One would have to strain to be shocked that a racist ad is finding its way out of the bowels of conservativism in North Carolina. For political observers from the 1980s and 1990s will remember that Senator Jesse Helms was a master of using divisive tactics inject race into just about everything he did outside of brushing his teeth -- whenever he wasn't straining through the holes in the sheet he was wearing to see his Jefferson Davis emblazoned toothbrush.
Yet, racism for electoral gain obviously did not go away with Helms' retirement from politics. And neither has Republican timidity in doing anything to control the extreme elements in the party--or their base if you will. So once again, just as other conservatives sat idly by and claimed Jesse was just being Jesse, now John McCain throws his hands up in the air as if there is nothing he can do when a racist ad is run by the North Carolina GOP against Barack Obama:
ABC NEWS' Bret Hovell and Russell Goldman report: Sen. John McCain said Thursday that if elected president -- and becomes the de facto head of the GOP -- he would not demand a change in the leadership of the North Carolina Republican Party despite condemning its plan to air an ad attacking Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill, and his controversial minister.
It's good to know where the Senator stands on this issue (at least today). In my book, The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him And Why Independents Shouldn't, I recount McCain' questionable past on issues of race his entire career. From the many years he rejected a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (pretty much the entire 70s and 80s) to his serial flip-flops on the Confederate Flag in 2000 (which he admits he did for political reasons -- no way, not you Johnny!) to his close association with a white supremacist named Richard Quinn, who found himself hired as a political advisor by McCain in 2000 (and still is from what I can tell) after openly praising David Duke (he called him a "maverick") selling t-shirts praising the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and writing/editing for a magazine (Southern Partisan) that reminded us that slave masters just really weren't all that bad.
That's The Real McCain for you. Now I'll be waiting for the media to do their job and report on his close association with a white supremacist just as they have every aspect of Barack Obama's life. While not overly sanguine, I do have hope that some of the more responsible voices in the press, who as of late have been pointing out McCain's dangerous temper and penchant for not understanding who we're fighting abroad, will continue to show the courage to stand up to the McCain Machine.
Cliff Schecter is the author of The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him And Why Independents Shouldn't. For only $10, you can buy it and keep both John McCain and Cliff's 18-month old son in diapers.
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I've known some racists, as have you.
But they were not mentors or pastors whose feet I sat at and learned from for twenty years.
See the difference? No, I set the bar too high.
Nice try but if McCain is going to play the 'guilt by association" card then HIS own "guilt by association" needs answers - plain and simple, no excuses!
McCain has a lot to answer for in this department which is why I'm pissed at Obama for denouncing Wright on command. John McCain could tap dance through Afghanastan with Osama bin Laden waving a Confederate flag and singing Carry Me Back to Old Virginiy and no one would say anything but Wright sneezes and Obama's career depends on whether he runs the old man over two times or three. Meanwhile Hillary has all but switched parties on us. Coverage? None.
This IS the Republican Party's southern strategy. The people voting republican know full well what the game is are either indifferently callous or agree. He could put David Duke up as his running mate and it would not affect his polling numbers a damned bit. They long ago, in the 70s, ran off all the people in the USA who give a damn about racism and have been successful ever since.
John McCain would NEVER associate with white supremisists. He does not take money from lobbiests, he does not break rules, he does not flip-flop, he does not make mistakes. This man confessed truthfully under torture. He does not sip lattes or look down his nose at people. He is a hero and as such deserves to be president. Whatever you may read or hear or see about John McCain, if it conflicts with his statements, it is wrong and made up and incorrect. He is a hero to be worshipped. McCain/Clinton 08
"He is a hero to be worshipped." Definition of worship: The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object. Now I know this may a bit too logical to some, however, you can still acknowledge a man"s service to his country and choose NOT to worship or vote for him. Your passion is commendable; it is your delivery that will bring derision.
For a good list of neo-confederate quotes/positions from Quinn's Southern Partisan magazine, go to:
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1880
Blah blah blah racism....blah blah blah racism. Good grief.
Damn right!!! When will the MSM do their "fair and balanced" reporting of McCain and his associations?
This is funny! The guy Quinn is pretty far down the organization and may have met McCain a couple of times according to the Wash. Post article. It is hardly the same as being intimately linked with his pastor for 20 years. Obama himself has acknowledged that problem. It is also NOT the same either since Quinn has not bombed buildings and killed people as the Weathermen did. Obama worked side by side with Ayers on an eight man board for years. He fully knew Ayers politics and not so past terrorist activities. It is even worse since Ayers said that he thought his terrorism was GOOD and didn't do ENOUGH bombings!
