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One of McCain's Favorite Democrats Expresses Concern About the Tone at His Rallies; John Lewis Says McCain and Palin "Are Playing With Fire"

October 11, 2008 2:35 PM

When asked at the Saddleback Church Forum which three "wise" people he'd consult with upon becoming president, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., listed among others civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., “who can teach us all a lot about the meanings of courage and commitment to causes greater than ourself."

McCain went so far as to tell Lewis's story in his newest book, "Why Courage Matters."

So I wonder if it will have any impact that Lewis writes a rather harsh appraisal of McCain-Palin rallies in Politico today.

"As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign.  What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history.  Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."

Lewis even invokes segregationist former Gov.  George Wallace, saying 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."

Lewis concludes: "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.  They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy."

The general pushback from the McCain campaign is that there is nothing untoward going on at these rallies, that this is propaganda pushed forward by Democrats and their allies in the liberal media.

- jpt

October 11, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (221)

User Comments

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"I'm sorry. I will have to pass on engaging you in further conversations. Don't feel I'm being rude when I don't respond."

Timmy . . .. is your word worth nothing?

Posted by: danita | Jun 27, 2009 3:33:23 PM

public technology extinction prepared 2000 wire

Posted by: jerrenouel | Jun 7, 2009 8:36:23 AM

long united actual societies end

Posted by: tianebeech | Jun 5, 2009 2:11:49 PM

It is so wrong that John LEwis turned his back on McCain, after he said he trusted him.
McCain~Palin all the way!

Posted by: mckenzie | Oct 15, 2008 9:41:15 PM

Lewis is getting to be an "old, angry man

Lewis is getting to be an old, angry guy....'nuf said?


'

Posted by: just joe | Oct 14, 2008 10:32:21 AM

"Palling around with terrorists" is a deliberate phrase designed to taint and smear a legitimate candidate with the spectre of fear and hatred.

Cut the crap . .. Republicans are playing cheap and dirty with the words they're putting in Palin's mouth.

Trying to demonize Democrats or their candidates as evil "terrorists" and "white haters" is really dumb.

If you're actually scared of the Democrats your mommy should have patted your back and told you the boogeyman doesn't really exist.

I'm afraid it is primarily the white nutcases in America who are spreading this nonsense, paranoia and hate.

Posted by: pefros | Oct 13, 2008 1:06:35 AM

Mr. John Lewis is absolutely right on money!!

Mr. John Lewis has resonated the feelings of millions of Americans who hate the McCain agenda of personally attacking Sen. Obama.

It was just a matter of time for a public figure like Mr. John Lewis to come out and tell McCain enough is enough.

If McCain can not stand this, just go through the tens of thousands of Americans who has said the same thing in all these blogs. Obvious the computer illiterate McCain will have no way knowing the opinions of all these people expressed through these blogs.

McCain ha absolutely no right to open his mouth against Mr. John Lewis - he has said this for all of us, far too many than your cronies.

Posted by: Jim, Texas | Oct 13, 2008 12:20:01 AM

GOP VA Chair just told one of their talking points for canvassers is that Obama is the same as Osama.

John Lewis was right.

John McCain should apologize to Obama for his disgustingly racist campaign.

Posted by: Ryan C | Oct 12, 2008 5:56:19 PM

Obama is a communist just like his hippy dippy mother and red church attending grandparents.

Posted by: chattyway | Oct 12, 2008 5:14:23 PM

In an interview published in 1995, Ayers characterized his political beliefs at that time and in the 1960s and 1970s: "I am a radical, Leftist, small 'c' communist ... [Laughs] Maybe I'm the last communist who is willing to admit it. [Laughs] We have always been small 'c' communists in the sense that we were never in the [Communist] party and never Stalinists. The ethics of Communism still appeal to me. I don't like Lenin as much as the early Marx. I also like Henry David Thoreau, Mother Jones and Jane Addams [...]"[27]In 1970 Ayers was called "a national leader"[28] of the Weatherman organization and "one of the chief theoreticians of the Weathermen".[29] The Weathermen were initially part of the Revolutionary Youth Movement (RYM) within the SDS, splitting from the RYM's Maoists by claiming there was no time to build a vanguard party and that revolutionary war against the United States government and the capitalist system should begin immediately. Their founding document called for the establishment of a "white fighting force" to be allied with the "Black Liberation Movement" and other "anti-colonial" movements[30] to achieve "the destruction of US imperialism and the achievement of a classless world: world communism."[31] In June 1974, the Weather Underground released a 151-page volume titled Prairie Fire, which stated: "We are a guerrilla organization [...] We are communist women and men underground in the United States [...]"[32] The Weatherman leadership, including Bill Ayers, pushed for a radical reformulation of sexual relations under the slogan "Smash Monogamy".[33

