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October 10, 2008 1:44 PM

Kerry Condemns "Hate-Filled" Language At McCain-Palin Rallies

Posted by Brian Montopoli
The Obama campaign has thus far largely stayed away from reports about the increasingly angry rhetoric coming from some attendees of McCain-Palin rallies. (The candidate did make an indirect reference to the rallies this morning, saying, "it's not hard to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division.") 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, however, directly addresses the issue in a fundraising appeal today.

"The reports are piling up of ugliness at the campaign rallies of John McCain and Sarah Palin," Kerry writes. "Audience members hurl insults and racial epithets, call out 'Kill Him!' and 'Off With His Head,' and yell 'treason' when Senator Obama's name is mentioned. I strongly condemn language like this which can only be described as hate-filled."

Kerry also put the comments on his "anti-"smear" site. And he added in the fundraising appeal: "According to reports, every ad paid for by the John McCain campaign is now a negative ad - every single one! McCain allows his running mate to make outrageous charges that only a few years ago would have disqualified someone from serious consideration for national office."

The Obama campaign is in a somewhat difficult position when it comes to handling reports of offensive behavior at McCain-Palin events. On the one hand, it's in Obama's best interest to spotlight extreme rhetoric that surfaces at GOP rallies. On the other, the Obama campaign has accused the McCain camp of trying to distract the American people instead of addressing real issues. And that's a tough case to make if they start talking about these sorts of ugly sideshows.
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by catmill October 13, 2008 1:13 PM EDT
FINALLY McCain had the decency to correct the negative, hateful and disdain behavior he and Palin have created and nurtured in their rallies. It''s too bad his camp had to be forced (by public uproar) to publicly admit it was unacceptable. FINALLY!
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by mattcat25 October 13, 2008 3:33 AM EDT
Republicans are showing their moral values?
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by williem123 October 13, 2008 3:08 AM EDT
McCain has basically lost control of the Republican Party. The Republican Party has become a stark raving mob under the McCain, Palin%u2019s leadership. Now he is trying to conduct damage control and the mob is resisting his efforts. We are Americans. We need a leader that can stay on course with a steady hand. We need a leader who can motivate us in positive way. We need a leader to unite this nation, to solve our economic issues, and to lead us in a positive way. We definitely don%u2019t need a Vice president that condones and tolerate a radical group that wants to withdraw the State of Alaska from the United States.
Senator McCain has fallen off the path of leadership and honor.
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by williem123 October 13, 2008 2:52 AM EDT
McCain has basically lost control of the Republican Party. The Republican Party has become a stark raving mob under the McCain, Palin%u2019s leadership. Now he is trying to conduct damage control and the mob is resisting his efforts. We are Americans. We need a leader that can stay on course with a steady hand. We need a leader who can motivate us in positive way. We need a leader to unite this nation, to solve our economic issues, and to lead us in a positive way.
Senator McCain has fallen off the path of leadership and honor.
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by logansprings October 13, 2008 2:01 AM EDT
With past associations such as Bill Ayers, Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah Wright, and the like, one can easily see why many voters are voicing serious discontent at the prospect of an Obama/Biden regime.

Obama may or may not have the same idealogy as these radical men, but his association with them suggests that they may share some of the same political interests and goals--goals that many citizens view as contrary to traditional American ideals and values.

Couple the financial support and political assistance of men like terrorist-bomber Bill Ayers, and the responses from the crowds take on a tone that can be easily understood in the context of a political rally for Obama opposition.
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by ubu2008 October 13, 2008 1:19 AM EDT
Of course there isn''t a single democrat in the Senate who understands personal responsibility. The real question is why did Obama and Axelrod lie for a year about his relationship with Ayers. The anger is the fault of Obama who cries foul when he gets caught in a lie. Whinny little liar.
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by redfromla October 12, 2008 11:07 PM EDT
whiner245a

Did you check McCain''s list or are you another one of his blind followers?

Reply to this comment
by redfromla October 12, 2008 9:33 PM EDT
Posted by Latrocinor at 03:42 PM

"For 8 years the hate drooling haters of Bush, GOP and Republican have made slime and smear and acually created a cash making industry of hating Bush, the GOP and the Republicans."

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So you love Bush, GOP and Republicans without conditions despite their errors (4,000 dead americans in combat/more than 2,500 in 9/11, Osama Bin Laden and Al Quaeda still doing the polka, and the Taliban is back in Afghanistan, as well as all those years of Republicans not seeing the sh*t that''s coming to the country). WOW what have you been smoking?
----------

"Demoncraps, the 2 faced party of hate drooling rage and screaming libel and slander."

And what you just said was full of peace, love and happiness...how sweet!

---------------

"Poor little whiney babies can dish it out by the buckets but can''''t take a few teaspoonfulls back."

Yup, we sure can see that from the way you are acting.

-------------

"Payback is never fun to hypocrites."

You betcha! So how does it feel?

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by latrocinor-2009 October 12, 2008 6:42 PM EDT
For 8 years the hate drooling haters of Bush, GOP and Republican have made slime and smear and acually created a cash making industry of hating Bush, the GOP and the Republicans.

Payback is never fun to hypocrites.

2 faced hypocites who are now getting a taste of their own medicine that helped depress and trash this country for the last 8 years.

Demoncraps, the 2 faced party of hate drooling rage and screaming libel and slander.

Demoncraps, they wrote the rules on throwing filth at Repubs and GOP and Bush now they are so hpocritically two faced angry anyone would DARE to use thier own filthy tactics against them.

Poor little whiney babies can dish it out by the buckets but can''t take a few teaspoonfulls back.


