I’ve been thinking about the supporter responses to the McCain campaign’s attempt to portray Barack Obama as dangerous, as exotic, as “that one”, as Other, even going so far as to try to link him in people’s minds as a possible terrorist. Shouts of “treason,” “terrorist,” and even “kill him” have been heard coming from the audiences.
The campaign has been careful not to connect the dots between Sen. Obama and terrorist, but rather they have simply sprinkled the dots around and allowed people to make their own connections. This is an interesting appropach because it does not expose them directly to charges of racism but appeals to conscious and unconscious prejudices that exist among members of the Republican base.
It’s an approach almost identical to the one used by Sen. Joseph McCarthy during his heyday as demagogue in chief. McCarthy gained his notoriety some 55 or 60 years ago when he claimed, in the early days of the Cold War, that there were Communists in government. Despite the virtual hysteria his charges caused and numerous hearings to provide “proof,” he was unable to substantiate his claim, which grew more outrageous as the evidence of their flimsiness mounted. History generally regards both McCarthy and his tactics as stains, as aberations driven by the combination of McCarthy’s character and the nation’s fear of the expanding Soviet empire after WWII.
Ultimately, it was McCarthy’s own tactics that led to his undoing. His Senate colleagues turned against him — as much for his nastiness as for any other reason. The press turned against him, and finally President Eisenhower redefined McCarthyism as McCarthywasm. But it was Edward R. Murrow, a highly respected journalist, who summed it up best:
His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. […] We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn’t create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it — and rather successfully.
And, in the final analysis, is that not what the McCain campaign is trying to achieve with Gov. Palin’s attacks on Barack Obama? Are they not exploiting fear of terrorists and of the possibility of another act of terrorism? Are they not trying to link Barack Obama with fear of The Other? In their attempt to link Sen. Obama with Bill Ayres, are they not trying to create an image of the senator as a possible terrorist himself?
So, who is Bill Ayres and what is the truth about Barack Obama “palling around” with him? An NPR article explains Ayres’ radical history as well as his career as a University of Chicago professor. It should be noted that Ayres is widely respected in Chicago, by both Republicans and Democrats, as an expert in urban education. Here’s the take-away quote:
“It was never a concern by any of us in the Chicago school reform movement that he had led a fugitive life years earlier,” said former Illinois state Republican Rep. Diana Nelson, who worked with both Obama and Ayers over the years. “It’s ridiculous. There is no reason at all to smear Barack Obama with this association. It’s nonsensical, and it just makes me crazy. It’s so silly.”
Perhaps Gov. Palin didn’t get that memo. Or perhaps it wasn’t in the papers she reads. In any case, it seems clear that thinking people aren’t holding Ayres’ past against him. Many people who were against the war in Vietnam protested in ways that weren’t socially acceptable. And many of them have gone on to lead productive lives, contributing to society. I wonder how many of those people who salivate at Gov. Palin’s hate-filled attacks have any knowledge of the nature of the anti-war movement, or of the similarities to the responses then and now. Or have they simply become authoritarians in their political and religious ideology?
I’ve been repeatedly struck by the multitude of ironies inherent in Sarah Palin’s identity as a strong Christian and the ways in which she projects herself. She sneeringly denounced Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer. That was almost immediately countered with, “Jesus was a community organizer; Pontius Pilate was a governor.” That counterpoint inevitably led me to the scene during Jesus’ trial when Pilate, desperately looking for a way out, asked the crowd for their advice, whereupon they shouted “Kill him! Kill him!” And earlier this week, at least one person in the crowd at a Palin appearance responded exactly the same way. Now, please don’t think I’m trying to compare Obama to Jesus, even though I’ve heard members of the GOP accuse Obama supporters of thinking he was the new messiah. I didn’t bring up the comparison. But isn’t it interesting that the GOP base has offered both the comparison and the identical response.
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More Light Than Heat 