By Association

May 13, 2008 at 4:53 PM
16 comments

OK, so, if we’re to condemn Barrack Obama because the pastor of his church said some inflammatory things, how much more upset should we be with John McCain for selecting as his convention chief a man who was a shill for the Burmese regime?

If Jeremiah Wright shouting “God damn America” during some overblown sermon somehow bruises Obama’s presidential electability, then doesn’t McCain employing as senior counsel and spokesman a man who has made millions working in cahoots with the likes of Ferdinand Marcos and Ibrahim Babangida render him unelectable?

Last time I checked, human rights violations were bad and freedom of speech was good.

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Yeah, and don't even get me going on Hagee, the bloated leader of the Evangelical church who hates Catholics, calls the Catholic Church the great whore and who endorses McCain, who,of course, continues to leverage his support...politics as usual..a vote for McCain is a vote for another 4 years of Bush hatred and malfeasance.

With freedom of speech comes a certain responsiblity. If you can't handle the results, don't say it in the first place.

By all accounts Reverend Wright seems to be rejoicing in his time in the spotlight to such an extent that Obama has had to denounce him.

McCain is a very different animal than Bush. To say otherwise is just playing politics.

"McCain is a very different animal than Bush. To say otherwise is just playing politics."

Oh, I agree. He's a very different animal alright: in love with war like Dubya, only more cunning and with a very specific chip on his shoulder. The reason for this pithy post was to point out that the things Obama is being slammed for are insignificant compared to the things McCain is doing.

Seriously, how is a loudmouth preacher anywhere near as much of a problem as a lobbyist who has no problem taking money from murderous dictators? Can anyone explain that to me?

"...and with a very specific chip on his shoulder."

Of course, the argument could be made that Dubya had one of these, as well, now that I think about it.

Come on, man. If you want to have discussion about politics stop spouting rubbish like that.

McCain is in love with war? You know McCain has a son in the Marines as we speak right? "McCain loves war" is complete tripe and you know it.

The fact that such a preacher was a close confidant and advisor to Obama raises questions about his judgment, as does any nebulous association by any politician.

"The fact that such a preacher was a close confidant and advisor to Obama raises questions about his judgment, as does any nebulous association by any politician."

But doesn't McCain's hand-picking people like Doug Goodyear (who represented the Burmese junta) and continuing to employ people like Charlie Black (who has taken gobs of money from dictators ranging from Marcos to Mobuto) exemplify far worse judgment than Obama's attending a church with a bombastic preacher?

[this is good]

Holy crap, are we ever going to discuss um, issues? Well, probably not before we condemn "Hillary" for wearing polka dot underwear! I mean really, are these people looking to run a country or try out for Big Brother 3??

Sad, we could have had real debates about health care, environment, etc but instead I now know that Obama listens to a fanatic and that Clinton fakes a West Virginia accent when she's in West Virginia.

That should get me the fucking health care I've been without for 3 years!!

(pardon my French!)

(ps Hey there Kurt, sorry I got into rant mode again!!)

Maya, one would think issues would be important but people on both sides would rather make hay by discussing one or two of hundreds of advisors the candidates have.

Hell, Hillary failed the bar exam her first time around!

Bombastic is one word, I guess. "hate-spewing racist" would be another way to describe him.

"...but people on both sides would rather make hay by discussing one or two of hundreds of advisors the candidates have."

Jeff, I think you really missed my point. I wasn't "making hay". I was pointing out yet another example of the right-wing double-standard. Wright's a detriment, but it's cool that McCain continues to employ someone like Black? Don't you see what I'm saying?

"Bombastic is one word, I guess. "hate-spewing racist" would be another way to describe him. "

I think Wright is a completely racist tool myself, but I fail to see how spewing hateful words is anywhere near as bad as taking tons of money from brutal dictators. FOX News (et al) wants us to focus on Wright so we don't see the sick crap people on their side are getting away with.

Kirk, I think unless you are willing to vilify the whole profession, you can't pick and choose amongst them any more than you can vilify a defense attorney for defending someone whose clearly guilty of horrid crimes.

If you have no issue with someone taking money to lobby for a group or idea you believe in, it's hypocritical to have an issue with someone lobbying for a group you don't like.

You're also very much getting into a "freedom of speech" argument with this, which is why so many people hate the McCain/Feingold legislation; they feel it impinges on political free speech.

I noticed we dropped the "McCain loves war" stuff huh?

"I noticed we dropped the "McCain loves war" stuff huh?"

That's because I'm trying to get back to my original point which just keeps cleverly getting danced around. This post was about "guilt by association" being a road the Right shouldn't go down considering McCain's personally selected cronies. That's what I wanted to discuss.

But giving up on that... did I inflate rhetoric about McCain's views on war? Sure. But I sort of feel justified in doing so considering his track record and deliberate cluelessness about what the American people want regarding Iraq. I'm infuriated. And it seems pretty clear that if McCain is elected, we'll be at war the whole four years he's in office -- especially considering he pretty much said so himself.

It's not and never has been the job of the President to take a poll of the American people and act accordingly.

If McCain is elected, then clearly the American people aren't as opposed to our presence in Iraq as you seem to think.

And as I said, either rip all lobbyists or none. I think it's hypocritical to do otherwise.

And honestly you didn't inflate anything, you invented it out of whole cloth. A guy who spent five and a half years being tortured by the north Vietnamese and has a son on the front lines almost certainly has a better idea about the negative aspects of war than any other American politician today.

"If McCain is elected, then clearly the American people aren't as opposed to our presence in Iraq as you seem to think."

Yeah, I thought of that after I hit post. I honestly don't know what I'm worried about. Unless the people are more racist/sexist than they are concerned about the war, we'll see a Dem in the Oval Office next. I'm just righteously angry right now.

I'm a Republican (though a mild one as I grew up in Massachusetts) so I'll be voting for McCain, but I would not at all be surprised to see the Democrats win the White House. I actually think Hillary would be a better commander in chief than Obama.

I just hope for the life of me that if they do, they don't repeat the Republicans mistakes when they took over both branches in 2000. Knowledge of history tells me that as politicians they won't be able to help themselves.

"I'm a Republican (though a mild one as I grew up in Massachusetts) so I'll be voting for McCain..."

You don't say! ;)

"I just hope for the life of me that if they do, they don't repeat the Republicans mistakes when they took over both branches in 2000. Knowledge of history tells me that as politicians they won't be able to help themselves."

Agreed, but I'm always hopeful. And for the record, I pretty much do despise all lobbyists. Politicians, as well. I just happen to see the former as a completely unnecessary evil.

[this is good]

I offer a [tig]...because damn, well...[tig]...but I'm gonna leave it at that as speaking publically about my political beliefs and opinions has proved hazardous to my health.

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