The latest round of negative attacks from the McCain campaign center around Bill Ayers, a man infamous for his involvement with the radical "Weather Underground" anti-war organization that protested against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s. Ayers and the Weather Underground engaged in anti-war activism that included aggressive and violent behavior toward various U.S. government buildings, most notably the Pentagon.
The Republican ticket is suggesting that Barack Obama is somehow connected to terrorism because of his extremely loose ties to Ayers. In fact, they're out there telling the American people he associates with known terrorists. That's not a term you can just throw around. After 9/11, the American people don't take the word terrorist lightly, as they shouldn't. But there's a huge difference between known terrorists, and anti-war Counterculture hippies who made some really stupid decisions 40+ years ago.
Just to be clear, I'm not condoning what Bill Ayers did. I believe in our right to protest our government's actions but also believe that protests should always be peaceful. What he did was wrong, and he'll be the first to admit that. Regardless of where you stand on the matter, here are the facts:
- Ayers participated in numerous anti-war bombings, including those on New York City Police Headquarters, the U.S. Capitol building and The Pentagon.
- Nobody was ever killed as a result of any of the bombings. In fact, the only people ever killed were some of the bomb-makers themselves.
- Ayers has repeatedly condemned acts of terrorism, including the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
- Ayers and Obama barely know each other. They both served on the Board of Directors of an anti-poverty group called the Woods Fund of Chicago. That is the extent of their relationship.
- They have said that because they live within a few blocks of each other in Chicago, they have seen each other in passing and said hello a few times. Additionally, Ayers contributed a mere $200 to Obama's 2001 Illinois State Senate re-election fund.
- Obama has gone on the record to condemn the acts of both Ayers and the Weather Underground.
- Obama was 8 years old when Ayers and the Weather Underground were engaging in protests and setting off bombs.
Those are the facts, plain and simple. I'm sure John McCain and his Republican colleagues who say that Obama is palling around with terrorists know this too. But this is not the same Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, the man almost every prominent Republican politician claims as their hero. The current Republican Party is all about winning elections at the cost of truth, integrity and decency. They know that calling a candidate a terrorist, especially one who many people falsely believe is Muslim (another lie perpetrated by Republicans), will tarnish his image in the eyes of some.
As it turns out, the opposite seems to be happening this election season. More and more Americans are informing themselves and as a result, are rejecting these sort of lie-and-smear tactics. Yes, there are those ignorant people out there who only believe what they hear on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh's radio show, but this number seems to be shrinking. And with it, so are John McCain's poll numbers.
The Republican ticket is suggesting that Barack Obama is somehow connected to terrorism because of his extremely loose ties to Ayers. In fact, they're out there telling the American people he associates with known terrorists. That's not a term you can just throw around. After 9/11, the American people don't take the word terrorist lightly, as they shouldn't. But there's a huge difference between known terrorists, and anti-war Counterculture hippies who made some really stupid decisions 40+ years ago.
Just to be clear, I'm not condoning what Bill Ayers did. I believe in our right to protest our government's actions but also believe that protests should always be peaceful. What he did was wrong, and he'll be the first to admit that. Regardless of where you stand on the matter, here are the facts:
- Ayers participated in numerous anti-war bombings, including those on New York City Police Headquarters, the U.S. Capitol building and The Pentagon.
- Nobody was ever killed as a result of any of the bombings. In fact, the only people ever killed were some of the bomb-makers themselves.
- Ayers has repeatedly condemned acts of terrorism, including the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
- Ayers and Obama barely know each other. They both served on the Board of Directors of an anti-poverty group called the Woods Fund of Chicago. That is the extent of their relationship.
- They have said that because they live within a few blocks of each other in Chicago, they have seen each other in passing and said hello a few times. Additionally, Ayers contributed a mere $200 to Obama's 2001 Illinois State Senate re-election fund.
- Obama has gone on the record to condemn the acts of both Ayers and the Weather Underground.
- Obama was 8 years old when Ayers and the Weather Underground were engaging in protests and setting off bombs.
Those are the facts, plain and simple. I'm sure John McCain and his Republican colleagues who say that Obama is palling around with terrorists know this too. But this is not the same Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, the man almost every prominent Republican politician claims as their hero. The current Republican Party is all about winning elections at the cost of truth, integrity and decency. They know that calling a candidate a terrorist, especially one who many people falsely believe is Muslim (another lie perpetrated by Republicans), will tarnish his image in the eyes of some.
As it turns out, the opposite seems to be happening this election season. More and more Americans are informing themselves and as a result, are rejecting these sort of lie-and-smear tactics. Yes, there are those ignorant people out there who only believe what they hear on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh's radio show, but this number seems to be shrinking. And with it, so are John McCain's poll numbers.
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