The Republican Hate Machine is just getting warmed up with this new version of Swift-boating. We might call it “Getting Hucked” since Mike Huckabee reminded us how to do it this campaign season. First you make some wild accusation, or slanderous attack ad and next thing is after showing it to the press you disavow it. This way gets you both the message and the high ground. Huckabee used it effectively several times. Remember when in South Carolina, he called a press conference to show an attack ad against Romney and after they viewed it he said his campaign had decided not to run it? Remember when he made his comments about Romney’s Mormonism and then apologized? That’s how they do it….
Now from the McCain front comes a most scurrilous attack. They allow radio talk-show host, Bill Cunningham to introduce the candidate. He himself is introduced as “an extremely important part of John McCain’s presidential campaign”
Then for many excruciatingly long minutes he harangues and derides Barack Obama as a terrorist sympathizer and repeatedly saying his middle name “Hussein”. He calls him a crook and a liar. See the video here,
Then just minutes later after the words introducing the candidate are picked up by the press and after John McCain is cheered by the enthusiastic crowd does the campaign issue a repudiation of the remarks. Sorry, the damage is done. The racist hatred has been fomented and cannot be revoked or forgotten by a mere apology. If they don’t want his message to get to the hearts of their wavering base why even let him on the stage?
In no way do I think John McCain thinks these things about Obama, nor do I mean to impugn his character, but everybody who knows this guy knows what he is going to say. They KNOW, and still they pander to their far right-wing base, get their message out and then they disavow it. It’s brilliant, and it works every time. So now Obama just got Hucked. It won’t be the last time the right wing hate machine lets go a good one.John McCain may not be a racist, he may not be a demagogue and he is most certainly a Patriot of the first order, but by allowing these sorts of people to participate prominently in his campaign his managers give us a very clear view inside the tent that they call Republican and the direction they want to take the country.
Bill Clinton did not make this contest about race, the far right-wing did. That’s the way they want it because it’s the only way they know to defeat a candidate as good as Obama.
If Obama is the Democratic nominee and if he is elected, we can look forward to at least four years of this tripe just like they gave us eight years of the same mindless, hateful drivel during the Clinton years. Fact is, there was no there there then and there is no there there now. But I do love the First Amendment and so I will suffer this in the pursuit of the Ideal. This ideal is what makes America a great nation. The worst about America is what some people do with it.
February 28, 2008
Hey, You just got Hucked!
Filed under: Thoughts... — Ed Kirkpatrick @ 9:35 am
Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, bill cunningham, dirty tricks, Hillary Clinton, huckabee, John McCain
Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, bill cunningham, dirty tricks, Hillary Clinton, huckabee, John McCain
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I agree with you on Bill Cunningham, but Mccain denounced the statement as soon as he got on stage, (right after Cunningham’s speech) which shows me he isn’t (and never has) pandered to the extreme right of the GOP. I respect your opinion on here as it is your blog and your son was a friend of mine, but as you said, I have the right to voice mine.
Obama and Clinton are both very far left when it comes to policy, and that bothers me. While I don’t want the far right either, the far left and their socialist/communist leanings are not any better. As I’ve said before, communism/socialism doesn’t work, it always ends up with an extremely strong central government, and eventually, a dictator (Castro, Lenin, Stalin, Hugo Chavez, etc, etc.)
Barack is a much better speaker than Hillary, seems sincere, and is a likable guy, but he has some things about him that make me uneasy. His church affiliation, endoresment by Farakahn (sp?), and some of his wife’s comments (she wasn’t “proud” of America before), his endorsement by moveon.org (who ran the “general betray us” ad) are bothersome. He is also the most liberal senator (according to his voting record) by far. Now, if that’s your cup of tea, so be it, but I am a moderate and I don’t want extremes on either side.
McCain is a pretty liberal Republican on many issues and has been shown to reach accross and work with the Democrats on issues, Obama and Clinton have not. However, he was very wrong on the issues of immigration, CO2 emissions, and guantanamo bay (IMHO).
Sadly to say, I am at an impasse, neither side really “excites” me, I haven’t fallen for Obama’s “hope” and “change” speeches, even though some people treat him like the second coming of Christ (including the media).
I’ve done quite a bit of reading and research, watched the debates on both sides, and tried to read through the “political speak” to see what the candidates are really about, and it’s been hard.
The democrats seem to want to act like robin hood and steal from the rich to give to the poor, and I don’t agree with that. I am as humanitarian as the next person, but our government was not created to do that, the more we “subsidize” lower income people, the more inept and dependent on the system they will become.
The republican seem to want more of the same, and obviously something needs to change (look at oil prices and the economy).
Politics have become way too polarized and partisan, perpetuated by the media (MSM for the left and Talk Radio for the right). It’s hard for those of us who aren’t either extreme right or extreme left to make a choice anymore.
Take care and i’ll see you this weekend,
Comment by Myles — March 5, 2008 @ 11:15 am |