Cafe Talk | Talking Points Memo | Race Baiting and the Potential for Disaster

Race Baiting and the Potential for Disaster

By Farzin Firooznia - October 9, 2008, 12:41PM

I am imploring both sides to stop the negative campaigning and focus on the issues.

But with regard to what's happening with the McCain campaign - there was a point David Gergen made the other night on CNN that I pray more people pick up on.

Beyond the distraction on the issues - there is a new ugliness that's being incited in the McCain/Palin stump stops that McCain/Palin have a responsibility to temper and stop. Please review and post this footage:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjxzmaXAg9E
What I'm afraid of is that we're seeing the McCain camp and Palin in particular go towards race-baiting (whether through this ridiculous assertion re Barack being a terrorist by association or in reciting his middle name), and it's starting to turn ugly out there.

Not only will it not help McCain win, but now it's potentially inciting, reinvigorating and yes, legitimizing latent hidden racist views, and potentially leading us down the path of riots, violence and god help us - assassination attempts. All we need is some lunatic to think that he's doing a patriotic thing by trying to eliminate a "terroris."

For someone who takes a stance against meeting with our enemies or people who don't like us or share our views on the theory that it would legitimize them - it's amazing to see McCain invite blatant racists to his own rallies.

Please shed light on this and implore the campaign to stop.