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Thursday, October 30. 2008
Names and Effigies
Okay, hanging a Sarah Palin effigy in a noose is over the line — even if it is Halloween. Up there in West Hollywood, which is solidly blue, but the neighbors, regardless of party affiliation find it offensive. We wouldn’t stand for it if that were Barack Obama hanging in that effigy.Some knuckleheads — let’s call them less informed voters — were arrested in the South for plotting to murder hundreds of African-Americans topped off by assassinating Obama. Actually, let’s call them exactly what they are: Neo-Nazi skinheads.
Both events, the Halloween display and the skinhead plot to murder Obama, are linked. A display like the one in West Hollywood pushes the boundaries, stokes the vitriol and hatred that can be felt throughout the country at the moment. One of great fears many have is that someone will try to assassinate Barack Obama, but the same could also happen to the other three candidates, Sarah Palin in particular. She is the lightening rod of her party’s ticket.
Yes, the man who put the display together, which includes John McCain coming out of the chimney in flames, has a right to display anything he wants on his property; it’s Halloween. But in this highly volatile political season, it is just poor judgment. Won’t even call it poor taste, this is Halloween, but it steps over the line.
Does it rise to the level of the skinheads plotting to murder hundreds, including Barack Obama and his family? No, but it stokes the same emotions that drive the worst of us to commit heinous crimes.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Secret Service, these men posed a credible threat to not only Obama, but also possibly hundreds of other people of color. What saved the day? The girlfriend of one of the conspirators went to her mother, who went to the F.B.I. and when the A.T.F. arrested the duo, it turns out the sight of dogs put them off when they went to rob a gun store. That’s funny actually. Hard to be a tough guy if you’re afraid of confronting dogs.
That wasn’t even the most serious threat against Obama in this campaign season.
During the Democratic National Convention men were arrested by the F.B.I. for plotting to assassinate Senator Obama. The U.S. Attorney in Denver dismissed the charges, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute. People question his decision because he is a Bush/Rove appointee. Did politics play a part in his decision? The F.B.I. were certain there was enough evidence to try these men for the crime.
The Aurora police (in a suburb of Denver) stopped one of the conspirators, Tharin Gartrell, and found two rifles, ammunition, bulletproof vests, walkie-talkies, wigs and fake identifications in Gartrell’s pickup truck. Two witnesses, who were doing meth with the conspirators in a Denver hotel, told the police and the F.B.I. the three men had two different scenarios for killing Obama.
Why didn’t the U.S. attorney, Troy Eid, press the most serious charges? To his credit, Eid did charge them with lesser gun charges, but when we look at the overall evidence and testimony, one has to wonder: did party affiliation play into his decision?
The campaign is in the last five days and if you are watching the news — as religiously as I am — you might be on pins and needles waiting to see the results. In an epiphany of great moral implication, Tuesday I realized all of my entries for the past two months have been anti-McCain-Palin, not very pro-Obama-Biden.
Ever since Obama won the Democratic nomination, I have been an ardent supporter of his. Even eked out a small donation to his campaign. Boy, the e-mails I get now! 5-10 per day!When listening to his speeches, it’s hard not to be inspired. While his opponents call him names, infer he is a terrorist (in league with you-know-who) and compare Obama to Karl Marx, the Illinois Senator has consistently talked about hope for the future, about letting the Middle Class get a piece of the pie that has, for the past eight years, gone primarily to the upper 5% of the economic ladder.
Wednesday (October 29, 2008) riffed on McCain’s “Joe the Plumber” theme, saying, “So whether you are Suzy the student, or Nancy the nurse, or Tina the teacher, or Carl the construction worker, if my opponent is elected, you will be worse off four years from now than you are today. Let’s cut through the negative ads and the phony attacks.”
Yeah, let’s. Click Here and put in the appropriate information and see what your tax cut will be under both Obama and McCain.
Senator Barack Obama is the best person running to lead our nation out of this malaise. His plan to bring the troops home has now been embraced by the Iraqi government and, apparently, the Bush Administration. The 16-month draw down is the centerpiece of the plan being worked out to replace the current agreement that has U.S. forces in Iraq by invitation of the Iraqi government.
And let’s face it, regardless of who is president come January 21, 2009, the Iraqi government, controlled by the Shia, bears more allegiance to Iran than the United States. No one really wants to talk about that reality. There is no “winning” in Iraq. What is the current, Bush/McCain definition for “victory” in Iraq? We know there’s no chance of a real democracy springing up — Sharia rules Iraq already, as it does in Iran — and Iraq is not and will not be a counterweight to Iran.
Nor will it be a counterweight to Syria, due to the large number of Sunni Muslims who find more in common with nearly every other Muslim country in the region, including Syria.
Like Vietnam, all there is left for us is getting out. This time, let’s do it in an orderly manner and bring our equipment home.
One last point, just heard former Speaker of the House Tom DeLay on Hardball With Chris Matthews call Barack Obama a “radical,” a “Marxist” and anti-American. Delay even said Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Congresswoman who wants to bring back the House Un-American Activity Committee, is a brilliant legislator.
Florida Republican Senator Mel Martinez has even gone so far as to say Obama will be just like Fidel Castro — a Communist dictator.
Like the effigy of Sarah Palin hanging in a noose, that nasty name calling by McCain, Palin, Mel Martinez and Tom DeLay, this type of rhetoric and visual expression only serves to stoke the fires of hate. I like what Obama said so many months ago: “We are not a Blue America, we are not a Red America, we are the United States of America.” Too bad John McCain doesn’t agree.Can’t wait until Wednesday, November 5. Hopefully, we will know by then Barack Obama is the president-elect.
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