McCain – Palin: Political agitators

“Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise…All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach…Propaganda must not serve the truth, especially not insofar as it might bring out something favorable for the opponent.” – Adolf Hitler

Dear Senator McCain and Governor Palin,

I am ashamed of you. If you had any sense, you’d both be ashamed of yourselves as well. Your contempt for Barack Obama is one thing. Your contempt for American voters, as well as your contempt for the election process, is what most concerns me. You have no clue about the true extent of the damage that you have done, and are still doing, as you drag the nation deeper and deeper into the mud.

Your campaign stops are increasingly shrill and ugly, as you stand before crowds and cameras, denouncing Barack Obama’s relationship with William Ayers. You criticize Obama for knowing and working with a man who became infamous for his blatant displays of hatred and anger against his perceived enemy, America. Yet you do so knowing that it will inflame similar feelings of hatred and anger among many of your supporters – hatred and anger against their perceived enemy, an enemy you have created  by demonizing Barack Obama. What gall you have shown in endorsing and encouraging one type of hate over another.

And how narrow your view of life must be. Do you really think this is all about winning in November? How single-minded and ingorant you both are to think that these tactics only affect this election, or the people within our nation. The world is watching us, and they are laughing themselves to death. They see a populace divded by its own government, and they see your polarizing style of “leadership”, and they hear the vitriol spewing forth from your lips, and they know America has started to hit rock bottom. Our allies fear for us and wonder if we will ever get back to being a leader worth following. And our enemies? Well, you “Country First” mavericks are basically handing our asses to our enemies on a silver platter. They know they don’t have much work left to do. If they sit back long enough and leave us to our own devices, we will simply destroy ourselves from within, as the two factions you helped to create within the American public fight each other and try to tear each other down, and our fragile hopes for tolerance and unity give way to finger-pointing, fear and loathing. These are the seeds you are sowing with every word you speak as you try to discredit your opponent, and you must be ready to take responsibility when the bitter, poisonous fruit of your efforts begins to grow.

Don’t tell me you didn’t know it would come to this. You knew full well that there are many people out there who already had a lot of worries and distress brewing in their psyches, and they want someone to blame. They want to get angry. You certainly knew, as well, that there are already many people who have an issue with the idea that an African-American could possibly become our next president. They just needed permission to freely express their bigoted viewpoints. Well, you gave them that. Now that the door is open, you can’t really go back and close it.

And just look at the people who are starting to walk through it: hecklers who yell out wildly inappropriate things – including threats and calls for violence – and who feel emboldened by your thinly veiled racial messages. Is this the demographic you were hoping to capture? Is this truly the America you hope to lead? Take a look at the type of person you’re currently pandering to, the kind of guy whose vote you’re selling yourselves out to get:

COPS: MAN THREATENED VOTER OFFICIALS OVER TARDY REGISTRATION CARD

OCTOBER 8–Angered by a delay in the receipt of his voter registration card, a Louisiana man today threatened to shoot election officials, claiming that he urgently needed to cast a ballot to “keep the n*gger out of office,” according to police. Wade Williams, 75, was arrested this morning on a felony terrorizing charge after allegedly calling the Registrar of Voters and warning that he would come to the state office and empty his shotgun unless he got his registration card. Using profanity and racial slurs, Williams told a state official “about needing to vote to ‘keep the n*gger out of office,” according to an Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office affidavit, a copy of which you’ll find here. Though the document does not name the candidate to which Williams is so violently opposed, it seems likely he was referring to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. After being arrested at his Monroe home, Williams was booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center, where the below mug shot was snapped. En route to the jail, he “continued his ‘tirade’ about niggers and also stated that he had a shotgun, but had it hidden at his residence,” reported Lt. Michael Judd.

Take a good, long look at this guy’s face. Look at the sorry-ass, backwards thinkers that you are expressly trying to win over with your smear campaigns. You both want to win no matter what, so you’re running a truly ugly race, targeting the ugliest underbelly of American society. Surely there can be no pride in such a vctory, but I guess you’re happy enough to take whatever you can get at this point.

