This election season, the Republican party seems to have found a specialty; it goes like this: “Look who my opponent has associated with in the past.”
Now that IS a valid question . . . AND a valid test of character! A person does choose his/her friends and associates among those who reflect the qualities that he/she admires, enjoys and hopes (sometimes secretly) to emulate. Politics aside, be honest — that’s how you choose your friends, right?
The McCain camp has used this tactic fairly effectively against Obama, because it seems that much of Obama’s political life has been filled with anarchists, America haters and other disreputable types . . . well at least I think that this type of person can fairly be called ‘disreputable’.
Now look what happened when Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole tried that tactic — or at least a similar tactic - against her North Carolina opponent Sen. Kay Hagan:
Senator Dole’s campaign released a video ad that accused Senator Hagan of being “godless” because she attended a fundraiser at the home of Woody Kaplan a member of the advisory board of the “Godless Americans Political Action Committee”, which supports the separation of church and state and consists mainly of atheists. Dole’s ad made it sound like Hagan was secretly attending a meeting with only ‘Godless Americans’ in attendance and implied that she secretly ‘made promises’ to these folks, when the fact is Mr, Kaplan was the only member of that organization in attendance and the gathering was also attended by a U.S. Ambassador and by Senator John Kerry. Additionally, Sen. Hagan is reportedly a regular church goer and, by some accounts, also a Sunday School teacher.
The response in the news media was immediate and overwhelming:
The Kansas City Star editorial page proclaimed: “Elizabeth Dole deserves to lose for cheap-shot godless ad”
The Miami Herald headline read: “Voters, church leader speak out against Dole’s `godless’ ad”
Sen. Hagan’s response was also immediate: her campaign released a video response and Sen, Hagan filed a lawsuit charging the Dole campaign with defamation and libel.
You can see both videos, Dole’s charge and Hagan’s response HERE.
It is apparent that, in Sen. Dole’s mind, Hagan’s brief association with atheists (well, at least one atheist) is as bad as Obama’s continual association with people who hate America, have no respect for our Constitution and want to convert our political system to a quasi-socialist system. It’s also apparent that Elizabeth Dole is a ‘Christian bigot!
Bad girl Elizabeth! Criticize a persons politics all day long but stay away from their religion. You were elected as a senator to serve your country, our Constitution and our political system . . . not to serve your church.
News Links:
Kansas City Star: Elizabeth Dole deserves to lose for cheap-shot godless ad
Miami Herald: Voters, church leader speak out against Dole’s `godless’ ad
Blog Links:
Truelogic’s Weblog: Dole: Godless Americans
Rambling On: Godless Americans and Bigotry In the U.S.
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7 users commented in " Elizabeth Dole: Playing the God Card "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackThe fallacy of the guilt by association in the writer’s attacks on Obama and Hagan are glaring. This article, for example, claims that Dole’s mind (and motives) are transparent when in fact her mind and motives are not. Is it possible that Dole’s internal polls have discovered this race to be lost and she made a decision to tarnish the reputation and thereby diminish the future clout of Hagan? In a word, yes!
Where is proof that the writer has insight into Dole’s mind and intentions?
Another problem with this article and guilt by association attacks is the writer fails to question the context of the associations. A police officer, for example, in the normal duties of his job may have to associate with pimps and whores. During these associations, he may become friendly with some of the players. To then make the jump that it is somehow indicative of the officer’s character is naive and foolish. This line of reasoning would apply to a law teacher as well. An educator,for example, has a duty to listen to all sides of all arguments. College professors and any participant in higher education have a duty and responsibility to search for the truth or some ideal. This search requires one to engage all philosophies, experiences and mindsets in a debate. To eliminate and disenfranchise certain groups or individuals from the debate is censorship. Censorship goes against all rational thought and destroys
all people’s liberty, freedom and the ultimate goal of education.
Context is also important in that the nature of the association can be voluntary or involuntary. Obama, for example,
was appointed to a board with a domestic terrorist. Appointed means the relationship was born from an involuntary association. In all fairness, to the writer, however, it must be pointed out the writer may not be referring to Ayres but to someone else. The writer never mentions what Obama relationships he is referring to. Only vague references to associations that are somehow bad.
The Dole attack,and those on Obama reek of Karl Rove and all that is wrong with the G.O.P. today. It is an us against them mentality that uses victimology,smears and a dumbing down of America to pursue a path to power. Any attack on them leads to the anti-G-D, anti-American values shunning. The Rovian, evangelical wing of the G.O.P. claims any criticism of them as an attack on God,country and family. They, after all are victims of the evil commies and socialist pigs who threaten the American way of life. They will stop at nothing and will use unfounded or misconstrued personal attacks to demonstrate just how the enemy hates America, its institutions and G-D.
And they know where these people are. These anti-Americans elitists hang out in universities, Georgetown cocktail parties, Hyde Park in Chicago and Universities(Be especially wary of them schools on the east and west coast.)
Elizabeth Dole’s actions are disgusting. That “Godless” ad, even among countless numbers of other distasteful ads, is by far the most repulsive and cheap effort by a politician to overturn the current tide of the election.
Oscar,
Obama and the unapologetic terrorist William Ayres and his equally radical mate Bernadine Dohrn, Obama and the anti-American pastor, Jeremiah Wright, Obama and ACORN, Obama and the anti-Semitic, pro-Palestinian Rashid Khalidi; if these are just casual business associations that don’t indicate many things about Obama’s character I’ll eat my McCain/Palen election ballot. There are far too many of these “casual relationships” in Obama’s not-so-distant past.
Granted, there are many things wrong with the GOP today but the GOP of today is not running for president — nor is Bush — and whatever problems the GOP has, they all pale into insignificance when compared with what’s very obviously wrong with the Democratic candidate for President of the United States. Not just his associations but his clearly stated socialistic plans for America. He and those plans should be intolerable to all clear-thinking Americans of either party.
“The G.O.P. is not running for president, nor is Bush”O.K. that makes my day!!!!
A pill popping shrew, a man who cheats on his wife, a mother who preaches abst well just say no,
but her dau
damn, four schools in how many years?
uggggggggggh
well she
did not but is keepin the kid.
I hope
unless them pesky peopels
on the lower,
The Mav in charge wouo
oh screw it.
I cannot make a rational sentence,
thought or argument.
I must rely on the books.
I read all of them.
Just a question Why,
Who is a semite?
The definition is eagerly anticipated.
Just a question.
Is an Arab a semite?
A Jew?
Are them Indians Asian?
Or Semites.
What is your point?
That is the real question.
Associations?
A drug addict wife who stole from a charity,
A former wife who was dumped(HOW CONVENIENT a court martial never occured!!!!)
Honor?
McCain never had any.
Just ask why he spilled the goods but never got released.
HE COULD NOT FACE HIS FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!
That is my bet ,
on his evil grin,
his contempt for those who have a question
and a life from a p.o.w.
THAT WAS AN INTERNAL
struggle
Just a few Questions WHYMRHYMER:
Is social security socialism?
What is the Alaskan Independence party?
Who is its members?
Why did John McCain vote to seal his war record?
Why does Rove hate America?
Elizabeth Dole,
I am an Atheist living in North Carolina and I vote.
I have on the back window of my vehical in big white letters the words, “DOLE IS A BIGOT”, right under my Darwin fish.
Let’s just say that it is getting LOTS of attention from the folks that are running I85 / I40 between Greensboro & Raleigh.
It will be there until you either LOSE this election or you apologize to the American people for being a Bigot, Hypocrit, & Ignoramous.
Atheist voices NEED to be heard.
Dole’s Campaign # 704-633-0014
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