I Will Not Be Silenced

So much for Saturday's being slow news days. There is now a brouhaha shaping up spurred on by a Democrat representative from Georgia by the name of John Lewis. He is no stranger to the race wars.

Here is a chronology of events so far today.

First it is Lewis shooting off his mouth.

"As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign. What I am seeing today reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.

"During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who only desired to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed one Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Governor Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better."

Mr Lewis never accused Hillary Clinton, who he supported at first, of any such thing when she was making the same statements.

The McCain camp, to their credit, hit back demanding that the Obama denounce such talk.

Well, now the Obama has issued a statement. Doesn't sound like they renounced anything.

Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies. But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States pals around with terrorists. As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead, said Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton.

Did she hit a nerve? I will not be silenced by the race card or intimidated into some sort of white guilt by the race warlords. You want anger, Barry O? Does anger scare you? You want to know what people are angry about? It is all of your associations, not just William Ayers. How about Tony Rezko? Bernadette Dohrn? Jeremiah Wright? Jeffrey Pfleger?

Are your internal polls indicating something the public polls aren't? Are you really losing this race in spite of all of your assistance from the media?

You say you want this to be about issues, yet when asked about issues, which is rare, you evade and go off and tell us what a wonderful government program you are waiting to impose to solve all of our problems.

We are angry because you surround yourself with people who act as an echo chamber, constantly telling you how great you are, while at the same time embracing the most radical fringes of your party. Have you ever denounced anything MoveOn has done? Have you ever criticized what passes for comments over on those favorite liberal blogs of yours like the Daily Kos and Democratic Underground? Did you ever condemn any of the liberal columnists or radio personalities who openly wished for the death of Bush or Cheney?

Maybe you ought to clean up your own side of the aisle before you come over picking a fight on the other side.