Religion and Politics: Campaign of Hatred

There are less than three weeks until the presidential election on November 4th. If McCain ever was an honorable man he is no longer. I find myself thinking, With a blond trophy wife worth $300 million, why is he so persistent in his desire for the presidency? Well, I think the keyword is ambition. He admitted it himself in one of his memoirs. He calls himself a “maverick,” because he has sometimes opposed those in his own party, but the truth of the matter is: that opposition has only come when it was politically advantageous to McCain. He brags about the fact that Sarah Palin ran against an incumbent from her own party to become the governor of Alaska, but if your ambition is to become governor of Alaska then it makes sense to challenge anyone who gets in your way. Now it seems that the same ethics violations that she charged the incumbent with, she herself has been practicing as governor. The same holds true for McCain. All of the smear tactics and attacks below the belt attacks that he denounced in the 2000 campaign for the presidency — for the most part orchestrated by Karl Rove — are now being used to the utmost by the McCain campaign.

I’m a little tired of pundits like Chris Matthews, saying that he basically believes that McCain is a decent and honorable man being swayed by a horribly managed campaign staff. There’s a reason that candidates must state they approve all messages run by their campaign. Is he asleep at the wheel? I doubt it. Just witness his direct answers about the recent use of the 60’s radical Bill Ayers, or the accusation that ACORN (The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is trying to destroy the “fabric of our democracy.” He actually states with a straight face that these are serious issues that have to be explained by Barack Obama. And even when Barack Obama explains whatever tenuous ties there may be he still isn’t believed, because that wouldn’t serve the purpose of the smear campaign against him. The desperate tactics of McCain would be pathetic and laughable if there still wasn’t a sizable population of ignorant voters (like my parents), who believe whatever right wing propaganda that they are fed.

As Obama’s lead in the polls widens the ugly displays of racism and downright stupidity by McCain and his supporters seems to be increasing at a rapid pace. These folks are sore losers and the votes haven’t even been counted yet. The whole ACORN thing is such a non controversy. As if anyone is going to show up at the polls on Nov. 4th, claiming to be Mickey Mouse. This isn’t voter fraud. It’s voter registration fraud. Lackadaisical people independently hired by ACORN to register voters sometimes fill in fictional names themselves, because they get paid based on the number of voters they register. There is not anyone with those fictional identities to show up and vote. Now it seems that the Justice department, which has been highly politicized by the Bush administration, may have been working with McCain to press this non issue in order to stir up doubt and fear among voters. These power hungry Republicans will stoop to subterranean depths to hold onto their power.

Last week John McCain appeared on David Letterman’s show in an attempt at mea culpa for his last minute cancellation amidst the economic meltdown a few weeks back. He claimed to Dave that he had to rush back to Washington to try and help sort out the crisis on Wall Street, but instead he took the time to appear on television with Katie Couric. Plus the next morning he appeared at some Global Initiative conference run by Bill Clinton. Obviously he wasn’t in much of a rush. When he appeared on Letterman last Thursday Dave asked what happened, and his response was “I screwed up.” I’d say. He also screwed up when he decided to run the most dishonest and negative campaign in recent memory. He also screwed up when he picked a dim-witted former beauty contestant to be his running mate. If anything will be written about as being his ultimate downfall this election season it will be his pick of Sarah Palin. It shows a severe lack of judgment and a willingness to cater to one particular brand of Republican (right wing evangelical wackos) in an effort to “shore up the base.” McCain used to take pride in appealing to independents and even some right leaning Democrats, but by caving into the interests of the extreme right he wrote off a sizable chunk of voters. Probably enough to ensure his loss this November.

One thing I’m sure of is that Sarah Palin will come out of this alright. She may currently be ridiculed on the national level of politics and her career as governor of Alaska may be ending soon; but she will have a career as a paid speaker, making the circuit of the right wing think tanks and the venues of toxic Christianity. Leaders of right wing propaganda have put her on a rickety pedestal and revealed their hypocrisy for all to see. They accuse the “liberal media” of sexism, while they rate her attractiveness as one of her greatest assets. They tout her nomination as a triumph for women, while she is against abortion even in the cases of rape or incest. She even had the gall to institute legislation to force victims of rape to pay for their own evidence kits, while serving as mayor of Wasilla. The fact that John McCain mentions her participation in the PTA as one of her qualifications to be vice president is ridiculous.

I could go on and on, but there are only 16 days left until the election and I need to control my stress level. I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and prescribed some unpronounceable medication to treat it. This coming Wednesday I have surgery scheduled (I’m finally getting that much lauded “soul enhancement” operation.) On the bright side: I may be in a Vicodin haze for a couple of days, in which case I probably won’t give a shit about the latest antics by McCain’s campaign of hatred. I’ve been to the doctor more in the past two months than I had in the previous decade. I guess it’s all part of aging. I’ll be fifty in less than three years and I feel like my warranty in running out. A win by Barack Obama would be a big boost to my morale, and may even put a little skip in my step. I’ll continue to watch Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow over the next few weeks; and I’ll keep reading my favorite political blogs on a daily basis; but I will not let the hatred being fueled by the desperation of a faltering Republican party darken my skies.

Here are a couple of videos that give me hope and inspiration in my hour of need: