Inflammatory Republican rallies raise concerns
Agence France-Presse
Published: Thursday October 9, 2008

Shouts of "terrorist" and even accusations of "treason" aimed at Barack Obama have echoed around Republican rallies, whipped up into alarming, hate-filled frenzies against the Democratic White House hopeful.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain has taken to asking, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" at rallies this week, leading one supporter in Pennsylvania, a blue-collar battleground state to shout back, "he is a bomb."

Before the rally, local Republican leader Bill Platt warmed up the crowd by several times referring to "Barack Hussein Obama," focusing on the Illinois senator's middle name and trying to highlight his differences with other Americans.

Chants of "Nobama, Nobama" mingled with cries of "terrorist," as one banner in the crowd declared: "Go ahead, let the dogs out."

The stream of vicious attacks against Obama, who has left McCain trailing in the polls, were ramped at the weekend by Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin who accused the Chicago senator of "palling around with terrorists."

She was referring to Bill Ayers, a founding member of the Weathermen, a radical leftist group in the 1960s, who served with Obama as a board member on a charitable foundation from 1999 to 2001.

Now when she mentions Obama, some of the crowds' responses have escalated beyond boos and hisses, and there are fears among some observers that the attacks are going too far.

On Thursday the McCain campaign issued another hard-hitting negative commercial, slamming his rival's judgement and candor and accusing him of not telling the truth about the extent of his acquaintance with Ayers.

Since her first vitriolic attacks, Palin has toned it down, but the campaign is not backing away from its negative tack.

"It's about Senator Obama being candid and straight forward with the American people and their relationship," McCain told Fox News.

"He has dismissed it by saying he was just a guy in the neighborhood. You know it's much more than that."

Democratic vice presidential pick, Joseph Biden, has slammed the tone, telling ABC: "This is volatile stuff and ... I just thought we were kind of beyond this place."

If Palin heard hate-filled shouts from the crowds, she should be "at least saying 'whoa, whoa, whoa that's overboard," Biden said Wednesday.

And in an email to supporters Biden said Thursday: "I've heard some pretty unspeakable things in the past few days -- deeply offensive smears that we'll hear over and over again until election day.

"Instead of focusing on the issues that really matter, our opponents are doing everything they can to encourage this toxic atmosphere."

The Raw Story | Inflammatory Republican rallies raise concerns

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Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
- Robertson Davies

Secret Service probes death threats against Obama
AFP
Published: Thursday October 9, 2008





The US Secret Service has investigated an alleged death threat against Democrat Barack Obama shouted Monday at a rally for his Republican rival John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, an agency spokesman told AFP Thursday.

The probe by the service that protects US presidents, past and present, visiting world leaders and US presidential candidates, stems from a report by The Washington Post about a shout, "kill him," heard during the rally when Obama's name came up.

The alleged threat was made when Palin was speaking of Obama's relations with former 1960s radical Bill Ayers, whose group "The Weathermen" carried out a series of attacks in protest against the Vietnam War.

"We take every threat very seriously. Every time we receive or are reported information like that, we follow up," said Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan.

However, he cautioned that at the McCain rally, "no Secret Service agent overheard any threatening statement and no threatening statements were reported by law enforcement or the general public."

"We did make some inquiries after the Washington Post reported on Tuesday that a someone had yelled 'kill him,'" he added.

Donovan said it wasn't clear whether the threat was actually vocalized or, if so, if it was meant for Obama or even Ayers, both of whose names were uttered by Palin at that moment in her speech.

For those reasons, he added, the investigation was dropped.

Personal attacks against Obama from the McCain campaign have been increasing lately, with McCain and other Republican speakers tossing barbs at rallies ranging from "socialist," "terrorist" to "liar."

The Raw Story | US Secret Service probes death threats against Obama

__________________
Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
- Robertson Davies

I'm not quite sure what I want tosay, because everyone will see it as political. I've stood up for McCain when people began attacking his service record - because there is no denying his character there. I don't like ugliness - and the McCain camp just seems to be rallying so much ugliness. They have no more substance - just hate and ugly accusations.

__________________
Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
- Robertson Davies

How is this McCain or Palin's fault? They are not standing up their preaching hate or encouraging this kind of behavior. How do you control what people say when chances are you cannot hear them?

You believe they haven't heard them, or read about them, or been made aware of the Secret Service investigation? I think a public disavowal, and telling crowds you don't want that kind of support would be a great start.

__________________
Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
- Robertson Davies

Do you PRACTICE to be that obtuse...or is it a natural gift?

Republicans themselves are backing away from the McCain/Palin outpouring of lies and their deliberate hate speech. Even David Gergen, no alarmist himself, is speaking out against it. Considering the average intelligence of the GOP troglodyte base, I suppose that we can expect much more of this kind of violence before Election Day.

"Cannot hear them?" That woman screaming "traitor," referring to Senator Obama was clear enough that they BOTH LOOKED AT HER. And said nothing...

If you think I'm going to let you off easy for defending despicable, reprehensible behavior, Sonny Jim, you're DEAD wrong!

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Drakej Because of their desperate attempt to avoid talking about issues, they fill their speeches with "Obama's A Terrorist" rehtoric. I once has some respect for McCAin,but in the past few weeks he's sank to a new low.
If they think they can pull another swift boat job, they're fooling themselves, dirty tricks only work once, people wise up.
I'm getting really tired of Palin and McCain's Obama's a terrorist speeches, they're getting borderline silly.
They both need to grow up.

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Vote For The Ugly Liar - Impeach The Stupid One

They want a war....and the tribulation (because they are cultists).

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The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! - Frederick Bastiat

Or that race war McVeigh tried to start. I somehow doubt he was a dem, and he damn sure had friends. I suspect they are crawling out of their burrows.

__________________
Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
- Robertson Davies

Yeah I suspect those 'friends' were considered 'assets.'
Otherwise, they would have been caught.
Wait! We're not even going after bin Laden anymore?
Gotta be able to pull out that boogyman from time to time and scare the public into compliance don't ya know.

__________________
The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! - Frederick Bastiat