This is what John McCain's once vaunted political brand has been reduced to. The once proud maverick brand is fast becoming a joke. A liar. A fraud. An opportunist with anger management issues.
More dangerous, his campaign has sunk to the level of fomenting anger and hatred as it's chosen road to electoral victory. He is unleashing the unhinged right.
At McCain's anti-Obama diatribe in New Mexico yesterday, McCain asked the question "Who is the real Barack Obama?" The answer yelled from the crowd..."A terrorist".
Also yesterday, as Palin slimed Obama with their renewed Ayer's attacks, another member of the crowd yelled out "Kill him!"
At the same Florida event, Republicans shouted abuse at journalists, hurling obscenities. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, "Sit down, boy."
Today you have the Palin promoting the lie that Obama is criticizing the troops in Afghanistan, prompting chants of treason from the crowd.
Add to that the Pennsylvania Republican Party's announcement yesterday, that Obama is a "terrorists best friend"...and you start to get an idea of just where the Republican party is taking American politics. It is a party mired in desperation, deliberately stoking the fires of hate and fear, and using disgusting lies to argue that Obama is literally dangerous.
This is dangerous territory. It is creating an environment where angry right-wing activists feel free to use racial slurs against journalists, and shout assassination requests at political rallies.
It is not the act of a Maverick...it's not the act of someone who loves their country.
It is the act of a party willing to divide the republic with destructive acts to stay in power. It is the act of a politician willing to do and say anything to win an election.
Steve Benen at The Political Animal calls for McCain and Palin to pull thier supporters back from the brink.
That said, McCain/Palin have reached a point where they have to decide whether whipping right-wing activists into a frenzy, based solely on lies, is the responsible way to seek national office. The Republican candidates are not literally calling for violence against their political rivals, but they're nevertheless standing by, saying nothing, while their supporters are shouting words like "kill," "terrorist," and "treason" at their rallies.
And given that this rage-filled hatred is in direct response to the McCain/Palin campaign lying to their supporters, now would be the ideal time for these candidates to take a look in the mirror and consider the consequences of a relentlessly negative, breathtakingly dishonest, anger-driven campaign.
It really makes my head spin...
2 comments:
McCain and Palin are painting themselves in a very bad light. By doing nothing to quell the threats spewed from their supporters, they endorse those very threats and lies. I find it disgusting. But after this second debate, it is painfully obvious that Obama is the better choice.
I agree with you both. McCain and Palin have nothing worthwhile to say about anything that matters, so they attack Obama to distract from their ignorance.
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