Shades of McCarthyism? Vote for change.

In Harper's, Scott Horton writes about the new McCarthyism. An excerpt:

"The last weeks of every presidential campaign I can remember bring out the crazies. Candidates are reviled as “racists,” “Nazis,” “Communists,” and the like. But this year the process has gotten nuttier and more malicious than usual. Perhaps it is a sign of desperation, given that polling does not suggest a close campaign, and a party now long entrenched appears to be poised for a swift kick in the behind—for the second time running."

",,,In the current issue of National Review, Andrew McCarthy continues his campaign to link the Democratic nominee to various and sundry Hyde Park radicals. This time it is “PLO advisor turned University of Chicago professor Rashid Khalidi,” who now heads the Middle Eastern Studies Department at Columbia University..."

"Rashid Khalidi is an American academic of extraordinary ability and sharp insights. He is also deeply committed to stemming violence in the Middle East, promoting a culture that embraces human rights as a fundamental notion, and building democratic societies. In a sense, Khalidi’s formula for solving the Middle East crisis has not been radically different from George W. Bush’s: both believe in American values and approaches. However, whereas Bush believes these values can be introduced in the wake of bombs and at the barrel of a gun, Khalidi disagrees. He sees education and civic activism as the path to success, and he argues that pervasive military interventionism has historically undermined the Middle East and will continue to do so. Khalidi has also been one of the most articulate critics of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority—calling them repeatedly on their anti-democratic tendencies and their betrayals of their own principles. Khalidi is also a Palestinian-American. There is no doubt in my mind that it is solely that last fact that informs McCarthy’s ignorant and malicious rants."

"...Of course, Khalidi has been involved in Palestinian causes. McCarthy ought to ask John McCain about that, because McCain and Khalidi appear to have some joint interests, and that fact speaks very well of both of them. Indeed, the McCain–Khalidi connections are more substantial than the phony Obama–Khalidi connections McCarthy gussies up for his article. The Republican party’s congressionally funded international-networking organization, the International Republican Institute–long and ably chaired by John McCain and headed by McCain’s close friend, the capable Lorne Craner–has taken an interest in West Bank matters. IRI funded an ambitious project, called the Palestine Center, that Khalidi helped to support. Khalidi served on the Center’s board of directors. The goal of that project, shared by Khalidi and McCain, was the promotion of civic consciousness and engagement and the development of democratic values in the West Bank. Of course, McCarthy is not interested in looking too closely into the facts, because they would not serve his shrill partisan objectives..."

And the Jewish Telegraphic Agency debunks McCain's smears and lies about Rashid Khalidi.

Not clean-cut enough for 'ya?

Meanwhile, at a McCain campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, audience members were pulled out of the crowd, apparently because of their looks!.

McCain's inept campaign strategies

And it says a lot about the floundering state of the McCain campaign when "Joe the Plumber" they've adopted as their mascot - real name Sam - owes back taxes, makes outrageous statements about issues he knows nothing about and would actually benefit from Obama's tax scheme, rather than McCain's? Plus, Joe/Sam has an agent who thinks television audiences are breathlessly awaiting Joe/Sam's presence; but Joe/Sam really just wants to be a country singer. The hopelessly ill-informed people in McCain's campaign - and his running mate tops the list - do not help inspire confidence in the candidate.

Vote for change.

Comments

[robin bird]

no one likes to lose face... especially when they will not only lose face but will be exposed as fools and have to live with it. no turning back. self preservation takes precedence over world issues when a man's and (some women's hint: first initial S) egos get bruised. watch what happens after the election..."Who me..? i always that Obama was an alright guy.."

[tangobaby]

I'm with Colette. To me, a person who is undecided at this point has to be an idiot. Or lazy.

Tuesday can't come soon enough for me.

[Colette]

Proof positive that a vote for McCain is a vote for a Dictatorship. I will never ever understand why the "undecideds" are undecided at this late stage in the game. (P.S. I don't believe them.)