I am encouraged by the fact that you are failing in your efforts, and by the fact that the likelihood of you winning the election is dwindling more and more each day. But even though you will probably lose, I want you to know how disgusted I am by your recent antics. You are campaigning in a manner that shows no dignity, no respect for your opponent, no respect for the American public, and no respect for yourselves.  All I can hope is that you’ll get exactly what you deserve on November 4th.

A special place in Hell for McCain and Palin

John McCain and Sarah Palin both seem to know exactly who can go to Hell.

McCain, while running against George Bush in the 2000 Republican primaries, was incensed that the Bush team had run smear campaigns against him (how funny is that?). He was particularly angered by their attempts to bring his adopted Bengali daughter into the mix, by spreading rumors that “John McCain has a black baby”.  In an interview, McCain stated,  “I believe there is a special place in hell for people like those.”

And just the other day, Sarah Palin misquoted Madeline Albright during a campaign appearance, proclaiming, “There’s a place in Hell reserved for women who don’t support other women.” Albright actually said “women who don’t help other women”, but whatever.

Point is, these two sure do seem to be right with the Lord. They’re pretty confident that they have the moral authority to discuss how other people deserve to burn in Hell. And if the recent tactics against Barack Obama are any indication, they think there’s a spot in Hell for him, too. The fact that he worked on a couple of community projects with William Ayers, who was once a radical extremist – even though by the time Obama met him, he was a respected and law-abiding member of the community and of the educational establishment – is evidence enough for McCain and Palin that Obama is “too risky” to be president.

While listening to the sound bites from McCain and Palin’s campaign stops yesterdaay, and hearing the links between Barack Obama and William Ayers repeated again and again, I realized that the whole thing sounded sorta familiar. I did some quick Googling, and I found what I was looking for.

Here is a description of the life of another important and well-known figure, written by a highly-respected scholar; see if you can spot the similarities between this and the Obama/Ayers discussion:

This person…”was the most active resister perhaps known to history…a troublemaker, par exellance”. He “was not just provocative; his actions were illegal…His entire life led up to the culminating confrontation with the powers of his day…His words were revolutionary…All his actions vary in focus and intensity; all are illegal and draw the ire of the ruling and religious authorities.”

In addition, “[He] dined with a social outcast…fraternizing with the enemy…[He] publicly embraced all those excluded by societal laws…”

So who was this “troublemaker” who, like Ayers, defied the law in order to challenge the powers that be, and who, like Obama, associated with the outlaws of his society? Well, it just so happens that it was Jesus. You know, the Son of God, the King of Kings…that guy. Seems He had a real tendency toward civil disobedience, according to writer and lecturer Father John Dear. The author is a Jesuit preist who, earlier this year, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Dear, in his 1994 book, The Sacrament of Civil Disobedience, writes:

“The Gospels make plain that Jesus regularly mingled with ‘sinners and tax collectors’…By sitting at table with a tax collector, sinners and other public outcasts, Jesus must have shocked everyone.”

Discussing Jesus healing the lepers, Dear says, “This act was civilly disobedient because it went beyond the designated boundaries of society, from those nebulous areas where some people are considered ‘insiders’, to those clear-cut, off-limits places where others are declared ‘outsiders’…Jesus deliberately touched the leper who came begging to him, and in doing so, Jesus broke the sociological and religious barriers of society…Jesus was now a marginalized outsider: he had violated all the taboos.” Hmm, insiders and outsiders…where else have I heard this lately?

So, am I saying that Obama = Savior? Christ, no! But I am saying that one of the basic tenets of Christianity is “Love the sinner, hate the sin”. Which begs the question: why is Obama being castigated by McCain and Palin for associating with a former radical activist? Are men not allowed to work side by side on charity boards because one of them was once a criminal? And if they do work together, do you truly believe that the experience makes the other man a criminal too, by extension?

