Desperation Politics = Demagoguery = Potential Tragic Consequences

Continuing the discussion from here, here and there on the inherent dangers of whipping the ugly raging beast of ignorance, fear and hate into a frenzy, I offer the following article for additional consideration:

Desperation Makes for Dangerous Politics
by: Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III, Ph.D.

As America moves into the final days of the 2008 presidential campaign Senator McCain and his surrogates are desperately seeking any message that will resonate with the American people. The problem is that their desperate actions are resulting in dangerous and ugly politics.

Senator McCain hails himself as a maverick - a visionary and independent man who breaks from the politics of the past. Actually, McCain and his supporters are simply pandering to the conservative right and the fringe elements of America. They are not "reaching across the aisle" or "seeking consensus." His campaign is not building bridges to move the country forward; it's building bridges to nowhere. McCain and his surrogates have turned to fear mongering through racist innuendo as Senator McCain attempts to become America's 44th president.

On Sunday, October 19, on "Meet the Press," Gen. Colin Powell, a centrist Republican, offered a well-thought-through and eloquently articulated endorsement of Senator Barack Obama. General Powell clearly explained that Senator McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for vice president raised his concerns about McCain's judgment. General Powell also spoke about the troubling nature of the personal attacks on Senator Obama, based on false intimations, and that: "Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party has become narrower and narrower." He also said he became "concerned" that "in the case of Mr. McCain, he was a little unsure how to deal with the economic problems."

When asked by Tom Brokaw if race played a factor in his decision, General Powell said that he had pondered a decision for months, and that he had told Obama, "I'll give you all the advice I can, but I'm not going to vote for you just because you're black." For some reason, conservatives such as Limbaugh and George Will cannot take General Powell at his word. In an effort to dismiss General Powell's endorsement as less than substantive and provoke old racist fears, Limbaugh and Will both pointed to race as the basis for General Powell's endorsement. Limbaugh said Powell's decision was "totally about race." Will stated that the Powell endorsement, "adds to my calculation - this is very hard to measure - but it seems to me if we had the tools to measure we'd find that Barack Obama gets two votes because he's black for every one he loses because he's black, because so much of this country is so eager, a) to feel good about itself by doing this, but more than that to put paid to the whole Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson game of political rhetoric."

Is George Will suggesting that Barak Obama has an inherent advantage in this election because he is African-American? I've always admired George Will's intellect even though I've disagreed with his politics. This statement makes me wonder; what America is he living in? What poll data is he not looking at? That's an utterly stupid assessment.

In California, a Republican group in San Bernardino County distributed a newsletter that depicted Senator Obama on a fake $10 food stamp along with images of a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken. On an official state Republican Party web site in Sacramento County, Republicans posted a series of violent anti-Obama images and statements. Senator Obama was depicted in a turban and paired with images of Osama bin Laden, with a caption that read: "The only difference between Obama and Osama is BS." Below that were the words "Waterboard Barack Obama!" This goes right to General Powell's issues with the false intimations that Obama is Muslim.

Senator McCain has stated that Hamas endorses Senator Obama, "I think it is very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States ... I think that the people should understand that I will be Hamas' worst nightmare!"

This libelous, slanderous and inflammatory rhetoric has turned dangerous. At a recent McCain campaign rally, when McCain asked, "Who is Barack Obama?" a supporter screamed "terrorist"! In Pennsylvania during a speech by Sarah Palin, one supporter screamed "kill him" in reference to Obama.

While it is clearly understood that Senator McCain is not responsible for the actions of his supporters and those who endorse him, we do expect a man claims to break from the politics of the past to soundly and clearly disassociate himself from these tactics. Senator McCain should repudiate and disavow those engaged in this behavior in the same manner Senator Obama was forced to repudiate and disavow Reverend Wright. Instead, McCain uses Sarah Palin to spread the most vicious of the attacks. At a rally in Denver, Palin said, "This is not a man who sees America as you see it and as I see America - our opponent, though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." All may be fair in love, war and politics, but the rhetoric of desperation should at least be based in fact and not place the well-being of your opponent in peril.

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