I'm loath to bring this up, but others have done so before: should he win the election, I'm very worried about an assassination attempt on Barack Obama.
What prompted, or more correctly, re-prompted this thinking, was a piece Evanier linked to by "Frank Schaeffer, a longtime supporter of John McCain and vice-versa, [who] thinks McCain-Palin rallies are starting to resemble lynch mobs." Schaeffer writes:
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....
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...
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...
...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.
I'm going to assume the fact that Rensselaer County, NY printed 300 of its 4000 absentee ballots with the name of the Democrat listed as 'Barack Osama' as a mistake, rather than deliberate sabotage, but I'm guessing that the constant barrage of smears may have an subconscious effect on whoever made the error.
Add to this, Sarah Palin's relationship to the Alaskan Independence Party , a group with a distinct neo-Confederacy stance. As former AIP head Mark Chryson put it, "Yes. The War of Northern Aggression, or the Civil War, or the War Between the States — however you want to refer to it — was not about slavery, it was about states’ rights." He added that the South should have been able to secede.
Now to be fair, I also worried about Ted Kennedy in 1980, but that was based more on actuarial tables (all three of his brothers dying violent deaths - Joe in WWII; the 20-year Presidential curse that ran from 1840 to 1960) than any perceived threat.
I don't think we live in a post-racial America yet - whatever that means - and Obama's recent rise in the polls makes me both hopeful and fearful.
ROG
1994: the non-crossover #1s, AC and RB
11 hours ago
5 comments:
This is the subject that no one wants to talk about. Until relatively recently, I wasn't too worried—not until the ugliness of the Palin-McCain campaign started getting worse and worse and worse. Can they put the evil genie back in the bottle?
Far be it from me to correct a librarian, but that presidential "curse" actually ran from 1840 (not 1940) to 1960 (WH Harrison being the first to die, in 1841, after being elected in 1840 and supposedly bringing the "curse" onto the presidency).
Typo. 1840. I knew that; the link even mentions it; corrected. Thanks.
I think that many of us, as we became more committed to Obama's candidacy, have had these fears, and they are real. Not only is racism alive, but the theocratic fringe stands willing to do "God's work," and the neo-Cons have been preaching for years how Liberals are Socialists which is Communism which is dictatorship, so a liberal is dangerous! A perfect storm of fanaticism.
In fact, I recall seeing a Youtube of Michelle Obama being asked about the potential of assassination at a rally this Spring. What a woman: she counseled 'Be not afraid. Things happen as they should.'
Plus, even should tragedy occur, our team actually has someone in the VP spot with the skills to assume the Presidency. But, prayers to the Most High that it never comes to that...
My wife has mentioned this same thing now for a few months. I don't want to think about it. I would hope many things (better security, smarter citizens, etc.) could keep this from not happening.
The biggest thing that bothers me about this is that it comes mostly to race and non-compromising politics. He hasn't even had a chance to become President and do something that upsets people. I really wish people would give him a chance. Of course, even if he does straighten things out, those who are against him will find other people to put the accolades on, or make up excuses that it really wasn't him and his administration.
Colbert picked up the ballot incident: http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/8980
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