I thought the GOP were all up on their Bible studies, but I guess they forgot that Jesus had time for everyone, including prostitutes and theives. In fact, Jesus saw fit to accept, as one of His 12 apostles, a man known as “Simon the Zealot“, who was a fierce Jewish nationalist and, as a young man, subscribed to the beliefs of the Zealots. According to Wikkipedia,  “the Zealots objected to Roman rule and sought violently to eradicate it.” But isn’t that philosophy kinda like…domestic terrorism, or something? And yet Simon the Zealot was OK by Jesus, was selected to hang with His posse, and was eventually canonized as a Saint in the Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran Churches. I can only assume that, when “Christians” like McCain and Palin ask “What Would Jesus Do?”, they don’t mean it literally, because if they did, then Barack Obama wouldn’t be catching the crap he is right now.

Perhaps the McCain folks hadn’t heard the news yet, but there’s this whole “Ten Commandments” thing, and one of the items on that list is, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Any discussion of how Obama “palled around” with William Ayers, despite a lack of any evidence to support a relationship of that nature, would probably run afoul of that “false witness” idea. I am willing to bet that there’s a very, very  special place in Hell reserved for those who break a commandment in the pursuit of political gain.

It is a sad time for all of us as Americans, because, at a moment when we desperately need a leader to guide us to better times, we are being asked to accept a team of self-serving politicians who would rather point fingers at others than get their own house in order. After years of divisive politics under a polarizing administration, one candidate wants to stick with the status quo and maintain an “us-vs.-them” mentality. I can’t help wondering who could have advised McCain and Palin that hypocritical self-righteousness is a good way to win the hearts of Americans. Now, who could have come up with such a diabolically bad strategy? Hmmm…I don’t know…could it be…

Palin’s secret debate strategy

Oddly enough, I can’t be bothered to post too much about the VP debate last night. I think everyone has already either seen the debate itself, or the highlights, and most people already heard the general consensus of opinion, which was that Biden won. I concur with this sentiment and I don’t even think the Republicans honestly expected any result other than that. Plus, there’s the fact that the debate really didn’t matter too much, regardless of how either candidate performed…so the less time wasted on that the better.

So, because it’s been a very busy week and I am feeling too lazy to write tonight, here’s an item which may explain the secret of Sarah’s success during the debate. Thanks to my good friend Brady, who dug this nugget up and sent it to me:

Reality check

This has been a dizzying couple of weeks. The ups and downs of the financial crisis and of the attempts to repair it are coming fast and furious. Congressional bickering and finger-pointing has left us no closer to a solution than we were when this whole mess started. And during this turmoil, the candidates have been struggling to find the right angle to take. I’ve seen a lot of criticism directed at both McCain and Obama, although McCain is getting the lion’s share of it. It didn’t help him to make such a big stink about how he has been “stepping in to solve problems for the American people”, when the bill he was trying to lay claim to got defeated later the same day, causing a massive plunge on Wall Street.

I think the media, and most voters, are truly missing the point here. The candidates are both correct when they try to stress the urgency of the situation, and the need for some feasible agreement to be reached as soon as possible. For each day that the issue remains unresolved, the money crunch worsens and the effects are being felt in businesses and households all over the nation. But the problem comes when we expect the candidates to come up with the answer. Reality check – neither McCain nor Obama has been sworn in as president yet. In case you forgot, there is still a guy named George W. Bush residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and he’s got a lease there until January of next year. This is HIS problem right now, and it is HIS job to rally the administration and Congress to work out a deal. His failure to do so is the problem here, so laying the blame for the bailout’s defeat on either candidate is a bogus move.

