Republican super PAC strategists are ready to introduce into the presidential campaign a Joe Rickett financed plan called “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good”.
what eye thynk: The particulars of his plan demonstrate a new low, even for a Republican. A detailed copy of the proposed plan, a plan contrived to bring race into the forefront of the presidential campaign, was leaked to the New York Times by someone not involved in its development but who was “alarmed by its tone”. The document given to the Times is a 54 page proposal, professionally bound, with color photos. They want to, in their own words, “do exactly what John McCain would not let us do”. (Thank you, John McCain for proving once again that you can be a politician and still remain a gentleman.) The polished presentation demonstrates that this plan is well past the discussion stage. Their strategy is to use billboards, full page newspaper ads, a TV blitz, radio spots and to fly banner pulling airplanes over the convention center in an effort to interrupt and upstage the Democratic Convention.
The plan, financed by Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade, and overseen by Fred Davis intends to reintroduce Jeremiah Wright in an effort to assail President Obama’s “character and competency”. They may call this a “Plan to End His Spending for Good“, but it is a racial attack, plain and simple. Ask yourself, what does Jeremiah Wright have to do with spending or federal budgets? The only element he can add is the fact that he is black. Their registered domain name, “Character Matters” seems more to their essential point--that they don’t believe a black man has the character to lead this country.
One particular line in their plan stands out: they lament that voters “still aren’t ready to hate the President”. And THAT is why they want to use Jeremiah Wright. They recognize that Jeremiah Wright’s words can be used to incite their white, conservative base--to use the innate Southern prejudice against people of color, a prejudice that exists to some degree in many of even the most liberal of us--to make it okay to “hate the President“.
Attitudes like this have always existed in this country, but those who held them were forced to play on a level field with the rest of us. The Supreme Court’s approval of PAC type campaign financing has rocketed affluent, special interest attitudes well past the mainstream and onto the mountain top. We are a country based on one citizen-one voice-one vote; but now, thanks to the debacle created by the Supreme Court’s ruling, the rich are afforded a Bose sound system to broadcast their views while the rest of us are left with a battered megaphone. And when a PAC backed candidate gains office, who do you think that office holder will be beholden to, you and me with our one vote, or the billionaire who bought the airways?
We should all be “alarmed”. No final sign-off has been made on Mr. Ricketts' plan though there is mention of a meeting with Mr. Ricketts in which he apparently voiced his approval. Maybe the exposure of his dirty politics will send his group back to the drawing boards. We can only hope; because character DOES matter, and theirs is seriously in doubt.
interesting and informative to those of us less well read on the matter.
ReplyDeleteWhat 'grabbed' me right out of the gate, was when you referred to sen McCains'civility ("do exactly what John McCain would not let us do")during last election.
That was an undeniable arrow pointing right at Gov. Romney ~ meaning he has not taken steps to stop it this time.
The very fact that so much hatred is directed at an extremely qualified man who happens to be of a white mother and a black can only be attributed to a deep racial hatred.
How long before we can see beyond the skin?