Senator 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. At your campaign event Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa., the crowd was seething with hatred for the Democratic nominee - an attitude encouraged in speeches there by you, your running mate, your wife and the local Republican chairman.
Shame!
John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who put principle ahead of mere political gain.
You have changed. You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate.
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. You also know we are a bitterly divided country on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there.
John McCain, you're walking a perilous line. If you do not stand up for all that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot, fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters when they scream out "Terrorist" or "Kill him," history will hold you responsible for all that follows.
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. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations.
Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But 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.
This post first ran in the Baltimore Sun as an op-ed on Oct 10, 2008. Frank Schaeffer is the author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. Now in paperback
Follow Frank Schaeffer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/frank_schaeffer
We need more people like You (out of Christian Churches)speaking out on this important issue !
We can not afford to stay in this dangerous and kind of ignorance running our country.
Also, Hussein is simply a name. Let's use it and take away the implied stigma. I'm proud to be voting for Barack Hussein Obama, an honorable American.
Ellis
Without a doubt, this is what McCain and Palin have been doing quite openly, to the distgust of the decent majority of us.
It would appear, that now that Palin has had a wift of the scent of the White House, she is prepared to get there by any means possible, including deliberatley endangering Barrack Obama, a man who clearly has only honorable intentions.
McCains' campaign should be called to account by the U.S authorities.
Maybe McCain read this yesterday and it touched his conscience. I really do not believe he was one of the neo-humans who want to take over the country and worse before this race.
Bucks Burnett
Dallas, TX
http://TheDemoCats.com
Bucks Burnett
Dallas, TX
http://TheDemoCats.com
I never understood how this could be possibly be, until recently, watching the Palin and McCain rallies. What is most disappointing to me is that a United States Senator, a man I used to admire, has allowed his campaign to get so out of hand, that we are now seeing citizens acting like an angry mob, looking to commit harm to another United States Senator. Where is the respect and "love of country" in this conduct? How could a man, who loves to talk about his love for this great country, be a partaker of such a hate filled campaign? While I am grateful for his military experience and cannot imagine the suffering he went through as a POW, this is NO excuse for his current behavior. John McCain can show the American people that he still loves his country by first loving ALL of its people and stop trying to divide us!
Shame!