What, exactly, do people expect McCain and Obama to do right now? They are senators – no more and no less, and both have been removed from the day-to-day business of Capitol Hill for months now as they campaign for the presidency. How, exactly, are they responsible for leading Congress to the answer for all our nation’s economic woes? After a crash that was years in the making, it is unrealistic to look to either one of them to solve it all in a week or two. They have both voiced their belief that an agreement on a plan is urgently needed, and they have tried to encourage their colleagues to find some common ground. But for either of them to interject themselves into the process in a greater way would be inappropriate right now, and probably none too helpful, if the events of the past several days are any indication.

The McCain campaign has alleged that Obama has been “watching from the sidelines” during this crisis, and has not done enough to rally support for the president’s bailout proposal. Reality check – during yesterday’s vote on the bailout plan, 60% of House Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while only 37% of Republicans did so – despite the McCain camp’s insistence that “It’s really Senator McCain who got all parties around a table to hammer out a deal”. The truth is that Congress is not focusing on the needs of the presidential candidates right now – many of them have their own election bids to worry about, and pissing off their constituents is not on their agenda. They do not answer to McCain, or Obama, and to add the presidential race into the mix is a distraction from the task at hand.

It’s time for the media and the public to recognize that the leadership on this particular issue needs to come from the White House. Admittedly, this is easier said than done. Bush and his cohorts, after years of alienating and disappointing everyone around them, have fallen into the lame duck zone, where their powers of influence are virtually nil. Still, we cannot lay the responsibility for a solution to the bailout issue on the presidential candidates. Not yet, anyway. When one of them is elected, he will need to get his shit together pretty fast and take action to clean up this mess on a long-term basis. But for now, the immediate concern is the short-term needs of the market and of Americans who are scared and strapped for resources. Reality check -the president and the leaders in Congress must be the ones to step up and make something happen. It’s time for everyone to get off the partisan blame train and admit that, even if it’s tough to do, a plan is needed and the time to pass one is now.

Beyond belief

Just when I thought that things could not possibly get any more insane than they already were in the worlds of politics and finance…today happened. Yesterday, I said this situation in Washington was turning into a circus. Today, I realize I may have been too generous in my assessment. At least you know what to expect in a circus – some animals, some clowns, some crazy stunts performed without a net as the audience holds its breath…oh, wait. That sorta is what today was like, when you get right down to it.

I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime. I have to ask: if you’re a McCain supporter, just what the hell exactly is it that you’re supporting at this point? I mean, do you even know what the hell your candidate is supporting? Because after he spent the day riding in on his white steed to rescue the economy, nobody seems to know what he was there for. People IN HIS OWN PARTY could not explain to reporters what McCain’s position actually is. Does he want to see a modification of the Paulson plan? Does he want something else altogether? Does he want a glass of warm milk, a blankie and a nap? There’s no way of knowing, because he STILL hasn’t taken a stand or made a statement that explains his specific concerns or criticisms on the bailout plan. After bringing the race for the White House to a grinding halt, forcibly party-crashing the proceedings on Capitol Hill, and pissing off David Letterman, there has been no result, no progress, no clarity. NOTHING.

I am at a complete loss. How can he still have people of sound mind who would vote for him? I cannot, for the life of me, understand it. After this past 2 weeks, he appears to be something more than people may have bargained for. They wanted a maverick, and he really was one once. But now? Well, now he’s just a loose cannon – a schizophrenic shape-shifter who changes gears so rapidly and recklessly that you can hear the engine grinding from miles away. Careening like a geriatric pinball from talking point (“The fundamentals of our economy are still basically strong”) to talking point (“America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system”), contradicting himself in ways that cannot possibly be ignored or explained rationally. Throwing out half-baked ideas, one after another, in a desperate attempt to sound like he’s being decisive – let’s form a commission! No, wait – let’s fire the head of the SEC! Oooh, no, I got it – we should try that newfangled “oversight” thingy I’ve heard so much about! Yeah, that’s the ticket!

