Robin Hayes: Asshat (and other observations)

The closer we get to the election, the more desperate and stupid some people get, and the more impatient I get with their desperation and stupidity. First, it was Gov. Sarah Palin campaigning in Greensboro last week, saying how much she enjoyed visiting the "pro-America" parts of the country (which is pretty frakking hilarious considering that Greensboro is one of the few reliably Democrat-voting areas in the state). Then some idiot Stepford Congressperson from Minnesota tells Chris Matthews on national TV that she thinks someone should have a full-scale investigation of every member of Congress to see which of them are "anti-American."

Then, Rep. Robin Hayes (NC-8), when opening for a McCain rally a few days ago, says that liberals "hate real Americans." (You can donate to the campaign of his opponent, Larry Kissell, here. I just did.)

What bothers me most isn't the blatant hate speech and demonizing of one's opponent - the antithesis of this mythic "reaching across the aisle" stuff that's supposed to be McCain's specialty. What bothers me is that not a single one of these frakking asshats are willing to articulate what any of it means - "pro-America," "anti-America" and my personal favorite, "real Americans." It's the use of a code the type of which has always been deeply dangerous in our country's history. Using such incredibly damaging language to win an election, of all things, is just obscene.

Gov. Palin had the grace to apologize for her comment. Rep. Hayes doesn't seem to understand the problem. Though the "progressive = unAmerican" BS has still got to go, I'm glad to see Palin apparently distance herself from the blatant racist-coded language that her campaign's been rolling out lately.

Speaking of racism...In his appearance on "Meet the Press" Sunday, Colin Powell beautifully laid out the reasons he decided to support Barack Obama over John McCain. He specifically mentioned the apparent drift of his party toward exclusivity - concepts like "real" Americans - as a reason he's not voting for McCain/Palin. I expected to hear Rush Limbaugh break out the "all black people stick together" line, but it was downright disappointing to hear George Will go there.

The irony escaped them - Limbaugh, Will, et al, in dismissing Powell's decision-making process an chalking his support up to racial loyalty, only proved his point that the conservative movement in this country has become obsessed with divisive identity. Powell is no longer a war hero, former head of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State. He's just another black man who put race above country, according to them. So, one question.........If you had a moderate Democrat, who votes with the other Congressional Democrats on most issues, but yet he actively supports the Republican presidential candidate - even going as far as to speak at the Republican convention - and by coincidence the two men share the same race? By Limbaugh's logic, Joe Lieberman is a bleeding racist, too.

I have a wonderful idea. Let's talk about ideas, voting records, judgment and leadership qualities. Let's agree to give two purple shits about the color of someone's skin, because by 2008 we should've learned by now that skin color has about as much effect on someone's personality as eye colors. And most importantly, can we PLEASE stop throwing around words like "anti-American" or "fascist" or "Nazi" as if they don't have real meanings. It's not going to help us solve our problems.