In an interview with Fox News reporter Chris Wallace John McCain said that his decision to pick Sarah Palin as his VP nominee was a “cold, political calculation” to “counter the liberal feminist agenda.”

So much for putting country first.

David Plouffe, Barack’s campaign manager, reported the news to supporters via a special online video update. The average contribution was $86. The previous record was $66 million set by the Obama campaign in August. The total number of people that have contributed to the campaign is 3.1 million.

This news will undoubtedly make the McCain/Palin campaign and the GOP go apoplectic. They will unleash a wave of racist, xenophobic and slanderous attacks against Barack and Joe Biden unlike anything we have seen in recent presidential campaigns. Already McCain has hired three of the attack machine specialists who spread the lies and innuendo that sunk McCain’s presidential campaign in 2000. Among the lies they spread during the 2000 South Carolina primary was that the Bangladeshi child that McCain and his wife Cindy adopted was McCain’s illegitimate Black daughter. If they are were willing to go after a member of their own party like this, can you imagine the bile they are prepared to unload against Barack?

This makes it all the more important that for the next 16 days we do all that we can to ensure that Barack is elected our next president. The time for the viciousness of hyper-partisan Republican politics is over.

That is the question that popped into my mind this morning while reading yet another story about the gutter style politics of John McCain. You remember The Grinch, right? He was dead set on stopping The Whos from celebrating Christmas.

Let’s look at the evidence after the jump…

1. The Grinch, as you may recall, tried to kill the spirit of The Whos by stealing their Christmas presents and destroying their decorations.

McCain is trying the desire of the American people for serious political change by unleashing a wave of negative attack ads. McCain and the RNC spent $11 million on ads attacking Barack Obama between September 28th and October 4th.

Nearly every TV ad Republican John McCain ran last week was negative, compared to just 34 percent of those by Democrat Barack Obama, according to an analysis released Wednesday.

The harsher tone in McCain’s ads mirrors the sharper attacks he and his running mate Sarah Palin have been making on the campaign trail as polls show Obama opening up a lead.

And, as Waymon pointed out, McCain and Sarah Palin are engaging in rhetoric that is inciting anger, hate and threats of violence.

2. The Grinch wore a permanent mask of bitterness and contempt because his heart was two sizes too small.

Here’s John McCain at the presidential debate on October 7th:

3. The Grinch had the nasty habit of raging against anything that smacked of joy, tolerance and community celebration.

McCain, in attack ads, speeches and interviews, has repeatedly made sarcastic reference to Barack Obama’s message of hope and progress and the desire of many Americans for political change.

But, unlike The Grinch who sneered at The Whos to their faces, McCain doesn’t have the courage to look Obama in the eyes while talking his trash.

Of course, this comparison isn’t 100% conclusive, but you have to admit that the parallels are striking.

You’re a mean one Sen. McCain….

Disgusting.

That is all that comes to mind when I heard Cindy McCain unleash yet another low blow attack on Obama while stumping in Pennsylvania. Funny how the campaign that kept screaming “leave families out of it” when it came to very valid discussion of Palin’s teenage pregnant daughter and abstinence only teaching is now using their children as political pawns. Here’s part of Cindy’s screed:

The day that Sen. Obama decided to cast a vote to not fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body. I would suggest that Sen. Obama change shoes with me for just one day and see what it means … to have a loved one serving in the armed forces and more importantly, serving in harm’s way. I suggest he take a day and go watch our fine young men…and women deploy, get on those buses and leave with a smile.

Video after the jump…

Wow. How low will this campaign sink?

Funny how Cindy didn’t mention her husband also voted against war funding because it included a timeline. Where was that cold chill then?

And no mention of Biden’s son going to war as well? Imagine that.

I am sick and tired of this party and their twisted “family values”- which apparently includes using their kids as props. From Palin bringing her kids (including her newborn and the father of teenage daughter’s baby- but don’t talk about them!) on stage every time to Cindy’s latest comments- not to mention their continued war on intellectualism and the continued push to incite violence and fear- it is clear that this campaign has no moral compass whatsoever.

I’m not sure how much more of these gutter politics I can take- and I’m not sure how much more our country can either.

It looks like McCain and Palin are willing to do anything to win- including inciting fear, anger, and violence in their supporters.

As the McCain campaign has stepped up the negative attacks and smears, the audiences at their rallies are getting more and more outlandish. Shouts of “traitor” and even “kill him“- in reference to Obama- are popping up all over the news. I wonder where these supporters are getting this kind of anger from.

Perhaps it is from the McCain Campaign’s continued efforts to link Obama to Ayers? Maybe Palin saying Obama “pals around with terrorists”? Could it be every spokesperson from their campaign- and their negative ads- calling Obama “risky”?

To quote a certain Alaskan governor- You betcha.

I understand negative attacks. We all expect them at this point. Both sides fudge facts to make the other person seem out of touch or unelectable. I personally don’t like them, but they are a part of political life.

But these latest attacks, and the response from the crowds, take it to a completely different level. It truly frightens me.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen the effects of a political leader using loaded language, and the violence that can ensue, here in South Florida. When you demonize a person or group of people and tap in to deep-rooted fears and biases, you create a ticking time bomb. And that’s exactly what the McCain campaign is doing. Calling Obama a terrorist, or highlighting his middle name, all with a nudge and a wink is literally lighting the fuse.

This type of dangerous rhetoric directly leads to an atmosphere of hate and violence. Campaigns have a responsibility to act in a way that doesn’t incite these kinds of dangerous responses. The McCain campaign is willing to not only further divide the country, but also plunge us into a dangerous and violent freefall.

And I am afraid it is only going to get worse.

