Glenn Beck and the McCain Campaign: Racist Scum.

It's frightening to see the reaction of the right to the rapid decline of McCain in the polls. The video posted below is a recent one from Glenn Beck, who I would consider the worst of the worst in terms of radical right-wing pundits in the mainstream media (and with Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly in that mix that's saying a lot!) Just listen to the growing sense of fear and rage of this right-wing scumbag and his stupid freak friend. Aside from making the horrible argument for free markets and blaming working class and poor Americans for the economic woes brought upon them by the market forces and greedy CEO's and politicians that he loves so much, they go on to personally berate Michelle Obama with overt racist and sexist comments.  Especially saying she’s “Kim Jong Il dressed up like Oprah Winfrey.” 

 

And it’s not just this fringe individual making these racist statements, it’s been a part of the Republican’s “Southern Strategy” that used race-baiting to re-align the parties when Nixon campaigned in 1968 and take the racist, white, dixiecrat voters.  McCain/Palin have stepped up this racist rhetoric and it is garnering a frighteningly frenzied response from their supporters.  Watch the news (except for Fox, who are fanning these flames of racism) and witness the hatred, fear, and rage of this base of crazy honkies.  Even McCain got booed because he was not calling for Obama’s assassination.  And don’t think that makes McCain innocent – it has been his campaign that has stoked these fires that created this zealousness.

We need to be vigilant about challenging racism at every turn in the coming months.  I hope not, but things may start to get violent in this country.  This not only stems from my own observations, but from repeated warnings by moderate commentators and writers and leaders I respect a great deal.  Even Paul Krugman, an economist who pretty much only writes about the economy, especially in the midst of this crisis, had to take a break in his blog and make a post about this rising tide of racial hatred on the right.  He writes:

The crisis isn’t the only scary thing going on. Something very ugly is taking shape on the political scene: as McCain’s chances fade, the crowds at his rallies are, by all accounts, increasingly gripped by insane rage. It’s not just a mob phenomenon — it’s visible in the right-wing media, and to some extent in the speeches of McCain and Palin…

What happens when Obama is elected? It will be even worse than it was in the Clinton years. For sure there will be crazy accusations, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some violence.

The next few years are going to be very, very tough.

 

Former Civil Rights leader and Democratic Congressman, John Lewis, stood up to the McCain campaign to McCain’s face on the floor of congress and powerfully articulated what they are creating:

"During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all.”

 

Do me a favor, if you hear a racist comment, joke, or even epithet, don’t let it go unchallenged.  We need to stop this dangerous trend dead in its track. It is not only ignorant, wicked, and backwards as all hell, it creates a climate of violence and oppression.  We have now not only a moral, but an immediate political obligation to confront this. If you need help, contact me or my posse, Beast Crew and the United Front, who recently shut down racist Katie Smith on myspace. Also, personally reprimanding people you know only goes so far, get engaged in anti-racist movements and causes that not only fights extremist racist groups but also advances the struggle against racial inequality in America.  If not, we get more Katrina’s, more Jena’s, and more of this bullshit.

In Solidarity,

-Steve