Assaulted Canvasser Speaks With Obama
Nancy Takehara, the Chicagoan who was assaulted while canvassing for Obama in Caledonia, Wisconsin, was contacted by the candidate himself on the day of the incident. By the time Takehara had returned home, there was an answering machine message from the campaign. She called the number and Obama spoke to her personally with words of moral support. Takehara said this morning, "All I have to say is Mr. Obama is a wonderful man" who was very supportive.
On Saturday, Takehara was going door to door in Caledonia with another canvasser when she was verbally assaulted and then grabbed by the hair on the back of her neck and reportedly pounded on the head. (Watch a news report here.)
The Obama campaign's statement on the matter was very polite, calling the incident "isolated and extremely rare." In my original post on the incident I came to the conclusion, criticized by some, that "McCain supporters are dicks." Their criticism was correct. Not all McCain supporters are dicks, and I have decided to fall in line with the general sentiment of the Obama camp that the high road ought to be the one taken in response to such lashing out by McCain/Palin supporters.
However, before I commit myself to the nosebleed path, I'd like us all to take a look down the more subterranean one: It isn't hard to imagine what Sarah Palin's reaction would be to a McCain/Palin volunteer being assaulted. It would no doubt sound something like this:
"Some of these people just don't get democracy. They don't get that you have to be accepting of others' right to disagree. That's the American way. But they don't get it. So, like Bill Ayers, they lash out violently at what they don't understand."
Let me just ask, is it not so?
I know this election isn't going to be about who ran the most respectable campaign. But does it not speak to a vast difference in viewpoint over the responsibility of a collective organization to its individual members that the Obama campaign was organized enough to find out what happened to one of its thousands upon thousands of volunteers throughout the country, and that the man at the top of the organization, the candidate himself, before the end of the day, had spoken to the volunteer personally to express regret for what happened to her and offer gratitude for her support?
And that the volunteer in question and the campaign she works for come away, not with the urge to make a federal case out of the event, or to capitalize on it rhetorically, but speak in reasonable tones about getting past the polarization that's developed in our political discourse.
I am still not sure about going up that high road. Because I believe such an event is symptomatic of the kind of political culture deliberately cultivated by the leaders of the conservative movement in the Republican party over the last 28 years.
Which is probably what I should have said, rather than "McCain supporters are dicks."
But, uh, I was in a hurry.
Another canvasser in the carpooling caravan, which met Saturday morning at 7 a.m. at Chicago's Hideout tavern, noted that normally they worked in more working-class parts of Racine, but the particular neighborhood where the incident took place was more upscale by comparison.
The canvasser remarked, "The guy was screaming about Acorn, so you know where he got that from."
He also said the Republicans they had come across were mainly very nice people, and many of them expressed positive feelings about Obama but couldn't support him because he was, in their view, pro-abortion and anti-gun-rights.
The Hideout, which is a performance venue and bar that has often played host to progressive events, has become an unofficial hangout for many of the young folk in the Obama organization.
According to Tim Tuten, who with his wife Katie is the proprietor of the Hideout, about twenty to thirty people have been meeting Saturday mornings to carpool to Racine for the past few weeks. They may be going to Indiana next week, Tuten says, as Wisconsin now appears to be leaning toward Obama.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
I'm going into Nevada this weekend with my husband and 7 yr old to canvass. My husband and I were going to split up and be twice as productive. But, my son has Autism and I think I'm going to insist we stay together. My son goes into that Fight or Flight mode very easily. One rude comment and he's likely to kick the person in the shin or run off and hide, who knows where? Yeah, we'll be sticking together on Saturday. I blame McCain's campaign. Does anyone remember this happening in the past few decades. I don't.
I never could understand how Racists, Pro-lifers, Gun-lovers, Nazi Christians, Mega-Rich Folk, war-mongers and wacked out nuts could all get along so well, in one party with decent folk like Ummm....Colin Powell.
I'd rather be associated with equal pay for minorities and women, health care as a right instead of a "responsibility" that only the wealthy can afford. And sleep better at night in my solar powered city. Thank you very much.
