Expect more of this as Sen. Obama gets closer to the White House.
There has been a sudden spate of blog items and newspaper articles, mainly in the British press, linking Barack Obama to a former member of the radical Weather Underground Organization that claimed responsibility for a dozen bombings between 1970 and 1974. The former Weatherman, William Ayers, now holds the position of distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Although never convicted of any crime, he told the New York Times in September 2001, “I don’t regret setting bombs…I feel we didn’t do enough.”
…
“But the Obama-Ayers link is a tenuous one. As Newsday pointed out, Clinton has her own, also tenuous, Weatherman connection. Her husband commuted the sentences of a couple of convicted Weather Underground members, Susan Rosenberg and Linda Sue Evans, shortly before leaving office in January 2001. Which is worse: pardoning a convicted terrorist or accepting a campaign contribution from a former Weatherman who was never convicted?
Whatever his past, Ayers is now a respected member of the Chicago intelligentsia, and still a member of the Woods Fund Board. The president of the Woods Fund, Deborah Harrington, said he had been selected for the board because of his solid academic credentials and ‘passion for social justice.’
‘This whole connection is a stretch,’ Harrington told me. ‘Barack was very well known in Chicago, and a highly respected legislator. It would be difficult to find people round here who never volunteered or contributed money to one of his campaigns.’”
Floating nonsense in British press so that American media outlets cover it? Where have I heard that before? Oh, right.
”The Communication Stream of Conspiracy Commerce refers to the mode of communication employed by the right wing to convey their fringe stories into legitimate subjects of coverage by the mainstream media,” the counsel’s office memorandum said. The articles, it said, move from ”well-funded right wing think tanks,” newsletters and newspapers to the internet. From there, the articles are picked up by ”British tabloids” or the ”American right-of-center mainstream media,” the counsel’s office wrote. Then they get looked into by Congressional committees, and that creates a ”legitimacy to be covered by the remainder of the American mainstream.”
This is how the “respectable” Glenn Reynoldses of the conservative blogosphere start mainstreaming the worst kinds of anti-Obama slurs. Instapundit has already trotted out the “If Obama doesn’t denounce so-and-so, he’s in danger of being called an anti-Semite,” meme, as well as the “Obama was taught in an extremist madrassah.” Eventually he’ll bring it all together with “Obama is a secret terrorist.”
Watch and see. Every single rightwing blogger is a mini-Malkin now.
Caught your comments at the bastion of Hillarousity (but not as funny as that sounds), Taylor Marsh. She and Larry Johnson have gone completely nuts, full blown Obama-rage. I read the comments there for insight into the impotent hatred of Obama we’ll see from the right-wing by 2010. No meme is too outrageous, no tic is not insightful, it’s really amazing. I assume you’ve been reading, too, don’t let them get away with claiming there’s nothing racial in their issues w/Obama. One commementer (I think it was “i”) posted some haphazard venom and said he was becoming a racist. Another posted a link to a blog claiming Obama broke the law by claiming to be African-American (in applying to college) when in reality he was only 6.25% African and 43.25% Arabic. You know how tight Taylor is with comments, nothing gets through w/out her approval, these are not accidents.
You mentioned that it was like a lefty Free Republic, I think you give them too much credit, it’s more like a lefty lgf. No thought whatsoever, just an endless supply of hatred and venom.
I liked your comments over at Taylor’s place. They seem completely oblivious to the fact that the Clintons can be tied a whole lot closer to CONVICTED terrorists. Incredible.
Check out the idiocy going on over at Taylor’s now. It just keeps getting better..
Here’s the link I found earlier this week to the 6.25% african-american bit (it’s great, he even suggests doing DNA testing on Obama):
http://kennethelamb.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-06%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-06%3A00&max-results=4
In this comment thread:
http://www.taylormarsh.com/comments.php?postID=27042
To give them the benefit of the doubt, I never saw anyone use the word “quintroon”.
