A very interesting article from Haaretz newspaper in Israel. Haaretz is the second biggest newspaper in Israel after the Jerusalem Post- and Israel is known to have some concerns about the Obama candidacy. They worry about his middle name Hussein, they worry about his having a less hawkish foreign policy than Bush & Co- and how that will rein them in militarily, and finally the VP candidate Joe Biden has been refreshingly outspoken for a US Politician about the Jewish AIPAC lobby group. No doubt some of them think he's a closet Moslem too. :rolleyes:
But in her recent campaigning, Palin has gone beyond the pale- and has raised hackles amongst the Jews, who are understandably very sensitive to race hatred being invoked in Politics, or anywhere else. The Republican party and their 'pig with lipstick' are truly plumbing new depths. I'll be surprised if this does not backfire on them.
Obama-hate, and Sarah Palin's War on Terror
Sarah Palin has crossed a line. She could have used her powers of persuasion to advance her ideals. Instead, she has joined those who have chosen to fight Obama with prejudice. In the process, she has widened America's fault lines, equating her coy "you and I" with love of country. Her opponent, then, is the Non-Us, the AntiUs, and, by extension, the Unamerican.
Is this to be the Palin Doctrine - that the Right has a lock on love of country?
In making the Colorado declaration, which she was to repeat twice more that day, she drew a stark distinction between those who love America - her people - and those who love Barack Obama.
In doing so, and in tarring him as a man who consorts with terrorists, she has joined those who have leveraged other lies to extraordinary success, in particular, the lie that Obama is a Muslim.
It was the phenomenal power of the Muslim lie that has lent fuel to all others. The falsehood granted free rein to intolerance. It has successfully disguised racism as patriotism. It has granted false license to irrational suspicion and grotesque stereotyping on the basis of faith.
In short, it has freed people to hate a black man right out loud.
In painting her opponent as a fellow traveler with subversives and terrorists, Palin has joined those who have promulgated bigotry in inciting against Obama, those who say, in clear hints if not in so many words:
1. Vote against Obama because you fear and loathe Muslims
2. Vote against Obama because you fear and loathe Arabs.
3. Vote against Obama because you've had all you can take of affirmative action, immigrants, names which defy pronunciation, pluralism, and bend-over-backwards tolerance.
4. Vote against Obama because liberal Democrats are hypocritical wimps, not real Christians, and, in fact, closet gays - and deserve to be punished.
5. Vote against Obama because the New York media and Hollywood deserve to be exposed and disgraced.
6.Vote against Obama because in this day and age in America, white people get the short end of the stick.
7. Vote against Obama because the one group facing the worst discrimination is the community of believing Christian Republicans.
8. Vote against Obama because blacks hate whites.
9. Vote against Obama because even though Jews once helped blacks, blacks hate Jews.
10. Vote against Obama because the Left hates America. Because liberals are ruining America's core institutions, schools, the military, the economy.
In segregating America into Us and AntiUs, Sarah Palin is asking for the votes of all Americans in order to speak for half of them. The half she believes loves the country. In denying Barack Obama his love of country, she has denied the vision, the values, and the profound patriotism of the remainder. In doing do, she does a disservice to both sides, and to America.
When you read the ten points above, does it remind you of the ramblings of our resident TD Right Wing 'Patriots'. :)
