John McCain's Party of Hate

[kevinmc]

Brent Budowsky

Editor’s Note: To many Americans who expected better from John McCain, the surprise of Campaign 2008 is that the Republicans are operating almost exactly the same as they have in previous presidential election cycles -- relying on personal attacks, wedge issues, tough-guy talk, and media complacency.

In this essay, former Democratic congressional aide Brent Budowsky ponders this disturbing reality:

As Campaign 2008 unfolds, it is increasingly clear that the Republicans are a party with little left but hate, anger and the politics of slandering their opponent.

John McCain has become a candidate reduced to doing a Karl Rove imitation as a sleazy, divisive campaigner, while making bellicose pronouncements about war reminiscent of the childish Confederates at the beginning of “Gone With the Wind,” drinking their brandy and smoking their cigars with fantasies about the glorious war that they hunger to fight.

Now, right on cue, comes the latest Swift Boat attack book from one Jerome Corsi, the great white hope of modern Republicanism who has published a new book tearing down Barack Obama, much like he did four years ago in producing the thoroughly discredited Unfit for Command to demean John Kerry’s heroism in Vietnam.

In other writings, Corsi also called Pope Paul II “senile” and referred to Hillary Clinton as a "lesbo." So enough of Corsi. He deserves no more camera, ink or bandwidth than noting his history of slanders.

There is a much larger issue than a punk like Corsi. It is that John McCain, who promised to run a civil campaign, has become an embarrassment to the notion of civil discourse in public life............

[pretzel4gore]

1. corsi's a fine republican...

limbah, bello really, anus coulter, joe goebbels, shawn hannati, weiner savage, woof bitzer, brian williams, bob novak, heraldo givera and the rest of the plague of locusts who've infested the hyena newsmedia are fine, upstanding types of the American Tapeworm!
Fine and substantive men, the entire infestation! Everyday they prove it...

[Submariner]

2. To the PUMA's and other Hillarybots -- Take note

Sadly, McCain has become a representative of a decadent Republican Party that is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

Bush, Cheney, Rove and McCain seek to maintain their power over the presidency by keeping the nation in a cycle of hate and resentment. If they succeed again, if they continue in power for four more years, the future will be dark, dangerous and deadly indeed.

So, to any potential Ralph Nader supporters; to any Hillary Clinton supporters not yet certain about the stakes in electing Obama; to anyone with doubts about the danger to America’s future from four more years of neoconservative rightists having the power to wage World War III or to pack the Supreme Court with Scalias and Alitos or to continue bullying the mainstream media while intimidating dissent and demeaning our politics – consider this:

Look at what has already played out in Campaign 2008, consider the slanders, the bigotry, the wedge issues, and think what it will mean for America if those tactics prevail again.