Oliver,
I occasionally visit Taylor Marsh to see how ridiculous it’s getting. And her post on this topic is, in my opinion, the wildest ever. And the abuse you were getting in the comments section was something to behold. Talk about rude and acid.
The question I have is this: If Hillary Clinton wasn’t running for president this year, who would Taylor Marsh and her legion of fans support? I don’t see them as strong Democratic party supporters (they’re not pragmatic). It can’t be the policy mix, since Obama and Edwards (and some other Democrats that have bowed out) had similar ideas. So what’t the angle? Extreme affection for Hillary? A desire to be on some team, doesn’t matter which, in order to simply enjoy the adrenaline rush of fighting? Is this the 2008 version of Nader supporters (in terms of their attitude, not that they are actually former Nader fans)?
I’m stumped.
Unbelievable. This garbage is still linked to from the HRC campaign site.
http://blog.hillaryclinton.com/blog/main/2008/02/22/143137
In Case You Missed It: “Obama once visited ’60s ‘terrorists’.”
These are Democrats?
This is a deal breaker.
We’re all Obama supporters now.
Jeesh, I just went over there. You made some good points, OW.
Personally, I don’t know if I can take seriously anyone who would co-opt Pam Oshry’s Supergirl graphic.
But she says;
Exactly, Taylor. Whose side are you on, anyway? And the title of the post. Obama’s Willie Horton? Come on.
Change the name of the site to Liberal Green Footballs already.
Jealous, much?
I am so disgusted with this whole campaign. The United States is no way united at all. This country is so torn apart, it’s pathetic. There is no way we can be unified. This country is definetly not ready for it. All we can do is sit and watch it go to hell. I am just waiting for the red white and blue to come down. Then all the ignorant people will cry about it. I don’t want to hear it.
the fact that Mr. Ayers has not recanted his position and still asserts determental beliefs is a concern to many. It is NOT respectful to assert the use of violence and Mr. Ayers as an educator should know this. the connection at best is one that should be examined closer… ie… is this “gentleman” part of Sen Obama’s inner circle of advisors?. I can not cast my vote for the Senator until matters like this are addressed and CLEARLY resolved… there is to much at stake and my vote (to me) is a treasure I do not give away easily
Yeah, O.J. wasn’t convicted either. The fact of the matter is that Ayers was only acquitted because of an illegal FBI surveilance. That doesn’t change the fact that he did it. The only difference between Ayers and McVeigh, is that McVeigh had a better bomb. I’m not saying that Barack needs to denouce Ayers, as it doesn’t seem to be a strong connection. However, don’t try to make it sound as if this guy isn’t so bad because he’s now a member of the “intelligencia” The guy was a domestic terrorist who commited treason against his country. Until he shows some remorse, it doesn’t matter who he hangs with – the guy’s a piece of human garbage.
Bill Ayers came from a wealthy family, and his father was the head of the electric utility, ComED.
I guess it doesn’t matter that Bill Ayers sponsored and hosted a fund-raising event for Barack’s Illinois Senate campaign. I suppose that it also doesn’t matter that Barack Obama has been to Bill Ayers personal residence several times. That doesn’t matter… It’s just a “Bogus Connection.” The fact is that the Democrats have been overrun by these extremists, and it’s obvious that some of you are blind to these facts.
No, it doesn’t matter what Ayers did when Obama was 8 years old.
I guess it doesn’t matter that Bill Ayers sponsored and hosted a fund-raising event for Barack’s Illinois Senate campaign.
Against Alan Keyes? If I was Vlad the Impaler, I would too.
The fact is that the Democrats have been overrun by these extremists, and it’s obvious that some of you are blind to these facts.
Is there any credible evidence that Ayers is still an “extremist”?
[...] sez Obama hearts terrrorists, OMG! This William Ayers “connection” has always been some awfully weak crap. But maybe we can get Elliott Abrams, Lewis Libby & Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and George Bush to [...]
the chicago annenberg challenge..sound familiar?..it will soon
should be fun to watch