Campbell Brown Blasts McCain Campaign For "Race Baiting"

In her "No Bias, No Bull" segment Wednesday night, Campbell Brown pleaded with the McCain campaign to stop what she referred to as "race baiting."

"It is getting very, very ugly," Brown said. "Tonight, we are cutting through the bull on the issue of race and this campaign."

Brown blasted McCain surrogates for injecting race Obama's race into the campaign narrative by invoking his middle name or referring to him as a terrorist, and she called on McCain to deliver a "much stronger denunciation than a campaign-generated paper statement":

Look, everybody, we all know that we are in unchartered territory here. Never before has there been an African-American presidential nominee. So without question, race is going to be part of the conversation. Race baiting doesn't have to be. And yet, it is happening in this campaign.

Twice this week, surrogates for Senator McCain had made a point of calling Senator Obama "Barack Hussein Obama." The implication here is clear. It's foreign sounding. It's Muslim sounding. It's un-American sounding. It's dangerous sounding.

What it is, is race baiting. And that is what is dangerous. Inciting crowds, encouraging their angry outbursts. McCain supporters shouting "treason" and "terrorist" about Obama at these rallies — that is dangerous.

Earlier in the campaign, McCain denounced this stuff. He strongly denounced it. And today, it requires a stronger response, a much stronger denunciation than a campaign-generated paper statement.

Brown also cautioned Obama supporters not to accuse McCain of racism over his "that one" remark from Tuesday's Presidential debate, as she reported some have done. "Give me a break," she said. "I can hear my grandfather talking about one of his kids or grandkids as 'that one.' He used it a lot. Maybe it's a generational thing. Maybe it wasn't a term of endearment
the way it was when my grandfather used it. Maybe McCain did mean to be disrespectful, but racist? I don't think so."

She ended the segment with a plea for candidates, supporters, and the media:

You know, we should be holding these candidates accountable for what they say during the campaign, and hope that in these final days, they do try to maintain a little dignity. But we have also got to check ourselves. We have a responsibility, too, to not get overheated. What we say matters, too.

Whoever wins this election, we are all going to have to rally around that person. Given what is happening to our economy, all that is going on in this country right now, none of us wants the next president to be a failure, whoever he may be, do we?

Over the weekend, Brown's shift towards the role of nonpartisan commentator was highlighted in a New York Times article. A collection of recent links in which she has kept politicians' feet to the fire appears below:

Campbell Brown Pleads: 'Don't Let This Devolve Into A Campaign That...We Are Sickened By'
Campbell Brown Holds Paulson, Bush Accountable For Crisis: "Seriously, What Were You Thinking?"
Campbell Brown Rips McCain Camp's "Sexist" Treatment Of Palin
McCain Spokesman Stumped Trying To Explain Why Palin Is Ready To Be Commander-In-Chief

Comments

[Hufforama]

Republicans will do anything and say anything to get elected. It dosent matter how big the lie. That is the tragedy of politics itself. Read up on propoganda on Wikepedia, and see how it is being effectively used by McCain and the boys to scare the crap out of people. Shamefull, but not new.

[Hufforama]

Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented

Appeals to fear seeking to build support by instilling anxieties and panic in the general population.

Black-and-White fallacy :
Presenting only two choices, with the product or idea being propagated as the better choice. (e.g., "You are either with us, or you are with the enemy")


Making individuals from the opposing nation, from a different ethnic group, or those who support the opposing viewpoint appear to be subhuman ,worthless, or immoral, through suggestion or false accusations.
Wikipedia: check it out.

[wiig]

While in the political world we live in, it may be dangerous to make a big deal of McCain's "that one..." comment; however, it doesn't change the fact that it was a race baiting comment. McCain is a very intelligent man, I am sure that was a very calculated remark, one that would appear to someone with an old codger grandfather as innocent; however, there are others who know what it means. It's a code word for something much worse.

McCain could have said "that man..." or "that person...". If he had, he would have recognized Obama as a human. The problem is that he used the word "one", a word that could be used for an animal or an object. Therefore, he was trying to say that Obama was less than human, which means it had more than just racial undertones, he was saying "that n*****" without using the n-word.

[JohnnyBeBad]

You are a r#cist- you used the "N" word!

[StellaRay]

I would ask Ms. Cambell, if you're no bias, no bull, how come you haven't coverd Sara Palin's ties to the Alaskan Independance Party? Don't feel to bad, you're not alone. The MSM has avoided this story as if it was some sort of Enquirer article too dirty for them to touch. Huh? If ever there was a relevant response to Sara Palin's hate speeches about Obama/Ayers, this is it. The refusal of the MSM to cover this is a travesty.

