Ideas Have Consequences: State of the Race

With 28 eight days to go and the second presidential debate scheduled for this evening, the bottom is about to fall out.

Currently, the Republican "mavericks" rely on guilt by association arguments. Of course, the self-defined "mavericks" do not engage in any introspection over the consequences of their actions.

Cases in point: First, at a McCain rally yesterday, McCain asks his audience, "Who is Obama," and an audience member responds a terrorist. Second, at a Palin rally, while the Hockey Mom attacks Obama as a terrorist, an audience member shouts out "Kill Him!!!" Additionally, as Matthew Yglesias notes, at the Palin rally, Palin continued to attack a press that dare ask her questions while her audience members wave thunder sticks at the press and another Palin supporter shouted a "racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, 'Sit down, boy.'"

Democracy is quite a dangerous game when your opponent is not a colleague but your enemy and the proper course of action does not involve compromise but death. If this election concerns without outbursts of violence, I will be mildly surprised.

Thanks to A.S. for finding this above photo.