Most like to talk about Ayers terrorism, but there is actually much more---such has his views on early childhood education. So many violent thugs surround Obama---so so so many.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers

Posted by: chattyway | Oct 12, 2008 5:13:27 PM

Obama does pal around with lots of terrorists---nation of Islam, hamas, Dorn, Ayers, Odinga and others. Its very scarry.

Posted by: chattyway | Oct 12, 2008 5:12:59 PM

"Palling around with terrorists" is a deliberate phrase designed to taint and smear a legitimate candidate with the spectre of fear and hatred.

Cut the crap . .. Republicans are playing cheap and dirty with the words they're putting in Palin's mouth.

If you're scared of the Democrats your mommy should have patted your back and told you the boogeyman doesn't really exist.

I'm afraid it is primarily the nutcases in America who are spreading this nonsense, paranoia and hate.

Trying to demonize Democrats or their candidates as evil "terrorists" and "white haters" is really dumb.

Posted by: pefros | Oct 12, 2008 3:38:12 PM

Shame, shame, shame on Rep. John Lewis. Is this what we have in store for us if Barack Obama is elected. Every disagreement or question asked about him makes you George Wallace? Good God! This accusation by the congressman is absolutely pitiful.

Posted by: Thank God for Karma | Oct 12, 2008 3:36:16 PM

John Lewis "continues to have the most optimistic outlook about America."
-McCain

oh ok you just misspoke. You mustve meant "opportunistic" exactly like Obama.

Posted by: zak | Oct 12, 2008 3:30:14 PM

""Palling around with terrorists" is a deliberate phrase designed to taint and smear a legitimate candidate with the spectre of fear and hatred.

Cut through the crap . .. Republicans are playing cheap and dirty
Posted by: pefros

You libs are UNBELIEVABLE. You see her stating the SAME remarks I would question Obama on to his face as thought their Palin's alone.
But NOT YOU! naaah you cheer him on no matter what.

You give an automatic pass to Obama on ANYTHING including terrorist friends he had, hate-filled ministers and refusing to call the surge a success, denying funding to our guys, pretending he can raise taxes asytronomically during an economic crisis.. without ever telling you HOW.
WHY?

Are you just all nuts? Is there some weird hypnosis in some of his sermons?

unbelievable.

Posted by: zak | Oct 12, 2008 3:27:41 PM

"Palling around with terrorists" is a deliberate phrase designed to taint and smear a legitimate candidate with the spectre of fear and hatred.

Cut through the crap . .. Republicans are playing cheap and dirty with the words they're putting in Palin's mouth and they know it.

Posted by: pefros | Oct 12, 2008 3:04:17 PM

Lewis didn't say anything about race either---that is not the issue. The issue is one of "creating a climate of hate that seems to give extremists permission to act violently" against anyone with whom they do not agree. For the extremist there is no room for compromise (Timothy McVey, sucide bombers, etc.).

Posted by: George | Oct 12, 2008 2:58:59 PM

What if things were switched around??
 
Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin, what if things were switched around?.....think about it.

Would the country's collective point of view be different?
Ponder the following:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including
a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe
disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while
he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain
killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
(The Keating Five were five United States Se nators accused of corruption
in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings
and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included
disc ipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many
occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality,
do you really believe the election numbers would b e as close as they are?
This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes
positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in
another when there is a color difference.
Educational Background:
Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
John McCain:
United States Naval Acade my - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in
the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

Posted by: NIA-New Mexico | Oct 12, 2008 1:57:53 PM

Meanwhile, Todd Palin is already picking out her cabinet and others to serve with Palin in the WH. The "President in the Shadows" strikes again.

Posted by: Jake | Oct 12, 2008 12:45:27 PM

Palin said she was going to say those things that she felt where necessary even if it doesn't exactly agree with what McCain says. She feels that's what her role is as the VP, to disagree even with the President. I think she has already picked the furniture for the White House, figuring McCain won't be around too long.

Posted by: Jake | Oct 12, 2008 12:43:10 PM

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