Pandering to Ignorance and Bigotry

A reader left an interesting observation which, when one looks at the evidence, seems to be borne out by the recent history. Here's the observation:

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I've come to the conclusion that Christian Conservatives must "prefer" their candidates to be dishonest and corrupt. How else can you explain Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzales?

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To me, its unclear whether the Christianists actually prefer liars or if their mindset makes them particularly attractive targets for liars like the Chimperator and now McCain/Palin. When I speak of mindset, what I mean is that their religious fanaticism makes them among the first to disregard objective facts and embrace those who pander to their prejudices (remember, these folks believe in creationism and think the earth is only about 6,000 years old). As long as disingenuous candidates make the right remarks that play to the Christianists' religious beliefs and have no discomfort in openly lying, they seem to willing to allow themselves to be played as idiots. In short, because of the Christianists' strangely limited world view, general lower level of education, and prejudices against anyone who is different, it seems far easier to play them for suckers time and time again. Then again, they are used to being played for fools by their own leadership. One need to only think of Pat Robertson, James Dobson and other leading Christianist leaders who daily disseminate fraudulent information and employ scare tactics which causes the sheeple to willingly send in their money donation so that these leaders can live in opulence.

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Meanwhile, in yesterday's New York Times, Frank Rich looked at the mindset and bigotry of the increasingly vile GOP base which represents much of what is wrong with America. Sadly, McCain/Palin seems to be doing all they can to fan the flames of hate while manipulating the ignorance and bigotry of the Party's base. Their conduct is reprehensible and to me shows that they'd be horrible stewards of the country. Here are some highlights:

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At McCain-Palin rallies, the raucous and insistent cries of “Treason!” and “Terrorist!” and “Kill him!” and “Off with his head!” as well as the uninhibited slinging of racial epithets, are actually something new in a campaign that has seen almost every conceivable twist. They are alarms. Doing nothing is not an option.

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What makes them different, and what has pumped up the Weimar-like rage at McCain-Palin rallies, is the violent escalation in rhetoric, especially (though not exclusively) by Palin. Obama “launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist.” He is “palling around with terrorists” (note the plural noun). Obama is “not a man who sees America the way you and I see America.” Wielding a wildly out-of-context Obama quote, Palin slurs him as an enemy of American troops.

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Obama can hardly be held accountable for Ayers’s behavior 40 years ago, but at least McCain and Palin can try to take some responsibility for the behavior of their own supporters in 2008. What’s troubling here is not only the candidates’ loose inflammatory talk but also their refusal to step in promptly and strongly when someone responds to it with bloodthirsty threats in a crowded arena.

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There are no black faces high in the McCain hierarchy to object to these tactics. There hasn’t been a single black Republican governor, senator or House member in six years. This is a campaign where Palin can repeatedly declare that Alaska is “a microcosm of America” without anyone even wondering how that might be so for a state whose tiny black and Hispanic populations are each roughly one-third the national average. There are indeed so few people of color at McCain events that a black senior writer from The Tallahassee Democrat was mistakenly ejected by the Secret Service from a campaign rally in Panama City in August, even though he was standing with other reporters and showed his credentials. His only apparent infraction was to look glaringly out of place.

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The McCain campaign has crossed the line between tough negative campaigning and inciting vigilantism, and each day the mob howls louder. The onus is on the man who says he puts his country first to call off the dogs, pit bulls and otherwise.