The Fire McCain and Palin are Playing With
Here is a glimpse at the unbridled ignorance which provides fertile soil for the seeds of hate that John McCain and Sara Palin are sowing.
We've seen now that the smears and attacks conflating Obama/Ayers/terrorists have not helped John McCain in the polls, his numbers continued to slide after he released them. The dials in the hands of focus group members showed this tactic was poorly received by independents and undecideds in the last debate . And yet the robocalls of vicious attacks were released just yesterday. McCain and Palin continue full throttle ahead with the smears. This video shows the one audience these tactics work on, but these folks weren't going to vote for Obama anyway. They have plenty of predjudice and xenophobia already. They see McCain slipping in the polls and are becoming anxious and agitated. What is the purpose of spewing the ridiculous insinuation that Obama "pals around with" terrorists when it's only working on these folks hence no net gain?
What is wrong with these people? Have they no sense of shame? Did they ever go to school? Is there any intelligent signs of life where they live?
October 17, 2008 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
The guy's comment at the end, the Obama supporter, when he talks about it getting bad and the anger that he feels directed at him that really indicates the effect of the smears.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, what are you doing?
October 17, 2008 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
For Palin, I think, she is laying the groundwork for her future career. She will come out of this loss blaming the usual "culture war suspects" and also probably throwing John McMaverick under the bus as well.
October 17, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
She will be a footnote in two years' time.
October 17, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I really hope you are right. But I'm not so sure. Americans are fairly forgiving and very forgetful. She will spend the next 4 years working on honing her image and remain a darling of the religious right. I hope the scrutiny of her continues after this election (assuming the best and she goes back to AK). I also hope that the people of Alaska think twice before re-electing her and continue in their quest to find ethical candidates.
October 17, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
she may disappear faster, two weeks to infotainment oblivion...
October 17, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
This must be why the secret service are trying to keep reporters away from Palin's supporters at rallies.
It begs the urgent need for a better education system in our society so that poeple learn how to think, differentiate, and reason.
I had to explain to my mother a couple of months ago that Fox 'News' is NOT 'fair and balanced' and she is not a stupid woman but she is very trusting... and where she lives they have CNN and FOX... she never saw MSNBC, she doesn't read much news online or otherwise.
Just an example that some people are basically good and not necessarily stupid but they believe some of what they hear. Sometimes it happens because they hear something over and over again and then it gets spread around like urban legend and it seems to be the truth... They believe he is a real threat... they believe so many lies...and they are afraid.
If you teach teenagers the tricks of marketing and manipulation and how it works when they are in high school, it is like showing them how the magician does his tricks... it spoils the 'magic' but they will be much harder to fool. I had to take a mass marketing class when I was in high school and they made us create marketing for kiwi, the fruit. We had to get inside the marketing industry and learn what they were all about. I feel we have to teach critical thinking in various stages throughout a child's development. A better educated electorate seems to be the best solution to this problem.
October 17, 2008 7:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent points all. It's true that many of these people are simply trusting in the faux news. And they are being lied to by those they trust including McCain and Palin.
Education is the key to people not being fooled but an uneducated electorate is easier to manipulate and control, more suceptible to fear mongering. It serves the neocons well.
High school classes in psychology and statistics opened my eyes to ways in which I was being manipulated when I was a teen. It's sad to think of how many people haven't had that opportunity. I went to public school but the quality of them varies so greatly depending on location.
October 17, 2008 8:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
If they are racist to begin with, they will LIE that they are afraid. It is one thing to understand what they are, where they are coming from. It is quite another to let them off the hook by attributing to them a FALSE good faith.
Every individual in this video, except the Obama supporter, was overtly racist -- but hiding it behind whatever excuse they figure will justify and persuade, in most/all instances: false appeals to "religion". If they were legitimately religious, then where are their religious "values?
Where is their knowledge of the fact that Islam = Christianity + Mohammad?
October 20, 2008 5:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
The ignorance of these folks don't really bother me. What I am pissed about is the the DNC and the MSM are not covering these events with any degree of due dilegence. So therefore this only stays in the Blogosphere. The DNC still don't quite understand the effective of Faux News and how this segment of the electorate think everything they see or here from them is gospel. No one from the Media is challenging the Hate Express and Mrs. Mooseburger on how what they say on the campaign trial feeds into this madness. The entire DNC should hold a major Press conference and demand an apology for the RNC and the Hate Express campaign for providing an environment for these people to feel comfortable enough to say these things. ITs truly amazing to me that this level of hate is still possible in 2008. Hate should never be allow to go unchallenged. The DNC and the Obama Campaign need to this seriously.
October 17, 2008 10:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Religion is the opiate of the people."
Their addiction has led to some serious burnout.
October 18, 2008 4:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
When I run into these people and I have several times in the past few weeks, this is what I do. As
soon as I hear one tell the others, that someone has to "kill the Nigger", I go over to them and tell them that I am a Republican, who has spent much of his life in combat, with about half of my
kills actually in hand-to-hand combat and that I
don't want to hear such dumb talk about any candidate in the US. I then suggest that they listen to what may happen to them,their family, friends,or anyone else that may be considering such stupid actions. That should any violence befall any candidate or President, that a special ops team will be deployed to 1)capture and hold the individuals responsible for the act or acts in
a special place, where they will meet the most hideous death imaginable. One so horrendous,that they would be pleading to be killed outright, but in fact, would probably die from a heart attack. And,perhaps worse, 2)Every member of their family-man, woman and child-will be taken to another location, where they would be executed and buried in a mass grave,so that no more 'Bad
Seeds' should come along. No courts,publicity,or obituaries. Just a whole lot of people that went missing. So think about whether you are really interested in assassinating anyone and be sure to tell all of your friends. that think like that, what I just told you. The color usually drains from their faces and the "well, I didn't mean that I wanted that to happen..." starts. I give them a big, John McCain smile and back away in my wheel chair. Gives them something to think about.
October 18, 2008 8:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wouldn't give any smile. I would keep it SERIOUS.
October 20, 2008 5:54 AM | Reply | Permalink