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by justsurfing-2009 October 12, 2008 8:12 AM EDT
It''s unquestionably wrong to shout "kill him". That''s either an Obama plant... or... someone is unhinged. There''s no excuse for that. However, the hatred expressed towards Governor Palin has been pointed and extremely vicious for weeks. People actually booed her at a hockey event... and then people made very vicious comments about her. The hate for Governor Palin is unparalleled in my memory. It''s directed at her on a personally disrespectful and vicious manner. Governor Palin raised legitimate concerns. They need to be addressed and answered honestly by Obama. I''m still waiting for him to tell the truth. LIke about how he endorsed a book by his ally Ayers... whose political views he shares as evidenced by the endorsement. This although Ayers is still a Marxist, states his goals are still to overthrow democracy, and worked towards that event in Venezuela for Chavez. Ayers alliance with Obama is perhaps better understood - their political shared perspectives - not just by the book endorsement Obama provided to Ayers... but also because Obama was a member of the NP Socialist party. That means he has shared political ideologies with his ally, Bill Ayers.
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by redfromla October 12, 2008 3:56 AM EDT
"...I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!..."

Funny how that makes me think of McCain.....


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by noamnestymc October 12, 2008 3:49 AM EDT
I wish Kerry would have responded this quickly to the swift boat attacks in 2004!
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by homespunlady October 12, 2008 3:46 AM EDT
I see the Fear-Mongers of the GOP are STILL spewing HATE.

It''s simply AWE-INSPIRING for those of us that PAY ATTENTION to HISTORY.

Let''s see HATE was Mussolini''s TOOL which INSPIRED ADOLPH to USE THAT TOOL to Inspire HATRED against not only the Jews but also the Gypsies, blacks, the mentally handicapped and ALL THOSE NOT LIKE THEIR version of "US".

So, the wheel of HISTORY has come nearly FULL CIRCLE already in LESS THAN 70 years - Long enough to DUMB DOWN a NEW population and make them FORGET THE HORROR OF FEAR BASED MANIPULATION targeting ONE after ANOTHER SCAPEGOAT.

Now, who will be those "scapegoats in this NEW WITCH HUNT?? "liberals" have become the NEW fear-monger Palin''s "DIRTY JEW" to spew HATRED at.

The PROBLEM though is that it WILL NOT end there.

Just like anyone - particularly the VULNERABLE were the ones that were tortured and murdered in PAST "witch hunts" like WWII and Salem.

EMPLOYING the tactics of SCAPEGOATING and HATE removes RATIONAL thought and replaces it with an irrational MOB mentality.

In the end, the consequences are dire and HUMANITY is DIMINISHED.
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by redfromla October 12, 2008 3:44 AM EDT
robert2337

you mean you''re giving the previous Republican controlled legislature(who held it longer than 2 years) a free pass on this one? They didn''t see it coming?

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by robert2237 October 12, 2008 3:37 AM EDT
ubu2008- There is some in the congress and Senate who are Dems. that can not stand what has happen to their party also. They are now called the Blue Dog Dems and they are the ones who have kept the JFK logic and vote the way he would. Any of the present dems. in chage of the Dem party has no right of ever bring up JFK''s name the way they have taken the party.
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by robert2237 October 12, 2008 3:35 AM EDT
Vincan- ABout over 90% of the Bush policies have to be approved by congress and senate. So I guess you are talking about Obama to with these so called bad policies cause he has been there for a couple of years and most of the policies have been renewed within that time. Looks like you are going to have to vote for Bar
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by robert2237 October 12, 2008 3:31 AM EDT
AnillaField- All of the actions you have stated were completely approved by the congress and if I am not mistaken the congress has been Dem. the last two years. So where do you get this that Bush did it. He can''t even pay his phone bill at the white house with out congress approving it.
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by anillafield October 12, 2008 1:09 AM EDT
] ubu2008 at 09:45 PM :

You voted for Bush, right? Twice?

For the last 8 years we%u2019ve watched the Bush administration invoke the hate and fear of the public and manipulate the public support to start the war on Iraq. They%u2019ve shamelessly used the same tactic of fear and hate to endorse torture, distortion and violation of the US Bill or Rights, criminal eavesdropping and invasion of the privacy of American citizens, deregulation of the energy and defense industries to support the criminals at Enron and Haliburton, and complete destruction of the American values figuratively, literally and ethically.

You know, your comment supports the perspective that there are 2 kinds of Republicans. There is small number of filthy rich Republicans who exploit everybody, and there is large number of the often inebriated %u201CJoe-6-packs%u201D who mindlessly follow the Republican leaders and chant their provocative but shallow bumper-sticker slogans. Somehow, I suspect you are not one of the filthy rich.
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by ubu2008 October 12, 2008 12:45 AM EDT
Kerry needs to look at his own house before he starts giving advise on hate. All we have heard from Reid, Dean, Pelosi and the other dems is hate for the last 8 years. We are sick of the constant whinning. Dems hate everything and everyone who isn''t of like mind.
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by redfromla October 12, 2008 12:27 AM EDT
Be very scared of this Man.

He pals around with people who wanted to overthrow the government. One of them is His closest follower.

He also pals around with persons whose business dealings are shady.

He was listening to a raving religious lunatic, and spoke well of him, but rejected the vision of that raving lunatic, still He showed respect for him.

He despises capitalism and instead promotes a very socialistic vision during speeches.

He believes health care is a right not a privilege and allows people to be cured for the least expense.

He talks about hope and did not incite fear, nor promoted it, with those He talked to.

He kept back a lot of things secret and would not say everything He knew to everyone.

He did not speak or rile the crowds to anger and hate but pushed for change.

He also talked about meeting your enemy without precondition.

He only told the truth about Himself to those He trusted.

Somebody shouted "Kill Him!" at an important political gathering.

In the last minutes of His Life forgave a thief and died besides scoundrels.

Oh, and He lived 2000 years ago...maybe that''s why...
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