racism

So does the clock at left stop? I didn't receive a response from Sen. Dole's pitiful Constituent Services Letter Generator^TM. No autopen-signed missive to help me pretend that I heard from my senator.

What I did receive this afternoon was a fax from Communications Director Hogan Gidley of the Elizabeth Dole campaign regarding the petition that I delivered last Friday on behalf of 1265 readers of Firedoglake, Pam's House Blend, and BlueNC who signed the petition. The petition requested that the North Carolina senator ask Linda Daves of the NC Republican party to stop running the color-aroused anti-Obama ad called "Extreme," which tries to draw some sort of connection between Dem gubernatorial candidates Bev Perdue and Richard Moore (both endorsed Obama) and Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

What was Dole's response? I have no idea, since the response is from Mr. Gidley, there's no way for me to know whether my senator actually read the petition. The letter I received is an exercise in predictable spin; it doesn't address the NCGOP's ad or her party's involvement and endorsement of playing to people's biases.

Here's a letter-to-the-editor that will be printed in my local paper. Permission hereby granted to use any part or all of it in letters to your hometown papers.

Pam and BlueNC members are delivering petitions requesting that Elizabeth Dole tell the NCGOP's Linda Daves to stop running the race-baiting anti-Obama ad.

Date: Friday, May 2

Time: 10:30 AM

Location: Dole's Raleigh Office: 310 New Bern Avenue,
Suite 122, Raleigh, NC 27601

See the The Blend and BlueNC for more.

Elizabeth Edwards Calls Racist GOP Wright Ad an “Assault Weapon”

Taking time off from her family vacation in Florida, Elizabeth Edwards commented on the GOP racist ad, “Extreme,” during an MSNBC interview, calling it an “assault weapon.” Elizabeth went on to support Obama’s decision to separate himself from Reverend Wright.

Watch the interview here:

Reverend Jeremiah Wright said some horrible things about America. He is evil. Forget about the good he has done in his life. He is evil. I saw it on CNN.

Much has been written about the Thomas Wright controversy around these parts. Many, including me, called on him early to resign. Most (not including me) were pleased with the legislature's swift and certain action to expel him. I argued, perhaps wrongly, that the undertone of racism tainted the entire process.

So now let's move to sentencing, where Radio Girl does her typically excellent job on the analysis.

70 months: Wright's state sentence for three felony counts: obtaining a $150,000 mortgage under false pretenses, plus pocketing $7400 in charitable donations from Anheuser-Busch and Astra-Zeneca.

My wife and I spent the afternoon registering voters outside the WalMart in Morganton. We weren't allowed to wear buttons or show any campaign material, so shoppers didn't know for sure who we supported.

We did ok registering new voters (maybe 30 in 3 hours). But the problem was the unsolicited response we got from way too many registered voters: "There's no good choices this time."

Let's face it: there's way too much flaming that goes on in internet forums and in local newspapers over Reverend Wright's sermons.

It generates a lot of heat, but no light.

So how about if we back up a little and try to do what Barack has asked us to do: sit down and have a quiet conversation and try to understand one another?

Someone recently objected to the word "racism."
I'd have added this post to Kosh's already very fine one about racism, but it's longish, so I post it herewith on its own. Again, with permission of the author ~

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


click to enlarge