Campaign Trail Antipathy Really Getting Scary Now

Good God. Really? According to the AP, officials in Cullowhee, North Carolina are having to investigate who placed a dead bear cub on the campus of Western Carolina University, and bedecked it with Obama campaign signs. That's right. Someone shot a bear cub in the head and stapled Obama signs to it. Seriously. What is wrong with people?

Tom Johnson, chief of the university police, serves as this event's official Cosmonaut Of The Totally Obvious: "This is certainly unacceptable...Someone was wanting to draw attention to the election." Somewhere, in tribute to his fallen comrade, a bear defecated in the woods.

Leila Tvedt, the associate vice chancellor of the university, said, "We cannot speculate on the motives of the people involved, nor who those people might be." And truly, who can blame her for not wanting to ponder the motives that drove someone to...yes--SHOOT A BABY BEAR IN THE HEAD, DRAG THE CORPSE TO A SCHOOL AND PLACE ELECTION SIGNS ON IT.

Oh, and elsewhere, there's this:

Chesterfield County police are investigating the theft of a resident's campaign sign supporting Barack Obama's historic bid for the presidency.

The 4-by-8-foot sign in the yard of a black resident was replaced by a Confederate flag.

The Obama sign was posted by 78-year-old Leroy C. McLaughlin, a Baptist minister. He reported it missing on Friday.

Chances are, though, this stuff is all a part of what it means to Sarah Palin to be a patriot.

And now, my soul needs to go and throw up a little.

Comments

[clevelandchick]

Think of the person(s), and I use that term loosely, that went out to look for a baby bear cub...grab it and murder it then drag the body to campus and staple election signs to it...cold calculating sociopaths.

An Obama supporter was attacked and beaten in a wealthy suburb of Chicago, a bear cub is murdered to scare Obama supporters, today the Secretary of State of Ohio's computers were hacked and they received envelopes with white powder, McCain/Palin supporters are yelling 'terrorist, Bomb Obama, Kill Him, etc' at rallies, Obama supporters are having their signs stolen or vandalized, some guy has an effigy of Obama hanging in his yard, commenters on Bill O'Reilly's site and other conservative blogs are mocking Obama for visitng his gravely ill grandmother, a GOP women's group puts Obama on Food Stamp bucks with watermelon, a bucket of KFC, ribs and Koolaid...

The leaders of the Republican Party do nothing to disavow this or ask their supporters to behave like law-abiding human beings which makes them wholly responsible for all of it. That includes McCain and Palin.

[jja]

Couldn't agree with you more. McCain was all over Obama to repudiate Mr. Lewis' remarks. Where is McCain's repudiation of this nonsense?

[jinxed]

You have to remember, John McCain keeps repeating that all of this is negative stuff is Sen. Obama's fault because he wouldn't do the town halls with him. It is not McCain's fault. The other interesting thing is the Obama campaign offered to do a couple of the town halls but unless it was all of them McCain wasn't interested. In other words, my way or the highway again.

[whit4brains]

John Lewis was right.

[respectingothers]

to hel*l with law abiding "how about a little love in their hearts" ????

[CaliBoy145]

Are these the Pro-America parts of the country Gov. Palin was talking about?

[gbkc]

yep- near asheville, nc for the bear cub story and richmond, va suburb for the flag story. some comments on the story at www.inrich.com are just as vile as the act itself.

ugh

[Rogue Scholar]

poor innocent cub...this breaks my heart to no end. Things are out of control, and yet I've not heard a word from McPalin condemning any of these actions, or calling for an end to the extremists on their side.

Someone tries to boo at an Obama rally and he speaks out immediately. This goes beyond anything I could have or would have imagined possible from the world. I didn't know pro-american meant anti-woodland creatures. Now I have to go home and give my dog extra affection.

Animals can't vote. Leave them alone.

well, I guess some animals can...I just hope they don't.

[DavidNOE]

Well, you gotta remember it was a BLACK bear...

[GrainneKathleen]

And now, my soul needs to go and throw up a little.

I could not have said it better. I hope a game warden finds out who shot the bear cub - game wardens actually have more powers than the police. My guess is that anyone who would be cruel and idiotic enough to do this would also be dumg enough to brag about it. I loathe the practice of bear hunting as it is.

