John Lewis is Right

Are there any sentient creatures in any known universe who believe that William Ayers is relevant to anything but John McCain's desperation and bad judgement?

Mr. Lewis is a hero to John McCain, except when Mr. Lewis applies that which makes him heroic (honesty, integrity, truthfulness, determination and a deep, deep commitment to justice, for all) to the tawdry tactics of Sen. McCain's campaign. Then Mr. McCain declares Mr. Lewis to be "beyond the pale." Really?

John Lewis is my representative in Congress. He's been on our program. I regularly use the African proverb he shared with us: when you pray, move your feet. My husband grew up within 60 miles of where John Lewis grew up in south Alabama. So this is personal.

The reign of terror visited upon Black People throughout the South (and many other parts of the nation) during the first half of the 20th century is well documented. The terror became more intense as those people began to actively seek their basic rights as American citizens. John Lewis was a leader in the struggle for those rights.

On the Pettus Bridge leading from Selma to Montgomery, John Lewis was beaten, his skull fractured by "law enforcement officers" sent by then governor of Alabama, George Wallace. John Lewis repeatedly put his body, his life, on the line to gain for all American's basic civil rights. Sustained by the Bible, a commitment to nonviolence and the power of encompassing love, John Lewis was able to forgive his persecutors. But forgiveness is not forgetfulness or denial or, most certainly, weakness.

The violence that John Lewis faced was fostered and nourished by politicians who cared more about their careers than about justice, more about power that truthfulness. Their tool was not original and not imaginative: stoke the fires of fear, demonize the "other", remove the bonds of civility, pander to wanton selfishness and unleash the lurking hate, the terror.

Someone who has not tangibly experienced this political blight may view it as historical abstraction or simply assert "not here." Wrong and wrong again. It has happened here and it does happen here. It is real and it is terrible. John Lewis said simply, clearly and forcefully "beware." It was, he thought, his duty. I agree.

John Lewis' statement was political in the best sense of politics. It was not partisan. Rather, it was based in an abiding concern for the well-being of the "polis", of the body politic, of the community, of the common-wealth, of the nation.

Demagoguery is very convenient; it's easy; it's cheap; it's effective; and it is very, very dangerous. It is particularly dangerous in what are, for us, perilous times. Demagogues feast on fear and on perilous times.

Asked in the last presidential debate about the negativity of his campaign, Sen. McCain blamed Sen. Obama for not agreeing to his (McCain's) preferred "townhall" format and he blamed Rep. Lewis for expressing his (Lewis') concerns about "the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign." This is nonsense. This is nonsense on a stick. This is nonsense on a stick with springs. This is nonsense on a pogo stick. And, this is standard wrong-wing bullying. Object to the bullying and the bully accuses you of being negative, of not playing fair, of being "beyond the pale."

John McCain knows that the issue of William Ayers is the reddest of all possible red herrings. He knows that Barak Obama is not a terrorist, or a communist, or an Arab. Sen. McCain knows that neither ACORN nor the Community Reinvestment Act caused the implosion of financial markets. Sen. McCain knows that he is a Republican. He knows that he sustained George Bush with 90+ percent of his Senate votes. Sen. McCain knows that Republican Washington has been a disaster for this country. And Sen. McCain knows that his last and only chance at the presidency which his wife so deeply craves is to change the subject from the stark realities confronting us to something, anything, else.

On Wednesday evening, Sen. McCain demonstrated to the people of America and of the world that he will do anything -- ANYTHING -- to shift our attention from the reality of the deep, global distress consequent to 8 long years of willful Republican incompetence.

It is that desperation which has led to a campaign strategy which insults, diminishes and threatens the people of the United States. It is that campaign strategy to which John Lewis rightly objects.

Below is Congressman Lewis' original statement.

Rep. John Lewis Responds To Increasing Hostility Of McCain-Palin Campaign
10/11/2008         
 "As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign.  What I am seeing today reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.
"During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate.  George Wallace never threw a bomb.  He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who only desired to exercise their constitutional rights.  Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed one Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.
"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Governor Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all.  They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy.  We can do better.  The American people deserve better."

Comments

[standforpeace]

One of the best posts that I have ever read on the Huff. John Lewis's statement probably was not politically smart (if the goal is electing Obama) since it was foreseeable that the McCain camp would use it as they did to shift the attention away from their own wrongdoing. However, it was morally necessary because it is our obligation to point out wrongdoing when we see it. John Lewis is the living embodiment of the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement; and it was his obligation to point out that those who profit from existing racial divides by stoking racial hostility are responsible for the expressions of hatred that result. As much progress as we've made, there is is still a deep running current of racial resentment, and McCain and Palin have stoked that resentment. The only way to deal with this kind of race baiting is to call it for what it is. Good on John Lewis and on you for taking this public stand.

[bchandra]

We can do better. I am an Obama supporter but I don't agree with him on every issue. However, I also have bi-racial grandchildren and live in a multicultral society which DEMANDS respect for all. The campaign the McCain/Palin are running is very upsetting. McCain should never have picked an unqualified running mate then there wouldn't have been the need for all of the nastiness to cover it up. I really don't believe that this is the legacy that he wants to leave behind. Having grown up during the times that Rep Lewis is referring to, I truly understand where he is coming from. We can not afford to take OUR country back there. We are ONE NATION. As long as we remember that even McPalin can't change it.

[sfunches]

Very nicely stated
Remember we only have 16 days left to a very important time on ours lives let's not have hatered take away something so very special to all of us.