This is not what should happen. This man has sold himself as the man with the plan, the one who could get things done, the reformer, the bipartisan enabler, the voice of experience and know-how. I ask you, in all honesty and in all seriousness: have his judgment, his demeanor, his actions, his words, his entire response to the economic meltdown, impressed anyone as being good enough? With so much at stake, and with so little room for error in the way this is handled, does it make ANYONE out there feel better to see how confused and erratic McCain’s message has been? I don’t know…I can only speak for myself, but this guy has me scared shitless. I know Obama’s supposed to be the one with no experience, but McCain has failed spectacularly at his attempts to play the role of the capable leader in a time of crisis. The way he went from cluelessness about the true scope of the problem, to the other end of the spectrum where panic reigns and the sky is falling, just boggles the mind. And the childishness of suggesting that the debate should be called off, and that if things weren’t resolved to his satisfation by Friday night, he wasn’t gonna show up – well, that’s just the most inane thing I’ve heard in a long time. To dictate to his opponent, the Debate Commission,  all his hosts in Mississippi who spent so much money, time and effort preparing for this event, and the American people that this debate could only go forward with his say so…it is arrogant, presumptuous and outrageous, and one of the least presidential statements he could possibly have made.

I know there are voters who still -STILL! – feel he is the best choice to lead our nation out of its current circumstances and into better times. But based on this past couple of weeks alone, I don’t think those people are basing their vote on McCain’s abilities as much as they are basing it on a dislike of Barack Obama. There is nothing scarier than the idea that people would knowingly and willingly choose someone who is already screwing things up in Congress (they had a bailout deal in play before he showed up today), before he even gets elected, just to avoid voting for someone like Obama.

You know what, folks? Obama’s not a Muslim. He’s not a terrorist. He doesn’t hate white people. He doesn’t support extremists or radicals. He has known, and even worked with, people who have dubious views or conduct (just like John McCain). He himself has never shared those views or engaged in that sort of conduct (unlike John “Keating Five” McCain or Sarah “Troopergate/Witchcraft” Palin). He is a legal US citizen. His middle name is Hussein. He comes off as a bit too cocky sometimes. He has not been in Washington as long as his opponent has. He is liberal. He is black. And all things considered, he is the better choice in this presidential race, so put your country first and get over it.

The greatest show on earth?

That’s it. I surrender. I’ve been MIA for several days now, just trying to keep up with the changing winds of this presidential race, and the economic crisis, and life in general. I would sit down to start a new blog post, and literally, within 5 or 10 minutes, I would hit “refresh” on my news browser and find that some new development had…well…developed. And whatever I had already written was suddenly obsolete, as a new pile of crazy came tumbling out of the sky.

Folks, I submit to you that this past couple of weeks have transformed this country in the worst kind of way. We are no longer looking at Washington or Wall Street. What we are now looking at is a nation that has become the biggest reality show in the history of mankind. We’ve got the loopy cast of characters, we’ve got the smackdowns between rivals, we’ve got the entire world tuned in 24/7, choosing their own “bad guys” to hiss and “good guys” to root for, and alternately laughing and crying at the drama of it all. The only thing we’re missing is for Flavor Flav to show up and start mackin’ on Sarah Palin.  

I love this country. I was raised to believe that it is a nation born of a courageous struggle for freedom, liberty and equality. But when I see the circus that has sprung up in the wake of the Wall Street meltdown and the bitter race for the White House, I am disgusted. The ringleader seems to be John McCain, as he encourages the chaos by changing his stance day to day (sometimes even hour to hour), and juggles platitudes, accusations and distractions in the center ring while fire shoots out of his ears, trying desperately to ensure that the spotlight stays on him at all times, by any means necessary.

Today’s display was the most desperate yet, as McCain threatened to pull his participation in the first presidential debate this Friday night, so he could go to “Warshington” and hammer out an agreement to save the financial world. This, despite the fact that everybody who has already been in Washington, working on this bill for the past several days, doesn’t really need him there.

