Everyone on my street who had an Obama sign in their yard received a copy of this letter:
Dear Neighbor:
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but a friend has recommended that I reach out to you about a problem that you may be having but may not be aware of: Have you ever considered whether your ostentatious support for Senator Barack Obama is really a disguise that hides a deeply anchored form of racism towards Black-Americans?
And it goes on and on like that. A neighbor who writes for the Washington Independent has the whole letter here. I’m not angry about it – it’s more pathetic than anything else, really. If anything, it stoked some fires. It sure pissed off my neighbor Jack, a 70-something vet who is four-square in Obama’s corner. He went out and put up more Obama signs after getting his. Keep it up, guys. But after you lose? Please go away.
J. Tyler Ballance
That letter shows how desperate the Fascists have become.
The Neocons have been so drunk with power these past few years, they are loath to transfer power to the Democrats.
To the average citizen, the Democrats are not going to make any substantial difference in our lives, but we sometimes like the idea of just having another Party take over the White House.
Many who typically vote Republican are going to walk into voting booths and on November 4th and elect Obama. This will be an election that will be won, not because the Democrats made the case for change, but because the Republicans have failed to make the case for their continuity in power. Americans, even many who are Republicans, are sick to death of all of the lies and propaganda that has spewed forth from the Bush Neocons. With McCain and his gimmick running mate, the message was quite clear that the Republican side was just offering more of the McSame.
We citizens will take our chances with the Democrats for the next four years. Oh, and to the racists, both Black and White: For the Black racists, Obama is half White, for the White racists, he is half Black, so for these two very narrow thinking groups, the next four years will be especially “interesting times.” Enjoy!
MB
I don’t doubt that many Republicans are going to walk into the voting booth and cast their vote for Obama, Tyler. I’m not so sure that this particular persuasive (?) effort can be laid at the feet of the neocons, though. This sounds more like the good old fashioned Southern Strategy racism that’s been so well nourished in places like Virginia. I can envision a good part of the Republican party aiming at ridding itself of the neocon element/policies, but the racism? I dunno. I think that’s as fundamental a GOP plank as tax cuts and deregulation.
J. Tyler Ballance
Most who have really examined the GOP would describe the Republicans, not as a racist group, but as xenophobic.
Some of the GOP here in Virginia, although prosperous and well educated, maintain rather small social circles. These isolated few are nowhere near a majority of the GOP, but the reputation of being unwelcoming to outsiders remains a frequent criticism of the GOP.
Jeff Frederick, has begun to build more aggressive outreach programs for Latino and Asians here in Virginia, and Jeff has Latino roots of his own, so we should expect to see a more diverse membership in the RPVA in the coming years. This sort of change will be gradual, but it will be real, substantial change and not some sort of empty gimmick, like McCain’s choice of that rather sleazy, Palin.
The blogs are currently full of nonsense like the Obama-Ayers pseudo link. You are entirely correct to point out that that slander is in the same league as calling McCain a baby-killer from his Vietnam days, (with the exception that McCain was under orders to drop the bombs and Ayers was waging a war against the U.S. government primarily because our government was issuing orders to guys like McCain to drop bombs over in Vietnam.
What is most troubling is the fixation on crap like the Ayers tie-in, but so little discussion of real issues and rational reasons for people to vote one way or the other.
I look forward to seeing a return to substance: with real issues and real solutions offered for discussion.
Let’s discuss, what will Obama’s first 100 days in office look like, and why should Americans be looking forward to the next four years?