October 11, 2008Posted: 05:20 PM ETFrom CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand
Lewis and McCain traded tough statements Saturday.(CNN) — John McCain – who has often praised civil rights icon John Lewis – called a statement by the Georgia congressman Saturday comparing the outbursts at recent Republican rallies to the rhetoric of segregationist George Wallace “a brazen and baseless attack” that is “shocking and beyond the pale.”
Lewis issued his statement after several days of headline-grabbing anger directed at Democratic nominee Barack Obama by some attendees at McCain campaign rallies.
“What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. [Sarah] Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse,” Lewis said in a statement.
Watch: McCain defends Obama at campaign event
“George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama,” wrote the Democrat.
McCain has written about Lewis, praising his actions at Selma during the civil rights movement. The Republican nominee even said during a summer faith forum that Lewis was one of three men he would turn to for counsel as president.
But the Arizona senator blasted the congressman’s remarks, and called on Obama to repudiate them. “Congressman John Lewis’ comments represent a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale,” he said in a Saturday afternoon statement released by his campaign.
(Updated with Obama camp reaction after the jump)“The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama’s record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I’ve always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.
“I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.”
McCain himself seemed to be looking to calm frustrated Republicans Friday, telling supporters at a campaign rally that the Democratic nominee was a “good man,” and that they had nothing to fear from an Obama presidency.
Update: Obama’s campaign said he did not agree with the comparison made by Lewis — but did not repudiate the congressman’s remarks.
“Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. “But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’
“As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead.”
The ebb and flow of time and change has come full circle. For the first time in American history- what seems to be over half of our society, both consisting of guilty white people and blacks, are at war against a minority of whites, who do not support Obama. At no other time in history has the “race card” wielded so much power, in a fight, that clearly ought to have nothing to do with racism.
Nobody seems to want to touch on the matter from a truthful perspective, so I will do it, whether people try to string me up in the gallows for what I am about to say, or not:
Obama’s campaign is a racist campaign. It has injected more horrible racism and hate rhetoric into this country, than at any other time. From the beginning, it was clear that McCain had no interest in using race as a major factor in this election. Of course, it would be touched on. Obama could potential be the first (half) African president. But, Obama has milked it for all it’s worth, turning it into modern day salem witch trials. This is the McCarthy trials of racism.
I, myself would liked to have believed that we were beyond the point of making race an issue. But, clearly we are not mature enough to let go of something that happened well over 100 years ago. Nobody currently living in this nation is, has, or ever was a slave. It is a fact that there will always be racism- but it is also a fact that when it becomes a major problem, our nation promptly deals with it.
At NO point in time has McCain or Palin made one single statement of racism. Ever. There may be supporters in the crowd who support McCain because he is white, but it is CERTAINLY no different than Obama’s campaign, in which there are decidedly, people who are voting for the man simply by virtue of the fact that he is a brother (DO NOT tell me otherwise. I have talked to people in my neighborhood who say that their sole interest is getting a black man elected.)
Some will say that it is impossible to be racist against white people. I ask you how that could possibly make sense? I live on the cusp of an area that is completely black, and I daresay half, or better of my city is black. I experience racism on a regular basis. Despite this, I have NEVER once complained. I took it in stride each time. But, there is the assumption that I somehow “deserve” this treatment, which is extremely wrong. It has become much worse, since this campaign began to heat up. There are election headquarters for my town, literally five blocks from my house, and I feel like a fish out of water in my own neighborhood.
The fact of the matter is, that if Obama wins this election, it will not be won under the premise that his policy is effective and healthful for America. It will be won because he is a black man. This is a big “fuck you” to the pursuit of equality. That is all it is.
I know tons of white people, going around lashing out at everyone for being “racist” because they chose not to vote for Obama. It’s completely ridiculous. I have never once considered voting for or against the man because of his racial background…and for fucksake, get it straight, people. The man is mulatto, not black. Half of him is ME, a white person. Half of him is black. But, he seems to claim only one side of his heritage…completely dumping the fact that half of him is white, even though he was nearly never around his Kenyan father, instead raised by his white mother and her second husband, who is an Indonesian man.
People are afraid to talk about these things. People are afraid to hear me say the words “white”, “black”, “guilty white”. But, they are real. They are there. And, they exist. I have never been more convinced in my life that the archetypal “guilty white” exists. The fact that you’re white does not mean you HAVE to vote for a white person. It also does not mean you HAVE to defend your decision to vote for the man you see better- just because he is black. Nobody is judging you for that. I think the white people who are lashing out about this really, non-existant party line racism think that they either:
a) feel like they have to defend their decision to vote for Obama, because he is not a WASP
or
b) are voting for this man, because they truly think that voting for a white man (even if they agree more with his values and opinions) is racist.
I’m sorry I even have to write this down. It’s a deep cutting situation, all around. I don’t enjoy having to discuss a pathetic situation that should have been dead and buried years ago. But, someone has to come out and say these things, even if it is an elephant in the living room type scenario. Everyone is already thinking it. It needs to be aired out.
The FACT has to be recognized that it is not only the whites who have perpetuated racism- the black community is equally as guilty. EQUALLY GUILTY. You are as responsible as we are, folks. And, this election is proof. You no longer have room to bitch about racism. You can no longer complain that “whitie is keepin’ a brother down.” You are now perpetuating this. Voting for someone, based on their race does not make the situation a pursuit for equality- no matter how many white presidents there were before. The end of racism does not mean whites and blacks get “equal shares” of everything. It means that people are regarded and treated as they should be- based on their character…and not on their skin color. If this race were truly NOT racist- Obama would not elected based on his race. He would be elected based on his character. This is not what is going on.
If we are EVER to end this “whites” vs. “blacks” horse shit…it’s got to stop happening on both sides. Period.
Black people can not go on, acting victimized (Mr. Bill Cosby said that the best).
And, white people cannot internalize the racism they experience (you need to say something when It happens to you), nor should they be racist, themselves.
We need an equal, straightforward dialogue. We need to can all of the “taboos”…all of those ridiculous things that you “can’t say” because they’re so true that it’s biting. If we get that out of the way- we will have fewer times like these.
This is a ridiculous display of everything pig-headed and disgusting about man. I am abhorred as I watch it go down.
1 Comment
October 24, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Excellent and accurate article. To deny that racism exists on both sides is to deny reality. Character, not race, should be the issue. The hypocrisy of the African American community regarding race and equality in this election is very disappointing. If Obama had the exact same policies and was a white man, he would not be getting overwhelming support of the African American community. Conversely, if McCain had the exact same policies and was a black main, he would be getting the overwhelming support of the black community. For people who deem racial equality so important, this is really sad.