It would not be an issue with me IF Ayers had said he was wrong and he was sorry for his actions. The problem with Wright would not be a significant either if Wright was somewhat apologetic for his overheated remarks. He is not. At least Quinn, is NOT proud of some of his magazines positions and seeks to distance himself from some of his co-horts. To give a better way for what Wright should have said. God Damn America for what it did to blacks, and others. Not a blanket condemnation of our total history and country.
I have so much more respect for Obama now. The man is getting a new age Lynching in the MSM for Guilt by Association.....one for sitting on a Board with a man that was himself acquitted for laws broken when Obama was 8....and for the words of his pastor whom he has denounced and again today has firmly stated he has nothing else to do with.
While MCcain can seek endorsements from crazy pastors than Wright (remember Hagee), can flip flop on issues as serious as the war, and hell mostly everything else since trying to appease the far right.. Hillary can blatantly lie to the American people, from Sniper Fire to Nafta... and we have got Obama strung up in a media Noose for guilt by association.
God Damn the Main Stream Media and the Simple minded folks that buy into their BS!
My father was a born and raised racist and bigot. Many times we agreed to disagree, especially when the issue was race and ethnicity, however, the man was my best friend and I loved him despite his "shortcomings". Does that make me racist and bigotted just because my father was? By some of the "logic" here, regardless of my own, personal feelings, since my father was racist, so am I.
When I was a church-going lass, there were many issues I disagreed with my pastor but I still went to church - does it mean that because I continued going to church, that I agreed with EVERYTHING my pastor said? Again, by some of the "logic" here, regardless of my own, personal feelings, since I went to church, I must have agreed with my pastor.
I could care less about this "guilty by association" bullshit - it needs to GO. However, as usual, discussing the ISSUES isn't "Star Magazine" enough for the MSM.
you can not choose your father, you can and should choose your church
Let's not forget that since the year 1993, Hillary Clinton REGULARLY attended the prayer meetings of DOUGLAS COE, a pastor who in recorded sermons has praised HITLER!!!
I have noticed, very starkly, that this FACT, gets NO mention at all in the press, even though the sermons in which this man praised HITLER, as well as other dictatorships, is available on the internet.
Can anyone else guess why this FACT got less than 2 day of coverage in the mainstream press?!
I thought HITLER was the worst human beings to have lived on this planet.
So why no coverage of Hillary's REGULAR attendance at this man, Dougals Coe's prayer meetings for 15 years?!
If you want the media to report on McCains close supremist friendships ,do not email the story to Sean Hannity.He would not touch the story with a ten foot pole ,let alone a twenty foot one.Besides it would anger Hannitys OWN CLOSE FRIEND Hal Turner.
If it has any truth to it he will, I doubt it has the juicy things were looking for like Rev. Wright and domestic terrorist ties.
I would make one point. Obama's core is black. There is little to gain in trying to smear McCain with race and it might well backfire.
Obama's problem is Wright. McCain's problem will be his age and Iraq. I suspect making him out to be a racist will be counterproductive because it's really only going to influence the core that Obama has wrapped up.
Obama, though, may not be the nominee. Then you might use race to some advantage. After all, smearing is smearing right? At least the left is no longer pretending the republicans smear and democrats do not. What a bunch of smear-mongers the left is for their candidate.
What does THAT mean..."Obama's core is black"? What are you trying to say here? That it's ok to have white associates with radical views?
Steve there you go, you have spilled all that Mc Cain water you're carrying all over yourself. Now look at you, you're all wet.
Why doesn't the media talk about Hillary Clinton saying "SCREW 'EM, WE DON'T NEED THEM", referring to "White working class men" in Arkansas?
Well, if he sat there for 20 years listening to them and then denied being of one mind I would agree. if rev. Wright was just a black racist who applauded Barack then no harm no foul.
But, if he sat there and listened to the antiamerican and antiwhite Rev. Wright propaganda for 20 years shame on him.
Your post is dead on.....but this isn't about being truthful, it's about smearing. And any excuse to smear is a good excuse to the end justifies the means left wing.
Man, if you still think Wright is 'antiamerican and antiwhite' then you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
So should Catholics leave the church because their priest molested some kids? Sorry, I don't agree with my pastor on a lot of things but I don't want to leave my church because he's got opposing ideas on gays and leans Republican. That's not what church is about. That sounds like talking points.
And by the same logic, not all Catholics are child molesters if the priest in their parish was a child molester.
Jeremiah Wright has said inflammatory things, yes. But you can't watch 3 minutes on YouTube and understand the man's 20+ year pastoral message.
Obama came out yesterday and condemned Wrights words as Offensive, said he was offended, and understands why others were offended.
The days of supporting Wright as a man to follow are over. Obama admits the bigots words are offensive and does not want to be associated with them in any form.
Amen!
Get people to watch the whole speach and they will understand.
I also want the media to go after Jon McCain--but in the general election, not now.
