Wash. Post omits McCain campaign's role in robocalls attacking "Obama's connections to terrorists"
SUMMARY: The Washington Post reported that "[t]he Republican National Committee has also begun making automated phone calls in Virginia and in other battleground states that talk about Obama's connections to 'terrorists,' " but not that Sen. John McCain's campaign also paid for the calls.
On October 17, The Washington Post reported: "The Republican National Committee has also begun making automated phone calls in Virginia and in other battleground states that talk about [Sen. Barack] Obama's connections to 'terrorists,' a reference to the Vietnam War-era radical William Ayers." However, the Post article, presumably referring to a "robocall" that is reportedly being used in several states, including Virginia, did not report that the narrator in the call itself says that it was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 as well as the RNC.
CNN.com reported on October 16 that according to Republican Party sources, " 'Hundreds of thousands' of calls are being made in at least six hard-fought states including Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio. Some are recorded 'robocalls,' while others are live to comply with relevant state laws. The calls are being paid for jointly by the Republican Party and the McCain campaign, according to a script provided by the Republican Party. The 'robocalls' criticize Obama on national security, his opposition to an Illinois measure that called for doctors to provide medical care to babies who survive botched abortions, his connection with former '60s radical William Ayers and his response to the financial crisis." The script of the ad is as follows:
Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.
Wasn't McCain just endorsed by terrorist-financier Leonore Annenberg? I wonder if they mentioned that?
speaking of terrorist connections, how about the guy heading up McCain's presidential committee? He was a lobbyist for Saddam Hussain after the 1st gulf war. Talk about aiding and abetting...
It's a fair point raised by MMFA. If McCain's role is stated in the robocalls then the WaPo should have included them in the article, along with the RNC.
Sleep well tonight, MMFA. Tommy has spoken.
I got one of those, albeit forwarded by a robotic family member of mine.
I wonder if Chuck Norris has switched over to grampy? He could fight those terrorist sympathizers like Annenberg, who put Ayers on his board along with Obama. Ronald Reagan palled around with Annenberg, too.
Hope McGrampy will get a new batch of robo calls going to smear Annenberg.
I, for one, welcome our new robo-calling overlords...
"I’d like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to…toil in their underground sugar caves.” - Keny Brockelstein
Classic! I wonder if she ever did get Mr. Milhouse to pay his phone bill?
Amazing coincidence. The aforementioned family member also quotes Chuck Norris in relation to McBlinky !
Wolf, you have my sympathy. Even my Nebraska relatives & friends are voting for Obama!
Mary, lucky for you I get regular communiques from Chuck Norris(as well as Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter and Ted Nugent) via Human Events. I can't link to the site, because it's a spam bomb if you don't have a good filter. I did that once, and felt the wrath of fellow posters who had to delete emails for get-rich-quick/lose-weight fast schemes targeted at wingnuts.I will paste the intro to a pitch for Chuck's latest book, Black Belt Patriotism, that I got last night;
Again-- do NOT click the links if you don't think wingnut spam is entertaining.
Dear Fellow Conservative:
Six-time world middleweight karate champion and action film star Chuck Norris loves America.
But he isn't afraid to face reality
and it closes with;
P.S. Here is how to tick off a liberal...just subscribe to Human Events today! (And you'll receive a FREE copy of Black Belt Patriotism -- a $26.95 value.)
I know I'll be furious if anybody subscribes to HE. Grrrr !
If they're targeted with get rich quick and lose weight fast schemes, they must all be poor, fat and pretty darn stupid.
These creeps kill me. They all love America and imply that we don't. I've got a feeling that there'll be trouble from these losers after November.
They love Amwrica all right, but i don't think it is the same one i work , live in !
You're a long way from your Black Belt in Patriotism, Worrierking.Only blind, mindless obedience to your government can move you up to that level. Free-thinkers are stuck forever at the apprentice/grasshopper/liberal level.
Why wouldn't there be trouble from these screwballs? They're the righteous ones. After all, they come from the, "patriotic areas of the country," doncha know?
I was gonna preface this with the words OT, but when you assault a reporter at a rally just because he's looking at the crowd I really think you've become a terrorist.