Pray or send positive thoughts to the canvassers, the Obamas' and Barack's Grandma this week. I hope she recovers in time for his big day on January 20th.
Bless you, Fran1972. I hope that you are safe and well this weekend. I am recovering from a long illness and am in bed but I will be on the phone.
My hubby and I will be in Nevada too,Fran! We've been 6 times and we all keep an eye on each other. Take a push to talk or even a couple of walkie talkies. Some others bring a can of pepper spray but I haven't felt scared enough to do it. Been called a few names,someone spit at me once and a few slammed doors but mainly a lot of real nice folks. Great experience. Makes you feel like this really is OUR election.
That poor girl... this is getting way out of hand. There's already enough violence at these McCain-Palin rallies and now we have to deal with this? Is it asking so much to be treated respectfully, as a human being? What an abomination.
Does anyone know if she's filing charges against this individual?
She needs to sue Rush Limbaugh...They only thing that will shut him up is if he looses all his money!
Seems like all you have to do to take the high road is not violently assault people who you disagree with. Shouldn't prove too hard.
Yet another example of the hypocrisy that has become de riguer in the McCain campaign.
Call Obama a celebrity yet McCain sucks off the teat of the POW celebrity.
Call Obama "inexperienced" then pull Sarah Palin out of thin air.
Call Obama someone who "pals around with terrorists", but ignore your ties to AIG.
Call ACORN "a danger to the fabric of our society" yet a republican gets arrested on charges of voter registration fraud.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081021/pl_nm/us_california_votefraud
State you aren't interested in a "washed up terrorist" yet the very next day start robocalling about that washed up terrorist.
Pull "Joe the Plumber" out of the same thin air you got Palin from and then BLAME Obama for the media scrutiny.
Be complicit in using rascist, inflammatory lies to paint your opponent as an enemy of the state, a traitor, but then claim YOU are the victim when someone calls you on it.
Now canvasser is beaten by a McCain supporter. Does the "real America", coveted by republicans, equal fearmongering, intimidation tactics and ultimately perpetrating violence on those you disagree with? Those values have nothing to do wtih being pro-america and everything to do with a fascist ideaology that allows wiretapping of civilians, using the Geneva Convention for toilet paper, allows torture of prisoners, etc ad nauseum.
And that is the last bit of hypocrisy - pushing a fascist agenda while calling into question your opponent's patriotism.
i was in an upscale neighborhood canvassing for O in new mexico...everyone was polite, often friendly, but ONE guy...ruined the day for me and i'm not easily jarred...i go up his drive way, see him doing some work in the yard, say hello and tell him i'm with the obama campaign for change and before i get another word out, he throws me a look that would k ill and throws his arm out to shoo me away, kinda like palin would shoo the russians i'm sure, but he did it with such violence you could see the hate eminating from his body...so i just thank him for his time and walk on..and like 3 seconds later, when it registers to him what i said i guess, i hear him yell "you gotta be kidding me????!!!", as if being polite to him was somehow a bad thing...i'm thinking being ill- mannered has served him well over the years given the size and location of his home but i say nothing and just continue walking on...
Bravo for turning the other cheek. I know how hard it can be to swallow an angry response and return hate with pleasantness. Often turning the other cheek can be much more effective than an angry retort.
McCain and Palin, in their efforts to secure the racist, thuggish, intolerant crowd, have essentially let the malevolent "Genie" out of the bottle. If there are further acts of violence leading up to, and following Election Day, I think we know exactly whom to see about that.
How about Iowa? They stole that in 2004.
*
I don't think that is what Palin would have said. I think you got the tenor right, but for the statement to be truely Palinesque, you would need to blend all of the sentences together with incomplete clauses and frequent use of the word "also". Some random mixing of the subject - verb would also be necessary.
And don't forget the Gosh Darnits and the Golly Darns.
You know how we criticize foreign countries when voters are violently attacked just for being against the ruling party? We need to do that here and by we, I mean Democrats, Republicans and that third party (or so it seems) the media.
