"I said over a year ago that this was going to be, this presidentialrace, Lawrence, was going to be the ugliest, the nastiest, the mostdivisive, and the most racist in the history of this Republic. I did not know that race to the bottom would begin so quickly....It's pretty clear given how the Tea Party has acted...that this would be possible....There have been some antics that they've engaged in that made it clear to me -- showing up at rallies with guns...the evidence is pretty clear that they would do anything and say anything in order to make sure [Obama] doesn't get re-elected."
"We have to get back to some sense of civility. I thought that after Arizona that there might be a moment here, Lawrence, where we could talk really about having civil discourse in this country."
A few thoughts for Mr. Smiley:
(1) If you're really interested in civility, perhaps you could set an example for the rest of us by not implying that millions of average Americans are motivated by racism and blood lust. That would be a productive start.
(2) Did the political independents who flocked to President Obama in 2008 suddenly develop racist tendencies, or might the president's current unpopularity have something to do with his
(3) Next year will witness the most racist campaign in the history of the Republic? Like, more racist than when an unapologetic segregationist ran and won nearly 14 percent of the popular vote? And more racist than the elections that partially hinged on a years-long dispute over whether blacks were human beings or property? Or the one where The Democratic Party's platform explicitly demanded strict enforcement of fugitive slave laws?
Or is it possible, Mr. Smiley, that you're intentionally engaging in racially-charged hyperbole in order to intimidate people into silence to protect a president you support? I'm just asking.
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