There are certain things that get me really concerned when I hear them from someone I'm working with. Joe Killian (who blogs for the paper here and on his own time here) added a new one to my list:
Joe was working with me on a package for tomorrow's newspaper covering Gov. Sarah Palin's visit to Elon and Greensboro.
"Dude," he says when I called to check on him. "Some guy just kicked me in the back of the leg."
Let me just digress for a second. I sometimes supervise people. Much more often, I work in teams with folks. I'm usually the old fart in the group so I feel responsible for them. The last thing I ever want to hear is that one of my people got hurt on assignment. Usually the worry has to do with covering a traffic accident along a highway or a natural disaster like a flood, where conditions are inherently dangerous.
What I don't expect is for some troglodyte at a campaign rally to decide that the proper way to express his frustration with Democrats, Barack Obama or the "left-wing liberal media" is to commit assault on a colleague.
Here's the back-story:
As you probably know, the crowds at McCain-Palin events have gotten, um, saucy as of late. My boss blogs about that here.
Covering Sen. John McCain's appearance in Wilmington Monday, you could definitely sense some of that vibe.
Cut to today, Palin in town. In general, I walked in sensing the crowd had a more positive vibe than the McCain rally.
That changed when I heard a ruckus behind me. A couple folks there for the rally called campaign staff over, complaining about people several rows back chanting "Obama" when the rest of the crowd cheered at Palin's applause lines. Obnoxious? Yes. But I dig me some First Amendment.
The campaign staff dutifully fetched a couple of police officers who dutifully threw the handful of individuals out. I watched just to make sure ruckus didn't develop into something more. That apparently gave other McCain-Palin supporters license to yell at me.
"Hey! Hey you! The story's up there," yelled one point at the stage. "You don't need to worry about that. The story is up there."
The presence of a barricade, the more pressing need of gathering a story and, well, that whole First Amendment thing just led me to ignore them. They can pop off if they like.
Joe was near a second group of protestors who got tossed. And he got some push back for investigating as well. After the rally wound down, he went to find some Obama folks and see if he could talk to who got put out.
That's when at least one guy from the crowd decided he needed to interject his opinion into the conversation. As Joe tells it:
Sounds like some good old folks in my part of the world don't like them journalists too much. Can't imagine why with Palin and McCain normally calling out journalists as being bad people and all. Why don't, as a form of protest for what they're being called anyway, journalists just stop covering McCain-Palin? You want to attack journalists for being too liberal, and biased, well, why don't we just stop covering you for a few days, and see how that goes for you.
Just for contrast, Snoopy. i was at a Kerry rally in Columbus, Ohio way back in 04 on the OSU campus. A large group of Bush supporters, while not actually in the event on the commons, were assembled behind the crowd. They were waving Bush signs and loudly chanting, "four more years," as well as other Republican drinking songs that were just indiscernible to the human ear. Anyway, their was some terse banter between the attendees and the protesters, but in patriotic liberal form the protesters were allowed to exercise their first amendment rights without abridgment.
This Palin phenomena is disturbing in its religio-nationalist fervor. She has inflamed a cultural resentment that will not just burn out after the Republicans find themselves as the losers they so richly deserve to be.
I found a picture online of some enthusiastic McCain supporters:
Can't you just FEEL the excitement in that room???? :-)
Feel the excitement? I can smell the efferdent.
I found these two Utube video's created by a Santa Barbara teenager. If I child can believe this misinformation, (who must have either overheard or directly received this information from an adult); what about the ignorant adults heading out to the voting booth?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb-LISXFIMI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01dsrkBxkdI
I am worried by the pattern in the media in the days since the last debate. McCain's camp is AGAIN winning the news cycle.
Am I the only one 'round here that feels like Obama is letting up again on the offense and he's gone back to the defensive posture while his message is not able to breakthrough the noise of campaign tactics, Joe the plumer, ACORN, Ayers and polls?
This is EXACTLY what the McCain campaign wants to happen ... It is dangerous territory.
Good point MK38...