[Annette truth teller08]

I'm glad she tried to speak out.

[iv64]

This is Campbell Brown from CNN "All Bias All Bull". Her show is despicable and bias.
PS Campbell the extreme religious right is not impartial and has no right to be shown on a NON bias show. I am insulted as a woman you would even suggest these women as independent thinkers. I am religious but Sarah Palin is a disgrace to any woman of intellect.

[BobsNotWorking]

"Whoever wins this election, we are all going to have to rally around that person."

We all rallied around Bush after he stole the election in 2000. We rallied around him again in 2004 even thought there were already serious doubts about his competency. I can just about guarantee that these radical Republicans, many of whom are motivated by radical religious beliefs, will never coalesce around Obama. They will not accept the election even if Obama wins in a landslide. Mark my words. They will never accept it.

[littlepuffycloud]

no Bob, MANY of us never rallied around Bush either time. Many of us cried on Nov 5th 2004. Many of us have never used the word 'president' or Bush in the same sentence. I have no such belief that the haters of Senator Obama will ever rally behind him after he's elected. They are lost causes and as such, will be left behind as the rest of us move forward along with the rest of the world.

[CamJam]

Yea I cried, yelled, and screamed. I was disgusted with the people that voted for him and in 2004 I also faxed my 2 cents to Bush . And I'm positive my 4 pages went to the round file because not one thing I asked, begged and pleaded in that fax did he do. NOT ONE THING.

But I don't think people are going fax letters or sit back and take it this time if Mac wins...

I really hope I don't see that day.

[mathme]

But she didn't mention the "kill him" and "off with his head" comments?

[enviroservices]

I have to agree with Ms. Brown in the first and not the second instance of her argument.

I for am repulsed by the McCain campain's use of derogatory terms in referring to Obama. They do sound desperate when they resort to such pedestrian tactics of trying to incite racism.

Note to the sophomoric campaign: (readers you know which one it is) Have you guys looked at the dow and s&p 500 drops today. There are people behind these numbers who have lost massive amounts of their nest eggs and it looks bleak for those nearing retirement.

With such a massive issue at hand, should we be spending a breath of air on such paltry, race baiting? I hope saner minds will prevail during the rest of the presidential and other races. At least I pray!

[zurcl]

even though i disagree with the "racism" part of your argument (i think it was, you, not so much) i think you're doing good work. please keep going.

[Britishdemocrat]

Campbell Brown is brilliant. This new 'No Bull, just the facts' is a brilliant initiative that CNN has started. She really holds all people in the news accountable from all political positions - not something that False News has been doing a lot of.

[BobsNotWorking]

If this is true of Campbell, I don't have cable television, then she arrived just in the nick of time. When I recently canceled my cable service CNN was well on it's way to an attempt to overtake FOX in the "Fair and Balanced" department. You know... That "balance" that vitiates the truth.

[slpmom]

Campbell Brown needs to ask how the Repubs can keep harping on the Rev. Wright connection while they are insinuating the Muslim rumors (also more a racist than terrorist smear). How can they be troubled by BOTH his CHRISTIAN and his MUSLIM connections?
ALSO -- by constantly hitting on the Ayres thing --- aren't the Repubs smearing the Annenberg family - who hired Ayres and who are among the Repubs biggest contributors????

[Tulka2]

Good eye!

[PT6]

AGAIN Campbell Brown is my new HERO!

Pat Buchanan is DANGEROUS! And PALIN is talking even MORE DANGEROUSLY!

By giving credence to McCain’s tactics they are inciting the “off-centered” element to harm American Leaders!

[alvdh1]

She got a few headlines a few weeks ago when she took McCain spokeman Tucker Bounds to task. She has since fallen back into the abyss or the backwaters of journalism. McCain has gone 100 % over the line and she knows it. She is taming her hard line with instructions to the Obama campaign about how to behave.

[miatch]

Nice song about THAT ONE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmOUP0U5PNk

[23000Days]

Thank you! Really good.

Tee shirt phrase: I'm voting for THAT ONE, (not the other one).

[rahmanya]

Hey people! watch this video.....!

this is the reason why America should vote for "THAT ONE"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmUUYo9o9eg&NR=1

[rahmanya]

Cool! man! nice one!
I I still like this video best!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU&feature=related

remember! this was a real Hit!