging the ignorance drums.
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This is a good piece–thanks for posting it.
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You’re welcome, Christy. I just wish the people who most need to read it would do so and dial down the rabble-rousing about ten notches.
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I have to agree here … although I don’t think anything that the McCain camp says will completely quell it .. but you’re right…they shouldn’t fan the flames. These people exist, they aren’t going away. Having lived in the south most of my life, I am very aware of them.
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They know exactly what they’re doing and they don’t care. McCain only spoke up because he realized it wasn’t working and that it was harming his reputation. His running mate is still out there saying inflammatory things. As for McCain quelling it, it’s hard to put out a fire once it’s been doused in gasoline.
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Ugh. This is scary.
And I can’t even feel complacent because I’m Canadian. We’re having a federal election, too, on October 14. And dirty politics are happening here, too. In my riding and another one, people have been throwing political signs away–that’s bad enough–and vandalizing the cars of people with signs on their lawns. Cut brake lines, etc. Endangering the lives of the drivers and their families. I’m sickened and scared.
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Cut brake lines?! That’s horrifying. I knew it was a deeply divided election in Canada but I didn’t realize that stuff was happening. I’m so sorry to hear that, Barb. Crazy stuff happening all over the world. We all need to take some deep breaths.
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Ugh. This is scary.
And I can’t even feel complacent because I’m Canadian. We’re having a federal election, too, on October 14. And dirty politics are happening here, too. In my riding and another one, people have been throwing political signs away–that’s bad enough–and vandalizing the cars of people with signs on their lawns. Cut brake lines, etc. Endangering the lives of the drivers and their families. I’m sickened and scared.
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“a disgraced man being forced to swallow his own soul.”
So perfect. Yes.
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This whole line of attack reeks of desperation. Too bad the crazies at McCain rallies aren’t reading stuff like this.
Thanks for the link.
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“Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs.”
Yes!!!! I don’t even know what else to say. I’m thoroughly disgusted by McCain and Palin.
And like boreal_owl has said; it’s damn crazy up here lately too. I mean, the car break lines of people with Liberal signs on their lawn cut!! I’d never heard of such a thing before this election.
I hope we can keep Harper from a majority. I can hardly stand the suspense anymore. You can get an idea of how strongly some people feel about getting rid of Harper from this song, recorded by a group of well known Canadian musicians.
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Thank you for that link. A beautiful song that got me teary. You’d said there are so many candidates running in opposition so do you think you’ll prevent Harper’s majority?
I know what you mean about the suspense. I’d like to go into a sleep chamber for the next 23 days. I’m feeling confident about Obama’s win but the right is doing everything it can to delegitimatize his victory so as to undercut his administration. I’m really sick of it all.
Holding good thoughts for you on the 14th!
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Thanks for your good thoughts, Tracy! I cast my vote already and I’ll be holding my breath for the rest of the day. It’s looking like Harper will get in with a minority, unless the other parties form some kind of coalition.
I’ve never felt such urgency about an election before and after this is over I’ll be turning my eyes south, hoping right along with you guys that Obama prevails.
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Don’t forget to breathe, Carolyn!
I’m hoping there’s a coalition to block Harper. It’s horrible feeling as if you have no control over these huge decisions, I know. This is the first time in years that I’ve felt a little wiggle room in my soul as we come up on an election. We’ve got to take back this country.
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“Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs.”
Yes!!!! I don’t even know what else to say. I’m thoroughly disgusted by McCain and Palin.
And like boreal_owl has said; it’s damn crazy up here lately too. I mean, the car break lines of people with Liberal signs on their lawn cut!! I’d never heard of such a thing before this election.
I hope we can keep Harper from a majority. I can hardly stand the suspense anymore. You can get an idea of how strongly some people feel about getting rid of Harper from this song, recorded by a group of well known Canadian musicians.
LikeLike
Thank you for that link. A beautiful song that got me teary. You’d said there are so many candidates running in opposition so do you think you’ll prevent Harper’s majority?
I know what you mean about the suspense. I’d like to go into a sleep chamber for the next 23 days. I’m feeling confident about Obama’s win but the right is doing everything it can to delegitimatize his victory so as to undercut his administration. I’m really sick of it all.
Holding good thoughts for you on the 14th!
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Thanks for your good thoughts, Tracy! I cast my vote already and I’ll be holding my breath for the rest of the day. It’s looking like Harper will get in with a minority, unless the other parties form some kind of coalition.
I’ve never felt such urgency about an election before and after this is over I’ll be turning my eyes south, hoping right along with you guys that Obama prevails.
LikeLike
Don’t forget to breathe, Carolyn!
I’m hoping there’s a coalition to block Harper. It’s horrible feeling as if you have no control over these huge decisions, I know. This is the first time in years that I’ve felt a little wiggle room in my soul as we come up on an election. We’ve got to take back this country.
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