But it's all dangerous. What's most dangerous of all is how ignorant and uninformed so many voters are.
Ignorant and uninformed? Maybe not. I would say that most voters are misinformed and emotionally manipulated by Republican sociopaths like Karl Rove
McCain's tactics aren't working. You don't have to worry. When McCain tries to appear nice, he loses points to Obama. When he tries to be combative, he loses more points to Obama. Obama has McCain flustered. It's like Ali vs. George Foreman all over again.
Prior to the debates, a lot of people seemed reticent about Obama simply because they didn't feel they yet knew him. The debates changed that. People saw that Obama was presidential and had incredible discipline and focus. Their impression of Obama became fixed at that point. Had Obama's comportment reinforced, in any way, the negative attacks on his candidacy he would be in trouble. McCain said he was naive yet his answers were measured, logical and made common sense. McCain said he was dangerous, yet Obama's demeanor contradicts that. McCain said he was too liberal, yet his policies sound reasonable and nothing that can be construed as "extreme left wing".
If everything that McCain tells you about his opponent are demostrably false, how can he possibly convince of his next allegation? Meanwhile, McCain's performance in the campaign has exactly conformed to the Obama description of the man as erratic, stuck in the past, out of touch and a proponent of Bush economic policies.
Let's face it, whenever someone called Kerry an "elitist" you had to cringe a little bit because he matched the characterization. Consider a similar effect with Gore and his condescension. McCain's attacks on Obama simply do not match up with the candidate and thus reasonable people aren't buying it. We don't have to worry about the unreasonable people, they were lost to the Republican party long ago.
You forget Obama still has a 30 minute news spot coming up. He can refute every lie, expand on his agenda and whatever else he wants completely free of McCain's diversions and desperation. And McCain is sooo out of money he can't even afford to respond with a 30 minute spot of his own. I'd suggest waiting to see how that goes before we throw in the collective towel.
Okay, I know I'm just paranoid, but Pigboy Limbaugh today made the comment, "They just keep piling on, and I'm sitting here smiling". It was in reference to Saturday NIght Live making fun of Joe the F***ing Plumber. Since I believe that PigBoy is plugged directly into the RNC, it makes me wonder what slime they have yet to unleash. Joe the F***king Plumber, I'm sure, was a plant, and calculated to get the base excited again, since the polls and the constant embarrassment that is Palintwit have to be getting them down.
Of course, PigBoy may have been just blustering to keep his sycophants from slitting their wrists, or rattling the cages of Liberals like me who force themselves to listen to his bilge.
Who knows? The Grampy Campaign is down to gimmicks now, and I'm sure they have plenty up their sleeves.
Joe was a plant. He's related to Keating, fer cryin out loud. He's probably the only person who got a worse vetting job than Palin.
Love the reports. Thank you for your service.
Didn't hear it, but my guess is he's imagining or dog whistling to his audience that the mocking of the archetypal angry White guy will redound in the favor of the GOP at the polls.
Don't believe the hype. Remember when Rush promised audio of Michelle Obama using the term, 'whitey'? Well, still waiting...
He's full of crap.
OK, this one is OT, I post it because of the slime from a few days ago whining about birth certificates and all...
VA benefits claims found in piles to be shredded.»
The Military Times reports that the “Department of Veterans Affairs regional offices have been ordered to immediately stop shredding documents” after an investigation found some benefits claims and supporting documents — such as certificates for births, deaths and marriage — among piles of papers waiting to be destroyed. VFW National Commander Glen Gardner said the problem could be significant:
Aren't they just patriots trying to save the country money?
USA! USa! Usa usa us ..... ohh ....... sigh
These are some pretty horrible robocalls, and they do remind me of the ones that McCain was a victim of back in 2000 accussing him of fathering an illegitamate black child, which was partially to blame for him losing SC during the primaries, and eventually, letting W win the nomination.
Anyway, The Weather Underground, their acts indeed being despicable, never killed anyone, except their own people who killed themselves while trying to make some bombs.
