The McCain/Palin Campaign Embraces "Agents of Intolerance". Part 3.

PLEASE READ PART 2 OF THIS SERIES BEFORE CONTINUING.

When Sarah Palin suggests that Jeremiah Wright should be returned to the political dialog in this ever-intensifying presidential race, she is not-so-subtly underscoring an important message- religion matters in the political sphere. Palin knows that many Americans felt threatened by what they interpreted as Wright's radical approach to Christianity. In this respect Palin is very well-informed, as I'll prove later in this post. She knows exactly how high the stakes are in this election. She is also well aware that she was chosen to be John McCain's partner because he would otherwise have had significant difficulty getting support from the Christian Right. It is patently clear to many political observers that the GOP is using Palin as a tool.

Unfortunately for the Republican leadership, its selection of Palin as the future of the party carries with it great risks of backlash from the more moderate segments of the base. For as clearly as Sarah Palin appeals to the Evangelical Christian Movement, she also has the potential to turn off voters who choose to make their voting decisions based upon economic and foreign policy. But that's not all... the McCain campaign must make sure that religion remains the unspoken subtext of this contest, rather than rising to the surface of mainstream consciousness. The Arizona Senator has notably declared religion (and as an extension, Jeremiah Wright) as off-the-table within the larger political discourse.

Many of Sarah Palin's most fervent supporters (which include the Christian Right and many Neocons) have bemoaned McCain's resistance to attacking Obama for his past connections to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. But what they don't seem to understand is that such an assault could lead to even more dangerous territory than the subject of William Ayers. Not only is John McCain's personal faith less than convincing, but Sarah Palin's religious associations are downright radical. It's clear that McCain's more cautious advisers envision a net loss if these subjects are explored in the mainstream media. While they may be able to whip up the spirits of those who have already proclaimed their unwavering support, they would be at great risk of alienating the remaining undecided voters.

From the evidence so far, I'd say that the moderates on the McCain staff are correct in their assumptions about this issue. Obviously the Fundies have received the message... they are not going to flip in favor of Obama. And should more information come out about Palin's Pentacostal roots, McCain can only lose. A few weeks ago there was a YouTube video depicting an "Assembly of God" bishop named Thomas Muthee blessing Sarah Palin in preparation for her run for the Alaskan governorship. It wouldn't have been all that startling, except for the inclusion of an invocation intended to protect Palin from "witchcraft". This is not the ordinary experience of the vast majority of Christians in this nation. Instead, most rational modern citizens see witches more as fun holiday imagery with which to decorate their front porches.

What was less emphasized about that video is that Muthee was also asking God to bring Palin campaign contributions. While a lot of Americans may be able to relate to this type of prayer, it's doubtful that they will be especially comfortable with a Vice President that believes in speaking in tongues, the laying on of hands, and prophesy. These are all modern day Pentacostal beliefs taught in the churches Palin has attended for years. Additionally, some of her preachers have been intolerant. Ed Kalnins was the senior head of Palin's church in Wasilla. Among his highlights* are sermons during which he preached that those who criticize George W. Bush are doomed to hell. That's not the type of revelation likely to counter the Obama campaign's assertion that McCain/Palin will essentially be a repreat of the Bush/Cheney years.


* Kalnins has questioned if people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted in heaven, has characterized the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq as part of a great worldwide struggle about Christian faith, and said that Jesus “operated from that position of war mode". Most frightening perhaps is that he believes that Palin's political ascent is decreed by God, and that the "Biblical End Times" are near (link). How he relates these two "prophesied" events is pretty clear.

McCain and Palin Take Their Masks Off.

This weekend the McCain/Palin ticket announced that they will respond to their supporters' continued calls for them to "take the gloves off". One might assume that this would mean that the GOP would redirect their efforts to address Obama's positions and his record on the important issues facing the nation. But instead it means that they wil continue to direct their attacks against Obama's character and "associations". We've actually been seeing this strategy for weeks. Recall the fallacious attempts to tie former employees of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac to Obama. It turns out that the charges should have been reversed. There are at least 9 of those employees working on the McCain campaign, including his campaign manager Rick Davis.

Now the GOP is becoming increasingly desperate due to poll numbers that show their opponent with a commanding lead. So they have decided to dredge up half-baked attacks centered on supposed "associates" of Barack Obama. There is nothing new in these accusations. FOX News and Right Wing talk radio has been flogging these tales for months. Indeed there have been a number of occasions when writers of "conservative" blogs have tried to shift the conversation away from McCain's weaknesses using names like Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko and William Ayers. No matter how many times I've pointed out that these are meaningless red herrings, McCain backers seem determined to push them forward.

So I guess it's time to address the reality behind these flaccid jabs. Jeremiah Wright was one of many pastors that presided over the Chicago church that Obama once attended. There are recordings of sermons Wright delivered that contain invective aimed at the powers-that-be in American society. Some on the Right have interpreted specific comments as racist and anti-government. Barack Obama has denounced Wright and left the church as a response to those criticisms. He has been clear that he does not agree with whatever incendiary comments the Reverend has made. This past April John McCain explicitly declared the Reverend Wright issue off limits. Going back to that well would clearly brand the McCain/Palin ticket as hypocritical.