Its lines like this that make me more than a little gay for Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos:

Many people will warn against “getting complacent”. I like to approach this potential problem differently — we have a chance to rip out the GOP’s jugular. We can throw them an anvil. We can kick them while they’re down. No matter the metaphor, the underlying meaning remains — we can destroy the Republicans. Now’s not the time to slack, it’s the time to pick things up. We’ve got them in a near rout. Let’s destroy them.

In his post Markos is warning people to expect a scorched Earth wave of negative attacks from the McCain campaign against Obama because of Obama’s rising poll numbers with less than 30 days left in the campaign. In the attacks we can expect McCain to question Obama’s patriotism, religious faith, and experience. You can also expect to see the return of Rev. Wright, madrasahs, Bill Ayers and anything else McCain can think to pull out of his magic hat of political distraction to keep from talking about the issues that matter to voters. Nearly 100% of McCain’s ad spending is devoted to attacking Obama.

What you want see from the McCain campaign is something like this:

I get that negative attacks are a part of the political game and that they can be quite effective. But McCain’s campaign strategy of “attack, attack, attack” is much like the GOP chant “drill, baby, drill.” It is a whole lot of smoke and mirrors that doesn’t address the issues at hand and fails to deliver the change that we need now.

I don’t mean to offend drag queens when I ask that question, but look at this video from Progress Accountability and see for yourself.

So many of the catch phrases, talking points and stale ideas spouted by Palin in her debate with Joe Biden sound as they were coming from Bush’s lips. Or, more accurately, the poisonous pens of the same Rovian spin doctors who fooled the American public into voting for Bush. Except now their cynicism and political manipulation is gussied up in a shiny coat of bright red lipstick and a beauty queen’s sash.

Compare statements by the Bush and Palin on partisan politics:

PALIN:

Palin Said She’s Known For Putting Partisan Politics Aside. During the 2008 vice presidential debate, Governor Palin said, We’re known for putting partisan politics aside to just get the job done.” [Vice Presidential Debate, 10/2/08]

BUSH:

Bush Said Partisanship Needs To Be Put Aside. During the third presidential debate in 2000, Governor Bush said, In order to get something done on behalf of the people, you have to put partisanship aside, and that’s what we did in my state. [Commission on Presidential Debates, 10/17/00]

No one who survived the Bush reign of error should believe Palin’s hollow and cynical remarks about “putting partisan politics aside” particularly when nearly 100% of McCain’s ad spending is devoted to attacking Obama.

Sarah Palin may be almost completely unqualified to be Vice-President, but she has proven herself to be adept at one thing: the willingness to manipulate, spin and lie to satiate her hunger for political power. George Bush was equally skilled. And, as progressives, we stood by laughing at his inability to string together a coherent thought that amounted to more than “USA! USA! USA!” while Rove charted his dark path to the White House.

We can’t make that mistake again.

John McCain is a 72 year old man with a history of melanoma and a stubborn unwillingness to share his medical records with the public. If McCain is elected president, he would be the old president in our history’s to be beginning his first term. If he were to die in office, or for reason be unable to complete his full term, Sarah Palin would become president.

Is Sarah Palin, aka George Bush in drag and with less experience, the person you would want running the country?

It’s 2008, ‘some of my best friends are gay’ doesn’t work anymore. Sorry, we’ve already had one ‘compassionate conservative’ in the White House for eight years, we aren’t interested in another.

Right on Joe!

As you can see in this video produced by HRC, McCain has opposed every piece of pro-LGBT legislation that has come his way. He even supports the anti-gay state constitutional amendments pending in Arizona, California and Florida.

Even as news is spreading across the internet and television about the defeat of the bailout bill in Congress and continued economic turmoil John McCain is getting ready for a massive Hollywood fundraiser on Wednesday.

You may remember that McCain pulled a media stunt last week when he claimed to have suspended his campaign to rush back to DC to deal with the economic problem. Of course, along the way McCain stopped off for an interview with Katie Couric, an opulent dinner with Joe Lieberman and lots of down time at his Beltway apartment.

The fundraiser sponsored by the McCain-Palin Victory California Leadership team comes only a few weeks after McCain harshly attacked Barack Obama for holding a fundraiser in L.A. “with his celebrity friends.” I am guessing that when McCain says “maverick” he really means hypocrite.

From the Huffington Post:

The McCain-Palin Victory California Leadership team is sponsoring the October 1 event at the Century Plaza Hyatt Regency in L.A. Supporters who bundle at least $250,000 receive entrance to a host committee dinner and private reception; others can attend the general reception for $1,000 per person (or $2,500 per person for a limited edition “McCain-Palin CA” lapel pin).

This reminds me of how McCain and his BFF George Bush celebrated McCain’s birthday while Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans. It is yet another sign that McCain is out of touch with the realities of working Americans and why his “four more years of Bush” campaign is not what we need to move our country forward.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the McCain campaign’s top surrogates admitted on Fox News Sunday morning that Sen. Barack Obama did well in the presidential debate. Graham claimed in the discussion with Chris Wallace that he was “tired” and did little to try to spin a win for McCain.

Here is an excerpt from the transcript. View the video at Huffington Post.

WALLACE: McCain’s rating on being prepared to be president didn’t change. Obama had a 16-point jump on that same question. Senator Graham, McCain keeps saying Obama is not ready to lead, but according to several polls, voters watching the debate thought he was.

GRAHAM: I think there’s an 18-point difference between who is best able to do the job. We’ll take that.

KERRY: Well, let me –

WALLACE: What you’re saying is even though Obama got more of a bump –

GRAHAM: It’s Sunday, I’m tired. Senator Obama did well. Senator Obama helped himself.

WALLACE: You can’t be tired on Sunday morning, sir.

GRAHAM: Quite frankly, I thought he presented himself well, Senator Obama.