What a ridiculous farce that the McCain campaign is putting forth here. And I know that I've said this before, and others have said it before as well, but I have no completely and totally lost any and all respect that I might have once had for John Sidney McCain. To me, anything good he's done in the past has been usurped by his nasty vile campaign. He deserves to lose in November, and he deserves to lose huge, and hopefully, this will also flush away Sarah Palin and remand her to the trash heap of national politics, and she disappears into the frozen tundra of Alaska once and for all.
Couldn't agree more Magnolia...
I too have lost all respect for John McCain. He has disgraced himself beyond all recognition.
The lies, the smears, the cheap political attacks. It is truly remarkable. I think, ultimately, it really shows how little he thinks of the American people.
I too have lost all respect for John McCain. He has disgraced himself beyond all recognition.---8HM
It's about the party. Even if he were a great guy, supporting him would be akin to supporting the nicest mobster or Hells Angel out there.
It would be sweet justice for both of them to lose their re-election bids.
Magnolia posted:
Anyway, The Weather Underground, their acts indeed being despicable, never killed anyone, except their own people who killed themselves while trying to make some bombs.
Ah but the WX Underground did kill and attempt to kill Mag. Use your google for these names; Paul Ragonese and the Honorable Richard Elroy and John Murtagh. I love how you and the left in general justtifly their actions by saying "they never killed anyone".
The wx underground did kill cops. They are truely dispicable.
You seem plenty dispicable to me. Googling the names didn't record any police fatalities. Two were nearby.. Can't recall anyone here saying there were no fatalities. They did have one member blow himself up.
Been oh a good half year since this lite the conservatives fire. Still no word on what evil things Obama picked up from Ayers, or what kind of feckless marplot he made of him. Nor the fact that the man is considered uncharged and no threat to society. Indeed, he is considered a positive and useful member of society.
Who considers you useful and positive?
Great job here by Media Matters...
There's only 2 possibilities:
1. Sloppy journalism
2. Blatant bias, trying to cover Grampah''s ass.
1 and 2
Your Lawrence Welk impression is really coming along, Wolf.
"The former fetus Barack Obama"? Seriously? WTF is wrong with these right wing evangelicals?
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MGFhMWUxZGZiMGQ0YzI4OWVmMTA1ODRhY2VhNmNlOTM=
I thought McCain didn't care about a "washed up terrorist". And now he's paying for robo calls about this?
The Many End Narratives For This Election
How can Barack Obama loose this election? With something close to horror, most Democrats comtenplate every possible scenario. Lately, the John McCain camp has been busy. In addition, the media has also aided in scripting what could go wrong for the Senate wonder. Here are few I have come up with:
1. Robo calls and ACCORN -- these two have become whole and are currently affecting the election. As wrong as it may appear, they don't seem to be any stop to this destructive misleading attempt to win by all out lying.
2. Barack became too cocky -- as much as Obama has put out caution against this, the MSM is currently indicating Obama is "measuring the drapes." Here, the conservative polls aid in a slow visual decline in the polls. For that reason, pay cautious attention to the following over-credited polls: Rasmussen, all of the Gallup polls, Zogby, USA, CNN, ARG, Survey USA and any pollster who refuse to note Obama's recent spike in the polls. In general, there are enough conservative pollsters to lend a strong impression the election is headed in any direction.
When you think about it, the participants on this cite can list there own scenario for what could go wrong for Obama, so I encourage you to fill in the blank:
Joseph
I Just Had To Add This
As of Sunday morning, at 4:03 am., The RealClearPolitics.com site is highlighting an average of tracking polls. They have taken out all the date released polls to average a lower tracking poll average.
What is troubling about this average is Zogby has Obama with a 3 point lead. Zogby burned CSPAN so badly with bad polling during the primaries they would not bring him out after he gave Obama a 10 point lead over Hillary Clinton. In the end, Clinton won by 10 points. That is not the only time Zogby has been dead wrong. In fact, I can't remember when they have actually made a right prediction. Gallup is in the same vain as Zogby. They hide behind polls that can't be evaluated in real time. Gallup can only be evaluated at the end of the election process. So all those half ass polls that traditionally give conservatives an edge over Democrats will not be evaluated until it is over.
Joseph