Was Ashley Todd’s Imaginary Attack a Desperate Rovian Dirty Trick?
Not to be callous, but your slow-on-the-draw Tattler admits that when he first heard, partially awake, on the radio that someone named Ashley Todd was assaulted by a tall black man in Pittsburgh because she had a McCain sticker on her car, and the added fillip that the alleged attacker had ‘carved a B on her cheek,’ I thought the announcer was talking about the insect, as in, ‘he inscribed a BEE on her cheek,’ and a surreal mental scenario followed that featured an angry tattoo artist yelling, “Hey, c’mon you, hold still while I finish this wing!”
The story seemed a little suspicious from the git-go and Thom Hartmann noted on his radio show Friday that the ‘B’ was backwards, the way someone not-too-bright and looking in a mirror would sketch a ‘B’ on her cheek.
Later in the day, after John McCain and Sarah Palin had rushed to the phones to offer their condolences to the 20-year-old Texas Republican, Ashley confessed that she had invented the whole lurid tale – it was a tasteless hoax, apparently designed to make Obama supporters, and particularly those of the large black male variety, look bad.
Aside from the hideous Susan Smith aspect to the false charge, and the chance that the Pittsburgh police might have commenced a wholesale harassment of black men to find the nonexistent perpetrator, McCain and Palin’s haste to involve themselves in the incident bespeaks two things: a.) They were trying to make political hay out of this young woman’s misfortune, which calls into question their judgment or b.) The McCain campaign was somehow in on the deal, which paints them as over-the-edge con artists.
Todd had worked for the College Republican National Committee in New York, and recently moved to Pennsylvania to act as a full-time McCain-Palin volunteer on behalf of the group. (The College Republicans are the same organization that spawned such upstanding GOP choirboys as Jack Abramoff, Karl Rove and Ralph Reed.)
As yet, there is no evidence that the McCain campaign was directly involved, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the impact that the ugly tableau of a fiendish black male sexually attacking a young white lady might have on rural Caucasians in Pennsylvania, a state McCain must win in order to have any shot at the presidency. Joe the Plumber move over, here comes the Scary Obama-Supporting Black Sexual Predator.
Under-the-radar rumors of creepy McCainiacs trying to goad Obama voters into violence while media cameras are present have been floating around recently, the invective particularly aimed at inciting dark-skinned Obamaites, but not much has come of it up to now except some of the demented Starboard Side of the Blogosphere typically and perversely whining about those mean lefties trying to smack down Republicans who wave around McCain-Palin signs in public. (Yep – from the same crowd that counts among its ‘base’ tolerant sophisticates who shout “Kill him!” and “Traitor!” at McPalin academic retreats.)
As the always effervescent-with-bile Michelle Malkin elucidates: “The Obamedia diaper-wetters are gripped with fear over a few over-the-line catcalls at McCain-Palin rallies.”
Uh, it’s not just a ‘few over-the-line catcalls’ at the downhome Bund affairs; it’s a river of right-wing effluvium oozing endlessly from the TV screen, computer monitor and radio speaker, as well. (And Michelle herself could use a mirror.)
Down by double-digits in the so-called battleground states and facing a humiliating landslide loss, would McCain’s campaign actually go this far – setting up a white woman with a fake story of being viciously attacked by a politically-motivated black man? (Was the Pope named Ratzenberger?)
As we’ve seen thus far in this election season, the notion of losing does strange things to the neocon mind. I’d like to think the Classic-Coke McCain would never have allowed this kind of thing, but the new Red Bull McCain – it’s hard to say.
This story may or may not sprout legs but, whether there was any participation by the McCain campaign, McPalin’s rush to honk up publicity for Todd’s phony allegations points to the easy assumption that Popeye and Olive Oyl intended to politically milk it for all it was worth, and that’s despicable in itself.
I’m going to file this under B for bizzare,
like trying to carve a “B” on Your own face in the mirror,So where did that blackeye really come from?
A curling iron,I doubt it.
The Bullshitometer is going off the scale with
Gov.Palin lying about Obama killing babies for Chris sakes and now this handy think tank circular:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7470439/Obamas-Use-of-Hidden-Hypnosis-Techniques-in-His-Speeches
These desperate pukes need to lay off the hallelujah joy juice and get their arses into
a twelve step program and probably a complete battery of psychological exams for treatment.
Comment by Rainlander — October 26, 2008 @ 11:26 am
Rain, neocons don’t ‘do’ losing well. As we’ve seen, these ‘means to an end, anything to win’ guys (and gals) are not sportsmen (or sportswomen.)
They think that Vince Lombardi said “winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” but they got that as wrong as they’ve gotten everything else. The actual quote is: “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” (Lombardi quote from http://www.enotalone.com/article/11027.html)
In reality, Lombardi was a tough competitor who hated to lose, but he also respected fair play and the rules of the game. Neocons, of course, have no use for either.
Lombardi also said: “Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.”
Neocons have no respect for anything but themselves.
Comment by RS Janes — October 26, 2008 @ 6:32 pm
RSJ,I have to admit that after reading my above post that I felt petty for saying the things I did.
Knowing first hand how Their belief system works
and how hard it was to shake off.
I have to say that there was an odd sense of duality I felt,looking back.
I guess what started it was that,what I had wrote sounded like something the old Me could have said
about everyone not in sync with My world at that time.
Thank whatever Powers be that Someone could calmly,rationally,kindly cast enough doubt so that I could open up My eyes and let go.
To take responsibility for My actions and words and thoughts and beliefs without the promise of reward or punishment as motivation.
To have the courage to care for People and Their plight.
To realize that all People are the same inside,50% good and 50% not so good dependent on the day.
Its been a long nine years dreading the oncoming Neo-Con reign of terror followed by the reality of the stolen election and believing things could’nt possibly get worse only to have it come true.
I feel I’ve squandered nine years keeping a vigil and waiting to pop that cork of 1977 Moet
when impeachment or election cycle finally brings it all to a merciful close.
You are correct in everything You wrote of course about the desperate Neo-Cons,after all They had so much more to do and there are still trillions left unstolen.
One small piece of the equation is the isolationist latent in their mindset,it comes to this:
These People have no souls and so They look for pathways to fulfillment,to make Themselves feel something,anything.
Luckily there are plenty of sanctioned events to fill the void,to name a few:Alcohol,Religion,Heroes,Hate,Sports,Sex,War,Voyeurism,Sex and Business to entertain and comfort the soul and provide a sense of security in a lonely unstable world.
To feel.
To feel proof.
To come this far only to have it taken away
by a social inferior,an interloper,
when Mary Magdalen is so beautiful and so willing to usher forth Jesus to command the world and dry the tears and punish the wicked.
It is’nt going to happen this time.
They must feel as cheated as We did when the supreme court told us to get over it in 2000.
I wont forget and I’ll make damn sure My grandkids don’t forget either so that when the Idiots rise again,They will recognize the Hoover,The Nixon,The Reagan,The Bush,The McCain and raise hell non-stop until They leave office.
Thanks,RSJ for the views.
as usual spot-on.
Cheers,Rain.
Comment by Rainlander — October 26, 2008 @ 11:37 pm