Senator Chris Dodd, the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show this evening after President Bush’s speech. He called out McCain for pulling yet another 180:

“I’m delighted that John is expressing himself on the issue. I’ve heard from Barack Obama on numerous occasions over the last number of days, calling…I know he’s talked to Hank Paulson, and so he’s been deeply involved and interested in how this is progressing. I’ve never heard from John McCain on the issue. That’s why I’m delighted he’s expressing some interest, and I’m a little concerned that while we’re meeting – in fact, tomorrow morning at 10 AM, Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate are sitting down to try and finalize some of these particular points; we had a long meeting today, the Democratic Caucus in the Senate – and I’m just worried a little bit that sort of politicizing this problem, sort of flying in here…I’m beginning to think this is more about a rescue plan for John McCain than a rescue plan for the economy. So we’re going to meet  tomorrow apparently at the White House, late in the afternoon, but candidly, a lot of us have been working for five straight days, around the clock, and I haven’t heard a word from John McCain“.

As for the House Democrats, Rep. Barney Frank (Financial Services Committee Chairman), summed it up in one sentence. Referring to McCain’s threat to cancel his participation in the debate unless an agreement is reached by Friday night, he said, “It’s the longest Hail Mary in the history of football or Marys”.

So McCain tries to act as if he is transcending the political games, and putting his country first by suspending the campaign and postponing the debate while he attends to more pressing matters. When in reality, he has not even attempted to participate in the efforts to get a bill passed before now, nor has he even had a position on the issue that was consistent from day to day. He sputters, spins, and does what he can to keep changing the dialogue from the dismal economy (which is also dismal for his campaign) to…well, anything else at all.

On the other hand, Barack Obama has been constant and calm, true to his past voting record and to his plans and proposals, refusing to pander or to backpedal. He remains assured and assuring, and he acts like someone who expects to deal with these types of crises as president and is unafraid to do so.

The circus is getting louder by the minute, with new dirt about McCain’s campaign staff being discussed every day and McCain shouting at the top of his lungs to drown out those discussions; with poll numbers slipping and McCain turning up the volume on new attack ads; with the media scrutinizing him and his running mate and McCain disparaging their journalistic credibility…the noise is beginning to overwhelm those of us who are trying our best to pay attention.

Yet in the midst of this unholy din, Obama is resolute. He is cautious. He is thoughtful. And instead of panic, he is offering a steady presence and a real hope that Congress can agree on a bill that will satisfy both the needs of the marketplace and the needs of average Americans. It’s hard to believe, but it is his quiet response that seems to be cutting through the noisy blasts from McCain’s camp and reaching the ears of voters. Polls taken over the past several days indicate that most Americans trust Obama’s ideas on the economy, rather than McCain’s. In addition, Obama picked up the electoral lead for the first time in key battleground states like Michigan, Colorado and Pennsylvania.

Of course, this is all subject to change again in the next 5 minutes or so. I guess we’ll all have to tune in to “As The U.S. Turns” tomorrow to find out if the debate will go on, if Congressional agreement on a bailout bill can be reached, and if Flavor Flav and Sarah Palin will live happily ever after. Don’t touch that dial…

Break time

Hey folks –

Well, it’s official…I think I’ve OD’ed on political news coverage. I have been up late every night this week, keeping an eye on all the information that’s been swirling around. From Obama’s chat with Bill O’Reilly to the National Service Forum last night, through Lipstickgate and Palin’s interview, I’ve been ingesting every last morsel and I think it’s beginning to catch up with me.

 

So I think what I’ll do is post something a bit lighter today, and take the weekend off. I was finding some funny political lolz at http://icanhascheezburger.com, and I even made a couple of my own (the Palin ones are mine), so I thought I’d share them with ya. Scroll all the way down the page to see ’em and have a little chuckle! If you haven’t tried it yet, making these images up is pretty fun, so give it a try and if you come up with something funny, please feel free to post them here. I always encourage sharing with the class here on my blog.

I’ll recharge my batteries over the next coupla days and be back with some new posts next week. Enjoy your weekend y’all!