It used to be easy to recognize racism

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

NC begins early voting tomorrow! maybe this mailer misses many voters but I'm excited to cast my vote!

Racism aside, though ... doesn't this just seem incredibly lame? I mean, they've been playing variations on this "He's Not Like Us" theme for months, and clearly it isn't working, outside their rabid frothing base.

Somehow one expects more from the vaunted GOP slime machine.

I think Obama should flip this one on its head:

"So what you mean to say is that seeking overseas tax havens for the wealth you've skimmed from American workers and investors is patriotic?"

White Pow...oh wait, this IS the Mc-Klan Pal-Klan RepubliKlan rally, isn't it??

Given how voters seem to be tuning out mcShame, I'm gonna bet that these mailers will go straight to the trash!

All through this campaign I've been smelling the stink of Karl Rove and Steve Schmidt. This is yet another one of their "subliminal" pieces that will be defended like crazy, complaining that liberals are reading between the lines.

McCain can't win.

It is an old white hand.
-observation by an old, white guy who supports Obama.

Used to, patriotism was easy. You just had put little little flags everywhere and do the right hand motions during the pledge of allegiance.

Now that's not enough anymore. Now people are starting to expect that "patriots" would not just talk about loving America, but actually, like, do things to make America better. Now people see helping and nurturing America as patriotic, and exploiting it as unpatriotic-- even if the people exploiting it made the right hand signals!

This is too hard! The Republicans would like to leave these new rules behind and return to an earlier time, a simpler time. A time when they could just call themselves "patriotic" and that would be enough.

What we're seeing here is the result of the anti-intellectualism of the GOP. They've spent decades driving the smart people away from the party so now they have no one to tell them how stupid this mailer is.

In the final weeks of this campaign, think if this mailer and expect:

More of the same

I wouldn't call this racism. But jingoism? You betcha!

The best part is that independent tax policy sources show that McCain will have a way harder time with his tax policy than Obama will. In total, McCain's tax cut with average $1,190 while Obama's will only be $160. McCain forgets that lowering taxes on the super-rich (even by small amounts) takes away ridiculous amounts of money. The Tax Policy Center has said McCain's plans will drive our country further into deficits than Obama's plans will, even including all of Obama's new spending.

Lets not forget that using the mailers own definition of "voting for higher taxes", Obama voted for them 93 times and McCain did it over 400!

You've got to hand it to these GOP smear artists. What a piece of work this mailer is.

I'm really struck by the image on the flip side of Obama holding the microphone. The "celebrity" smear was many things to many people, as any "good" smear is, but in my interpretation it was an attempt to trivialize Obama and strip away his obvious intellectual advantage by associating him with the celebrity of african american singers and atheletes. The implication being that "black people entertain us, but they don't lead us." Is it just me, or does it look like he's singing in that image?

Yup, in these days, it's enough just to make a claim. No need to back it up with behavior. Just say things like:

I'm a patriot.

I'm a leader.

I know how to ..... (fill in the blank).

I've done ..... before. (supply whatever lie you like)

I'm an experienced ..... (choose your lie)

I'm a christian.

My running mate is qualified.

It's so easy to be GOP! Even a child can do it!

Iwo Jima, WWII, and Roosevelt's leadership was a period of patriotism, as Republicans seem to be acknowledging with this ad, but this patriotism involved a spirit of sacrifice and community with everyone pitching in. Now these Republicans claim that the rich should always be bailed out without ever having to pay their share.

Following a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street, no one is buying McCain's shock doctrine for the middle class. It goes against Roosevelt's legacy, and it is certainly not patriotic.

What did John Edwards say? Something about that it's time America get patriotic about something other than war.

There are many ways to put country first. McCain, it seems, doesn't get that.

So then it must be patriotic to not pay taxes or avoid them. Yes, let's go down that road and see where it leads.

It is called a taxpayers rebellion and I would not be surprised to see it happen if Obama is elected. Would Palin participate? Have we seen all of her tax returns? What other laws would she find it patriotic to break?

The hand and neck look to be a white, male, about 60-70 years old.

Not to be either ageist or racist, and I surely wouldn't want to generalize all older white people, such as my white mom living in Ohio who is in her upper 60's.

But, I think we all know the particular kind of old white guys McCain is targeting.

My niece from Oklahoma forwarded me the smear email about Obama refusing to place his hand on his heart during the Star Spangled Banner. Wow she sent it to the wrong person. I have no sense of humor about these viral smears and I let her know it. It's sad to see good people naively pulled into doing the RNC's filthy work for them. Disturbing.

Obama's pulling resources out of Michigan. Cuz his lead is so large. hee hee.

Obama's pulling resources out of Michigan. Cuz his lead is so large. hee hee.

"It used to be easy to recognize patriotism."

Yeah, mcPOW! sure hides it good.
Shamelessly self congratulating himself on his Heroism, always going to 'the well' on his "Courage". Always yakking like he's done it all, he can solve any problem, he knows how to catch BinTokin. Did you hear that riff at the last debate?
I've done it all, I'll save the world, I know how to solve everything, I'm Forrest Gump! Been everywhere, done everything. I was jonny mcPOW! onthespot for everything, I was everywhere....or was I tied up? Didn't have a kitchen.... ooh,, I'm confused.

"It used to be easy to recognize patriotism." Indeed.

mcPOW! and company are right. It's not patriotic to pay taxes anymore. It is patriotic to wear 5000 dollar shoes, wear 100thousand dollar outfits, have 11 houses, 8 cars, have special interest lobbyist running your campaign and changing your bag. It's patriotic to steal the amrerican peoples money and offshore it. Its patriotic to run the economy into the ground and 'pal' around with Phil Gramm.

it's gonna be awfully hard for mccain to look his fellow senators in the eye after he loses this election.

http://thetruthburns.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/we%e2%80%99ve-gone-from-silly-season-to-hate-week-what%e2%80%99s-next-kristallnacht/

I love that on the address side of the mailer you can just make out a little sliver of a lapel pin in profile on Obama's jacket...

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=196963

We just got another mailer here in northern Virginia from the RNC saying Obama wants to talk to countries that sponsor terrorism. It's all black and spooky.

Not that this needs to be any more ludicrous, but I seem to remember only one flag pin during the presidential debates, and I'm pretty sure the hand touching it wasn't that pale.

We just received the "Patriotism" mailer in Pennsylvania too.

This post is a great example of dog whistle racism in today's politics. And there are so many more!

We're tracking political race baiting at www.stopdogwhistleracism.com. We find the good, bad and ugly from the right, left and center about race in the race. Visit us today for a non-partisan take on the race card, and the race card card, in today's politics.

Hope to see you at StopDog!

The "Iwo Jimi" image was staged for the photographer. It is, in other words, a fake "patriotism".

But isn't that one of the screw-loose realities about this country? Lying is "patriotism" so long as it defends the military, the militarism, the mindless chest-thumping bellicosity, the jingoism and chauvanism, the extremist nationalism, the covered-up America-hating of Republicans, and racists -- closet and otherwise?

By contrast: If the truth shall set one free, and the US is about freedom, then either the US is about truth, or it is self-hating.