William Ayers is currently a professor of early education at the University of Chicago. He cofounded an organization called the Weather Underground in the late 1960's. That group became the more violent wing of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) , and Ayers was eventually accused of involvement in several bombings in opposition to the Vietnam War. His relation to Obama is minimal. Apparently he once hosted a "coffee klatch" for Obama's run for the state senate. They lived in the same neighborhood, and ran into each other due to their shared passion for educational reform. Barack Obama was eight years old when the Weather Underground was active, and has denounced its past operations. The two do not speak to each other currently.

Tony Rezko is a civil engineer who has been a Democratic and Republican fundraiser in Chicago since the 1980's. By all accounts he was corrupt, as many lobbyists and fundraisers on both sides of the aisle have proven to be. He was convicted on bribery and fraud charges in 2008. Rezko raised money for Obama's senatorial campaign. When Obama found out the extent of Rezko's corruption he donated 2/3rds of all the money that Rezko had raised to charity. There are also allegations that Obama and Rezko had mutual interests in a private real estate deal. But there have been no allegations of criminal behavior associated with that incident. Neither has Obama ever been accused of participating in any of Rezko's criminal activities.

The emphasis on these flimsy "associations" demonstrates the fundamental inability of the McCain campaign to offer widely appealing solutions to the nation's problems. I expect that this new direction will backfire on the McCain/Palin ticket. Not only is it a transparent distraction from the economy, but it allows the Obama/Biden staffers and the media to dispel the shadowy rumors that have been making the rounds for the last year. Finally it puts the issue of political association on the table for both candidates, which could prove devastating for a Republican challenger who is trying to dissasociate itself from the terribly ineffective policies of the Bush Administration and its many fallen GOP legislative supporters*.


* Not to mention McCain's involvement with The Keating 5.

Guilt by Association?

One thing I've been consistently amused by during this extended primary season is the Republican hackery's clumsy campaign to disparage Barack Obama. Their initial ploy was to cast doubt on his religious affiliations. They did everything possible to get people to believe that he was a Muslim. Why that should matter relative to his aspirations for the presidency... I have no idea. Obviously the framers of the Constitution didn't mean to prohibit followers of Islam from becoming chief executive. This was a transparent ploy to tie Obama in with the terrorists. It didn't matter that the man had attended a Christian church for the last twenty years. Somewhere deep in his core, he was a treasonous follower of Mohammed. They've been flogging this canard for almost an entire year. It got so bad that the mythbusters over at Snopes had to post about the rampant lies. Still I've had to hear the AM radio talking heads refer to him as Barack Hussein for the last several months.

Of course we all know that this shit never quite stuck to the wall, no matter how often it was parroted. Watch now as the strategy shifts. They've given up on trying to make Obama the external enemy. Now they have begun the process of coloring him as the enemy within. It's now openly acknowledged that Obama is a member (in good standing) of the Trinity United Church of Chicago. Bear in mind though that this is no "ordinary" Christian" house of worship. It has all the trappings of Christianity, but it is somehow "other", and in that otherness something wicked lurks. While nominally devoted to Jesus the savior, it is in reality devoted to an insidiously divisive purpose. It preaches a message of hate for the United States (or so we are now told).

The presiding pastor of Trinity is Dr. Jeremiah D. Wright, Jr. If you visited the official church site, you would get the impression that Dr. Wright is an exemplary American. He started out his adult life in elementary education, served in the Marine Corps, and earned his doctorate in theology. He has served at Trinity since 1972, and now ministers to a flock of 6000 members (actually he is semi-retired as of February, 2008, yet he has remained active and is still considered the head of the Church). Apparently he subscribes to Trinity's mission statement, which includes serving not just the oppressed- but all of God's family. And, if you take the organization at its word, "it's not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and (...) does not apologize for its African roots!" Perhaps that's what some anonymous GOP think tank researcher found most suspect about Obama's relationship with Wright and Trinity.

Anyone who has unsuccessfully spent years trying to dig up dirt on Obama knows that he is virtually unimpeachable. So what better way to attack him then to establish "guilt by association"? It's absolutely true that Obama has credited Jeremiah Wright, Jr. as being an important influence in his life. The thing to do is to make the good Reverend Wright look like a black separatist. And the best way to do that is to comb over all the speeches that Wright has made throughout the years, and selectively quote the most inflammatory remarks that can be found. This isn't at all difficult because the man has been genuinely incensed about the treatment his people have received over the years. He has directed some serious accusations against this nation and its government. And it also helps his detractors that he has been closely associated with Louis Farrakhan in the past. As a result, it's not hard to cherry pick and make Wright sound scary to your average Middle American kool-aid drinker.

But what does all of this have to do with Obama? The implication is that this presidential hopeful will carry all of Wright's values and attitudes into the White House. It evidently doesn't matter that Obama has explicitly denounced the statements that many have found so offensive. He's frankly expressed his disagreement with Wright's views. In addition, his public rejection of Farrakhan's endorsement carries no weight with his critics. The mere fact that Obama has sat in the pulpit while Wright has preached his "message of hate" is enough to condemn his integrity and expose his dangerous deception. Whatever else has been said in Wright's nearly-40-year career is beside the point. By extension, we shouldn't pay any attention to Barack Obama's own words and deeds during his time in the political spotlight. There's no reason to give credit to anything Obama says, because someone he's been associated with has controversial beliefs. Would that we could apply that standard to all politicians- would we ever be able to find an electable candidate?