[LALC]

Disgusting it too nice of a word for this - that a baby animal would get caught up in & killed because of an election! It's completely incomprehensible to me.
Abuse of animals often graduates a step further.
What really frightens is the hidden meaning - does it imply what I think it means?

[MKersh]

And the WORLD is watching.

USA, the leader of a FREE world?
is this the democracy the USA is bringing to the world?

SHAME ON YOU !

[fuzzynormal]

Yup.

That's it. A democracy where idiots are ridiculed freely. A place where dumb-asses do dumb-ass things and smarter people are allowed to push back against that nonsense.

It's also the place where dumb-ass-ness is often celebrated.

It's a big steaming mess of wild opinions and actions pretty much; wouldn't have it any other way. Try it, you might like it.

[Shieldmaiden]

These people disgust me. The rest of the world must think we're barbarians.

[arnray]

They do. And they're right.

[ranchosx]

not all of us just RepubliKKKans

[AllenD]

This is how I responded to some rightard stealing my Obama sign and replacing it with a McCain sign:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/allendimick/gGgLBR

[puffthedragon]

That is wonderfull !!! I love it !!!

[dzymzlzy]

Do you think McCain is still "proud of all his supporters"?

[bear91]

he's oblivious to them

[kesiac]

Definitely. Its the reaction he has been looking for.

[WyrdSister]

Good gods! I am having a hard time picking my jaw up off the floor!

I'm really sorry, Conservatives, but it is not Liberals that are doin' the hatin' 'round here. I have never in my entire 40 years read or heard so much hate and discrimination except for maybe the so-called "side-walk councelsors" who protest PP. I can only discern that it is McCain and Palin bringing this out in the political arena; emboldening you all to come out from from undernieth your rocks. Do you really think that THIS is the kind of thinking that is going to win an election? Steal one, maybe, but not win. Hate doesnt win.

I live in America, but right now I am not very proud of it. Seems America hasnt quite made it out of its racist past; you people are embarrassing.

All I can conclude is that there is a really really big fear. Fear of a Black Man. Fear of a Black Man in charge of your "Real America".

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real

[ranchosx]

Read what MC Cain calls east asians...h­e voted against MLK he voted to support apartheid.­...Mc Cain is a racist

[santamonica39]

That bear cub's blood is on Sarah Palin and John McCain's hands. They are inciting this.

[PJC27]

The next time has already happened, to a beautiful female who worked for the 'liberal media." McCain and Palin should be charged with hate crimes and sent to a concrete cell for a whole lotta years. You betcha they should. Sick tickets, the whole cult of them.

[cherlybear]

There's all kinds of reports that electronic voting machines in Florida are changing Obama/Biden votes to McCain/Palin votes right before the voters eyes - this needs to be reported ASAP.

Always request a paper ballot when possible. Obama's money needs to be invested in a legal team to tackle this problem now.

These voting machines and their programming are distributed by republican-leaning companies.

[MarryAnn]

I voted in Key West, FL
The ballots are printed right there.
There is one machine to read the ballot. I put my ballot in and it didn't accept the ballot. When I submitted the ballot the second time it was accepted. There is no way you can see for whom the vote is being documented­/calculate­d.
I observed when the machine wouldn't accept one voter's ballot, he was given a new ballot to vote on and to resubmit.

[MarryAnn]

There are teams of people to deal with the problems. They are supposed to be wearing blue caps. They are present at polling places to help voters resolve problems.

I know that the electronic machines in W.Va. were being complained about. I believe the location is using an electronic touch screen.

It is frustrating for all of us to watch and see these problems.

[uheardme]

Poor little cub, he didn't do anything wrong. (:>( )

[Nova16]

The alarming prospect is that the acrimony, animosity and vitriol may get worse in this campaign and spill over into the next administration making it almost impossible to govern this country. Bush has successfully divided the nation into bickering, adverserial segments with his failed policies and programs and McCain/Palin are continuing the same type of divisiveness with their deplorable, negative campaigning. We don't need enemies abroad, we now have enough intolerance and anger to fight among ourselves. We are experiencing more than a serious economic problem in the land today, we are experiencing the rapid decline of a once viable democracy. No "bailout" or "stimulus package" can save us from our own disintegration into disorder.