The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : They're No Angels

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"McCain can suck on my left nut," one young and spirited Obama supporter hollered when leaving the campaign rally in Leesburg, Virginia Wednesday night, as he passed by a family of McCain supporters that I was standing next to.

Anybody who has been to a lot of political events understands that they attract a wide spectrum of people, and that in any group of thousands, you're going to find certain number of jerks. One of the most unfair aspects of the coverage of this year's election has been the way the media has cherry-picked supporters at McCain-Palin rallies to create a false narrative that those who back the Republican ticket are angry, ignorant, racists, while at the same time, they portray Obama supporters as angelic figures whose hearts are filled with nothing but tolerance and hope.

Yet at the Leesburg rally, about five to 10 McCain supporters gathered around outside to express their concerns with Obama's record on abortion, and had to endure nasty heckling from Obama supporters who were passing by. A young girl said that somebody gave her the middle finger, and one woman described a red-faced man who got in her face and began screaming and cursing at her.

I should note that these signs were not some of the more provocative ones you'll sometimes see from anti-abortion protestors, but read: "Obama is not Pro-Life" and "A Child Born Alive Deserves Basic Human Rights."

Tom Dunn, a Republican on the Leesburg Town Council, told me that somebody shouted "fascist" at him when he was hanging up a McCain sign that afternoon. Meanwhile, his colleague on the council, Ken Reid was inside the Obama rally, and witnessed Obama supporters ripping McCain-Palin signs out of the hands of two men, and tossing the signs in the trash.

The point here is not to attack Obama supporters unfairly. There were a reported 30,000 people at the rally, and the overwhelming majority of them were quite pleasant. But if I wanted to be a disingenuous reporter, I could have gone to the rally only seeking out the bad ones, and blown things completely out of proportion to provide a false portrait to the public. And that's exactly what the media did to John McCain and Sarah Palin.

View all comments (5) | Leave a comment

jane| 10.23.08 @ 8:43AM

My parents had their car back window smashed out at the leesburg rally and "mccain" written all over the car. That's classy.

Thomas Aquinas| 10.23.08 @ 8:57AM

"McCain can suck on my left nut," and Andrew Sullivan says, "Hey dude, don't take cuts."

Michael Roush| 10.23.08 @ 10:33AM

So, Mr. Klein, who started the name calling in this campaign? If memory serves it was McCain who once decried this type of campaigning and promised us one based on issues. This is the fruit of the politics of resentment, the currency of the GOP.

Mac Thomas| 10.23.08 @ 11:27AM

Once again, Mr. Roush misses the point. He seems to be having a problem with his broadband connection up there in the cave. It was Barack Obama who told HIS supports to "get in their face", not John McCain. It has been, overwhelmingly, Obama supporters who have committed physical assaults against McCain supporters. It has been the public relations wing of the Obama campaign, the MSM, who has broadcast scurrilous lies about Governor Palin and her family. It is the Obama campaign that screams "racism" anytime anyone points out the truth about Obama's background or his non-specific promises. It is the Obama supporting media that makes up reports of people screaming "kill him" at McCain and Palin rallies. When was the last reported vandalism done to an Obama election headquarters or the home of an Obama supporter or local leader of the Democratic party? Yet several of these attacks have been reported by the MSM against McCain and Republican offices and mambers.
The Republicans do not resent Barack Obama and his followers, they fear them. The Obama campaign has become evangelical for a class of people who are lacking in hope and self esteem. If their messiah falls, they will likely be driven, by their frustration, to a level of violence that is totally unacceptable in our society for theirs has become a holy mission. It has happened when in the '70's when a small group of people felt disenfranchised because the government would not immediately withdraw from Vietnam. It happened many time since when a group felt that justice had not been done to their satisfaction in Miami, LA, NY and other places. There is a reason that police departments in major cities are planning for violent demonstrations after the election and it is not just happy revelers following an Obama win that they are worried about. Let us hope that it will not come to that. But, if Obama wins, it will take years, if at all, for a similar violent revolt to occur from the rest of us. This country can survive riots in the streets. But, I am not sure that it can survive a liberal socialist government.

Barbara| 10.23.08 @ 1:28PM

Dear Phillip, I heard you on the Mike Rosen Radio Show this morning. Thanks for the truth. You inspired me to e-mail Obama at his senate office. I used my Constitutional right to express my opinion of him, his background and total lies that he and Joe Biden continue to push onto Americans. My extended family has a black man, Indonesian and Swedish women, and a female Mexican, and all are precious to us. I'm elderly widow existing on social security, have nothing of value to destroy or bad background to expose. I must tell ya kiddo, it felt good speaking my mind and disgust with him and his radical cohorts. Keep up the good work and keep the truth coming. Thanks. God Bless America, Barbara