I wish this woman didn't have to suffer through attack. Am glad she has walked away from it with such a peaceful and wise attitude. I have the utmost respect for Obama for doing his best to help this woman heal from this unnecessary and unjustified act of violence.
And yet, not a word from the MSM. If the situation were reversed, what do you think would be in the news cycle? We can't count on the MSM this election. We must use sites such as these and local news affiliates to chronical our struggles. DO NOT let republicans get away with this. Be vigilant, be vocal.
Obama/Biden08.
I certainly hope charges have bee nfiled against the attacker
this not reported on msm . thats sad . i want to see this story on fox and the effegy story on fox ( i doubt it will happen with that hate network.
No, I doubt you will see it on Fox. It would prove that the hateful rhetoric that they have been helping McCain/Palin spread is causing violence. If they spread the word, more people who wants to vote for McCain/Palin would be revolt and vote for Obama/Biden. This is something that they can not have. Fox news does not want to do anything that would help Obama excel in the polls.
I read it in local Chicago papers and somewhere else on the web. I think this is just a followup story on Huff Po and not the original...or perhaps I am getting confused wiht Talking Points Memo.
The thing is, it's not an isolated incident. Here in North Carolina, we've had several incidents where Obama supporters (or perceived Obama supporters) were assaulted in various ways.
At a Sarah Palin rally at Elon University last week, a reporter for the Greensboro News & Record was assaulted. Here's the story: http://blog.news-record.com/staff/capblog/archives/2008/10/report_from_pal.shtml
Scroll down that page and read the more incoherent reader comments. Several McCain supporters imply that the reporter deserved exactly what he got. Several others imply that he made the whole incident up. Either way, they indicate tacit acceptance of the assault.
Then, at an Obama speech in Fayetteville on Friday, several people had their car tires slashed. http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3771147/
And following the same rally, people lined up to vote early were harassed by McCain supporters. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-bellantoni/mccain-supporters-heckle_b_136099.html
You don't hear about this kind of stuff happening to McCain supporters, except in the undocumented delusions of a few trolls. There are some realy angry, hateful people out there, ready to lash out against anyone who they think is "the Enemy", and they are ALL lining up behind McCain. Well, Palin, actually - she's the one who really brings them in.
"except in the undocumented delusions of a few trolls"
And the delusions of John McCain himself. Remeber, he doesn't like the things he's heard about Obama rallies either....yeah, I guess the smiles and good will there really piss Scrooge off, eh? Seriously, my next response during the debate when McCain said that would have been, "What things, John? Please, enlighten us as to what things have been said at MY rallies that compare with being called a terrorist and suggestions that I should be beheaded?"
This story makes me so sad. This woman was beaten by that thug in the 21st freaking century. The problem is that this woman was a victim of a crime and while I am an Obama supporter, I am disappointed in the meekness of their actions. They should have put her in touch with a lawyer that advised her to press criminal charges and/or bring a civil suit against the perpetrator that assaulted her.
You cannot let people get away with this kind of violence. This man who hurt this woman needs to pay the price for being a barbarian in a civil society.
Maybe we can't assume that the thug wasn't located and charged. If she went to a home, presumably that will be easy to for the police to confim. If she wasn't alone, then there'd be a witness.
Let's hope there's more to it then what is being reported.
"The problem is that this woman was a victim of a crime and while I am an Obama supporter, I am disappointed in the meekness of their actions."
I am an Obama supporter, too. I also agree that a crime has been committed. However, as far as any meekness is concerned, that's the way it should be. It sets an example for the Republicans. After all, from what I've gathered, the vast majority of Republicans are Bible-reading Christians. Who more than they would know about one of the eight Beatitudes: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth."
I am so disgusted with the actions of the repulbicans , they are becoming scary at these rallies and Mccain and Palin don't say anything. For an innocent canvasser to be attacked by an angry republican just shows the heightend frustration of this country and the contempt in some cases for each other? I do not understand and I wonder is this true anger or are there racial undertones to some of this anger I am a white female voting for obama because I think he is the best candidate for our country, and the rhetoric wont stop my vote, but what happens after all the votes are counted does that anger go away, who knows ?
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
