When Their Supporters Call Obama a Terrorist and Demand His Assassination, McCain and Palin Remain Silent

Posted by Baratunde Thurston, Jack & Jill Politics at 6:52 AM on October 7, 2008.

Everyone has their threshold. I've just reached mine. Thanks to AmericaBlog for pointing me to this and this. Also a hat tip to TPM Election Central.

John "Country Last" McCain and Sarah Palin held some truly hate filled rallies on Monday. Here's a montage from McCain's hatefest 2008

During this rally, a McCain supporter answers the question posed by Senator Country Last, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" The unmistakable answer: terrorist!

McCain says nothing.

From The Washington Post and AmericaBlog on Palin's rally:

"Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said.

"Boooo!" said the crowd.

"And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.
"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

Palin went on to say that "Obama held one of the first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers's living room, and they've worked together on various projects in Chicago."

Palin says nothing.

I understand why McCain and Palin are going negative. The economy is falling apart around us, and they have no solutions. They are losing in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Virginia. Obama, despite McCain's repeated claims, understands what a surge is, because he's pulling one off right now.

But the current political environment does not excuse remaining silent when a candidate for president is referred to as a "terrorist" in your presence. A desire to win does not excuse remaining silent during a threat on the life of a U.S. Senator at one of your rallies. There are no excuses for evil such as this. John McCain and Sarah Palin, the GOP and all who support them have lost all rights to legitimate argument. They are liars. They are wrong. They are evil. Yes, evil. They are one small step short of inciting violence at their rallies. They are letting physical threats go unchallenged.

I was at Obama's rally at Independence Square in Philadelphia back in April. When he mentioned Hillary Clinton's name, the crowd booed, and he told them to stop. Barack Obama intervened when his supporters booed his opponent. He called for civility. Yet, when faced with supporters who label senators terrorists and call for their assassination, John McCain and Sarah Palin said nothing.

This is how evil spreads, from domestic violence to genocide. People in a position to stop it choose to do nothing.

John McCain is obsessed with his own honor. No one believes in the myth of the maverick as thoroughly as he does. He's called for civility in campaign tactics while lying about Obama's position on sex education. That's ok. It's politics. If he weren't a bit of a hypocrite, I would get suspicious. But the man who would make his name synonymous with honor stoked hatred in his rally today and let one of his senate colleagues be referred to as a terrorist.

We know what America does to terrorists.

And while Obama and William Ayers served on a board together, this is nothing like McCain's pro-terrorist history. He voted repeatedly to protect domestic terrorists who bomb abortion clinics. He counts as an "old friend" one G. Gordon Liddy, an ex-convict who served time for the Watergate break-in, plotted to kill journalists, firebomb a think tank and called for violent resistance against the U.S. government. While Obama and Ayers's relationship is minimal and old news, McCain was on Liddy's show this year during the campaign and has accepted $1,000 from him as recently as February. So who's the terrorist?

Now to Sarah Palin.

This simple-minded, overwhelmed, frightened, delusional nitwit thinks she's doing "big things" by going on "the attack." She presumes to challenge Obama at his level as if she had earned her position rather than having been selected by an old white man for the job. She is filled with pride and self-adoration. She is a fool.

This weekend, she said Obama was "paling around with terrorists." (a lie debunked by CNN). The irony is almost crippling to my mental functions. This is from the woman whose church says terrorism vs. Israel is God's judgment. This is a woman who was so close to the radical, separatist Alaska Independence Party, that people thought she was a member. She spoke to their convention, and her husband was a seven-year member of this organization whose founder was killed in a "plastic explosives deal gone bad."

Palin would know about "paling around with terrorists." She fornicates with one.

A few weeks ago CPL posted a story which seemed plausible but couldn't be verified. It said Palin was a racist. While the specific truth of that story is still unsettled, the pattern is clear: this ticket is painting Obama as the "other" and someone to be feared. This campaign is counting on stoking prejudice and racism. The McCain-Palin campaign is grotesque and dangerous. They are picking up where Hillary left off, but have gone much, much farther. They are presiding over hate rallies where people feel free to yell out murderous threats, and the candidates smile it off and keep going, essentially endorsing such mob mentality.

I want to know who still supports this ticket. I want to know because if anything should happen to Barack Obama. If he so much as slips on the jetway or stubs his toe playing basketball, I'm holding John McCain and Sarah Palin responsible, and I'm holding those who vote for them responsible for doing nothing to stop an atmosphere of violence. Enough is enough.

Those of you who have retained your soul and your senses, I ask you do to the following in response to this insane and hate-filled campaign.

1. Make sure you are registered to vote. Go to voteforchange.com
2. Volunteer. The campaign built on hope, rather than hate, needs election poll workers in key states like Virginia and Pennsylvania (big up Voter Suppression Wiki!). We need phone calls from home. Donate money.
3. Spread the word about McCain and Palin's dangerous beliefs and outlandish hypocrisies. Send these to your undecided or right-leaning friends in swing states.
4. Pray, meditate or otherwise send positive vibes to protect Obama and our country from these forces of darkness masquerading as legitimate political candidates.

Don't be one of those people that recognizes wrong and evil and does nothing to stop it. We are all responsible for creating the world we want to see. Let's go about doing that.

AlterNet is a nonprofit organization and does not make political endorsements. The opinions expressed by its writers are their own.

Tagged as: terrorism, barack obama, john mccain, 2008 election, sarah palin