Brother Cliff, you're waiting for the MSM to fulfill its responsibility on this issue?
I hope you're comfortable. You'll be waiting a long long time.
There are two problems here.
First, McCrazy is a Republican.
Second, the fellow in NC is, I believe, a Caucasian.
Brother Wright is on the front of the media bus and 'ain't nobody gonna stop him now!
So McCain is powerless to stop the ads, huh?
The next GOP candidate for president can't garner enough respect from his party to have ads taken off?
Let's say he REALLY wanted those ads off, which I believe he doesn't....if his party won't take him seriously enough to honor his requests, how can I take him seriously enough to vote for him?
You are dead on. If he's not running his own campaign, who is ?When he gets into the white house who will run that? Like we do not know. He has made a deal to be another George Bush fo their party.We need a leader who can lead the house and the senate. Its a mess. We are not getting our monies worth.
Why should McNutball care. 90% of African Americans will vote for Obama and Racism still lurks in every state, not just the South. That group of fine Americans is his base; he cannot win without them. This will be an ugly election.
Amen
I just spent 15 minutes on the google catching up on Richard Quinn, who is described in this blog as a white supremacist. I really found nothing to support that. He is a former editor of "Southern Partisan" a magazine of Dixie culture (not unusual in the South) and he is apparently lives in SC.
The Southern Partisan Wiki page is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Partisan
John Ashcroft, who was accused of racism during his nomination process, was criticised for giving an interview to Southern Partisan. From the Wiki:
"Democrats in the U.S. Senate criticized Ashcroft over a 1998 interview he gave with the magazine in which he praised Robert E. Lee. It was alleged that Ashcroft's statements exhibited racial insensitivity since Lee was a former general for the Confederacy. The magazine responded that Ashcroft's critics were engaging in political correctness and playing the "race card" for political reasons. When pressed by Democratic Senators Joseph Biden and Ted Kennedy about the interview during his confirmation hearings, Ashcroft replied "I would rather be falsely accused of racism than to falsely accuse others."
TommyBobama:
Please don't go to Wikipedia for accurate information.
You can also read excerpts from "So Good A Cause: A Decade of Southern Partisan," listed on Amazon. It's not available to purchase, but you can use the "search inside this book" function to read the introduction by Editor in Chief, Richard Quinn ("It is well to remember that the cause for which we fight is never lost so long as we offer resistance."), as well as nuggets of wisdom like this:
"The Yankees perceived slavery as an evil and stamped it out without giving any serious thought to the consequences. It hardly occurred to them that the former slaves needed preparation if they were to bear the awesome burdens and responsibilities of freedom. Consequently, the blacks were the principal victims of the Civil War...."--Why the Yankees Won't (and Can't) Leave the South Alone, by Forrest McDonald, at page 214.
Also, you can read how Nathan Bedford Forrest (the first Wizard of the KKK) has been unfairly treated by historians and academics.
nowprogressive:
Thank you for the reply. I went to Amazon and took a quick look on the Southern Partisan pages. I couldn't find the Richard Quinn introduction but I got the flavor of the publication. A lot of history, culture, political theory. Fairly highbrow and well written although there is plenty of romantic revisionist mumbo-jumbo. The content I saw ranged from interesting to harmless. I saw no racial insults, no radical political advocacy, no "n-words," no jew-bashing, no racial purity stuff, no call to arms, no dreams of empire.
There's arrogance and bigotry I suppose, but I saw nothing that suggested wordcrime, racism, or white supremacy.
I see very little, if any, difference between "arrogance, bigotry, and romantic revisionist mumbo-jumbo" and "racism/white supremacy."
Though they adopt an intellectual tone and are usually smart enough to avoid overtly racist language, the subtext is quite clear.
* They are neo-confederates who romanticize "southern culture" prior to the Civil War. (And we all know what that means.)
* Under Quinn, they sold T-shirts celebrating the assassination of Lincoln and sent apology letters to disappointed customers for temporarily being out of "anti-Lincoln" T-shirts.
* On their website, they compare Abraham Lincoln to Hitler.
* They publish articles advocating "southern nationalism."
* They publish articles arguing that the first Wizard of the KKK was a misunderstood figure and that statues in his likeness should not be removed from public display.
The volume is filled with many other examples. According to fair.org, here is a list of opinions from Southern Partisan:
On Slavery
"Neither Jesus nor the apostles nor the early church condemned slavery, despite countless opportunities to do so, and there is no indication that slavery is contrary to Christian ethics or that any serious theologian before modern times ever thought it was." --Samuel Francis, Southern Partisan, Third Quarter/1995
"Slave owners . . . did not have a practice of breaking up slave families. If anything, they encouraged strong slave families to further the slaves' peace and happiness."--First Quarter/1996
Posted April 28, 2008 | 03:02 PM (EST)