We've all seen the Drudge Videos of the Black Panthers in front of the polling place in Philadelphia.
"Security" patrols stationed at polling places in Philly
Update: Police Confront Night Stick-Wielding ‘Security’ Patrol at Philadelphia Poll
We all know that Drudge and Fox are trying to whip up emotional, visceral reactions to "those people" trying to "take over" and intimidate America.
Now, the McCain campaign is getting into the act in a big way.
UPDATE
The issue isn't FoxNews or Drudge. Unfortunately, this has hit CNN.com, Politico, Halperin, and Breibart, in the last couple of hours.
That's why the national press release from McCain is so incendiary.
It significantly raises the story's visibility pre-election, while definitely increasing the impact post-election.
Unfortunately, people's first impressions of something, especially driven by video, is very difficult to counter after the fact.
You can't put tooth-paste back in the tube.
We've all seen the Drudge Videos of the Black Panthers in front of the polling place in Philadelphia.
"Security" patrols stationed at polling places in Philly
Update: Police Confront Night Stick-Wielding ‘Security’ Patrol at Philadelphia Poll
We all know that Drudge and Fox are trying to whip up emotional, visceral reactions to "those people" trying to "take over" and intimidate America.
Now, the McCain campaign is getting into the act in a big way.
Check out their latest press release:
McCain Memo on "Election Day Irregularities"
Given that four states in the 2004 Presidential Election were decided by 1 percent or less, the McCain-Palin Campaign believes there should be a zero-tolerance policy for voter fraud and voter intimidation. Through a combination of news accounts and first-hand reports, the following cases of voter irregularities have been documented:
PENNSYLVANIA
In Philadelphia, PA, Black Panthers Are Intimidating Voters By Standing Outside Of A Polling Station While Holding A Night Stick. Fox News' Rick Leventhal: "I do not even know where to begin, but we have reached a polling place in the city of Philadelphia. One of the two black panthers who was allegedly blocking the door is standing right over here, [and] accused us of intimidating voters because we were here with a camera and microphone. He did not answer questions, other people here have confirmed that another person in black panther attire was holding a night stick and apparently the concern was that they were intimidating people who were trying to go inside to vote. A republican poll observer actually called the police, the police were here and we miss[ed] them, they came and left." (Fox News; "America's Newsroom 2008," 11/4/08) SEE FOX NEWS VIDEO HERE <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCeD1RcJjAg> - SEE MORE VIDEO OF INTIMIDATION HERE <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU>
· The New Black Panther Party Promised To "Protect Its Interest" On Election Day. "We will not allow some racists and other angry whites, who are upset over an impending Barack Obama presidential victory, to intimidate blacks at the polls,' [Black Panther Field Marshall Najee] Muhammad said. Most certainly, we cannot allow these racist forces to slaughter our babies or commit other acts of violence against the black population, nor our black president.' Muhammad added, "We must organize to counter and neutralize these threats using all means at our disposal. This is a great time for our people, and we must ensure that peace prevails for our people.'" (Tyrone Tony Reed, Jr., "New Black Panthers Visit Alamo," Jackson Sun, 11/2/08)
[bold emphasis mine]
This is out and out race-baiting.
We all know this is BS, and that true reporting would show the following:
- The "Security" is there for the Housing Project, not the election. And that they are there every day.
- That there isn't any evidence of intimidation taking place.
- That there isn't any evidence of anyone being "blocked" from going into the polling place.
It's clear they are trying to inflame reactions to garner last minute votes and influence the election.
They are also publicly, and nationally, trying to associate Barack and his campaign with the Black Panther Party.
This is pretty powerful stuff.
A lot more "frightening" to the low information, non-enthusiastic voter, than Obama supposedly flipping off McCain.
That didn't get a national push.
If we see a late surge of white voters, in late hours voting, we'll know if this crap made any difference.
I'm voting NO, but it still makes me nervous from a post-election, governance perspective.
This will cement the anti-Obama, anti-"He cares for all of us", sentiment.
Utter BS. The McCain camp should be ashamed with themselves.