Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Calling Sarah Palin Out For Racism

Obama himself might not be able to call John McCain and Sarah Palin out on the "substance" of their attacks, but his surrogates certainly can. In the last few days the Republican candidates have gotten nasty, especially Sarah Palin. She was out and about across the country, slamming Obama for "not being one of us" and wondering "who the real Barack Obama is." She did all of this dressed like a typical politician in a business suit, but she might as well have donned the white robes and hood of a Ku Klux Klan member. Finally, she is getting taken to task for her ugly and racist remarks.

From The NY Observer:

As the McCain campaign ratchets up the intensity of its attacks on Barack Obama, some black elected officials are calling the tactics desperate, unseemly and racist.

“They are trying to throw out these codes,” said Representative Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York.

“He’s ‘not one of us?’” Mr. Meeks said, referring to a comment Sarah Palin made at a campaign rally on Oct. 6 in Florida. “That’s racial. That’s fear. They know they can’t win on the issues, so the last resort they have is race and fear.”

“Racism is alive and well in this country, and McCain and Palin are trying to appeal to that and it’s unfortunate,” said Representative Ed Towns, also from New York.

You betcha it is. No matter how many fake, folksy and flowery words you use, the ugliness of racism comes through when Sarah Palin steps up to the podium. The sentiments of ignorance, hate and bigotry are evident from the crowd's reactions. While the thousands in the audience may love her speeches, the nation as a whole is horrified by her and have stated as much when you look at her plummeting poll numbers. There may be a certain percentage of people that tap into that type of hate, but thankfully it is a small minority. If anything, it is a good thing that these people's actions are spotlighted so that the racist attitudes in McCain and Palin's campaign can ultimate bury the GOP for decades to come.