Tell McCain to End the Politics of Hate

Color of Change and Brave New Films have just released a new video documenting the McCain-Palin strategy of formenting hate and fear at their rallies. This video flies in the face of Jonah Goldberg’s claim in the LA Times that “Obama’s Getting Off Easy”. When did you hear anyone calling out “Kill Him” at a Bush in reference to John Kerry. Please. This appeal to the lynch mob mentality as a Get Out the GOP Vote strategy has got to stop. I’ve signed the Open Letter asking the McCain-Palin campaign to stand down on this rhetoric lest real violence erupt before election day among their supporters. Will you consider signing too? There’s a lively comment stream going on over on YouTube btw - 94 comments to 431 views. Take a look and join the conversation.

Here’s some fresh hot slices from the message Color of Change is sending out:

McCain-Palin rallies have started to look more like mob scenes than political events. The candidates keep asking “who is the real Barack Obama?” (a question that also kicks off almost every McCain television ad).In response, supporters have yelled “terrorist!” and “traitor!” And the venom goes beyond Obama–one McCain/Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at a Black member of a news crew, saying “sit down, boy.”

McCain and Palin are going down a dangerous path. Watching some of their supporters being interviewed shows the kind of fear their campaign is stoking and exploiting.McCain and Palin are clearly in the driver’s seat. They’ve personally made it a point to use “terrorist” and “Obama” in the same sentence; they have surrogates repeatedly refer to him by his middle-name;and they keep pushing the discredited guilt-by-association smears that have long been debunked.

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In the final days of this campaign, we can’t let a desperate John McCain and Sarah Palin drag us down. If enough of us act, we can create a powerful story in the media about Black people and our allies of all races standing together against race-baiting and fear-mongering coming from the McCain/Palin campaign. But it will take a lot of us speaking in unison.

Will you sign an open letter to McCain and Palin, telling them who you are and why you won’t let them move our country backward? ColorofChange.org will publish the letter and make sure John McCain is forced to respond.

http://www.colorofchange.org/united/?id=1496-664550