My uncle is a hardcore right-wing Republican. (Though he maintains registration as a Democrat, he has voted Republican in every election since 1968. Bonus points for anyone who can point out why someone from the South would suddenly start voting Republican in 1968.) Earlier in the year, he and my aunt (who was a moderate liberal who backed Kerry until she married this guy) began to send me the requisite "Jeremiah Wright, Rezko, Muslim, Anti-Christ) emails that were so popular. I responded to them at first, but after being told that I was too "weak-minded" to argue politics with a conservative, I told them to stop sending me anything political. They respected that-- until today.
Here is the email I received:
Wes,
Haven't heard from you in a while. Your Mom told us you're planning to moving to New York. Just wondering if you've left yet. On another note, I found an article on Obama I thought you'd like to read. Interesting stuff. Here is the link.
http://www.americanthinker.com/...
Come see us when you can,
[Crazy Uncle]
(For those of you who don't want to reread the same Republican (not even Republican-- this is conspiracy theorist shit) talking points, this is the article that alleges, with absolutely no proof cited, that Ayers ghost-wrote "Dreams of My Father." I have no words for how ridiculous and far-reaching that claim is.)
This was my response:
Wow, [crazy uncle]...
I know you disagree with Obama on the issues, and I figured you would be jumping on the "friend of terrorists" bandwagon, which most "conservatives" seem to be clinging to as they slowly realize John McCain has no concrete plan for the future of the United States, especially in light of the current economic crisis (Did you see Obama's multi-point plan that was rolled out today? I'd love to see McCain respond with something substantial), but I thought you would be better than to try to pass off a meme from the far right-wing John Birchers with absolutely no concrete evidence as fact. This article is complete conjecture, and I hope that your opposition to Obama goes beyond speculation.
While we're on the subject of Ayers, however, opensecrets.org (a non-partisan site run by the non-partisan group Center for Responsive Politics) lists a Mrs. Leonore Annenberg as one of John McCain's donors; in fact, she maxed out donations to Senator McCain this year.
http://www.opensecrets.org/... (Unlike this silly article, I will cite sources. You are free to dismiss them, but at least I'm willing to back my assertions up with actual, you know, facts.)
Who is Leonore Annenberg, you ask? Well, she was Chief of Protocol to Ronald Reagan, and her husband Walter (deceased) was Ambassador to the U.K. under Richard Nixon. I assume you voted for both of these presidents. Now, Walter and Leonore authored the Annenberg Challenge Grant, which provided the money to a needy city to help reform their education system. The winners of this grant were three authors of a grant proposal, including, yes, William Ayers. It was through work on this foundation that Obama worked with Ayers, using private donations, to reform Chicago's education system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Now, if Annenberg was active in funding the work of a domestic terrorist-- in fact, if Annenberg chose this domestic terrorist specifically based on a grant proposal he wrote-- why is John McCain accepting money from his widow? I hope you will contact the McCain campaign and demand they return the money from this terrorist sympathizer.
I was going to just agree to disagree with you on political issues, but since you brought it up, let me ask you a few questions:
- Sarah Palin was recently found guilty of abuse of ethics in her role in having a state trooper fired in Alaska. Though the finding did say she was within her rights to fire him, it also ruled that she "abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act." (http://community.adn.com/adn/node/132565). This finding was unanimous, and the council that determined it was made up of 8 Republicans and 6 Democrats. Should this disqualify Sarah Palin from holding national office? Doesn't it belie the repeated assertion that the McCain campaign will fight government corruption and abuse of power?
- Sarah Palin recorded an introductory speech for the Alaskan Independence Party's convention earlier this year. (http://www.akip.org/conv08.html) Her husband was a registered member of the party from 1995 until 2002. Initial reports said that Governor Palin was also an attendee at many of the conventions, though those were quickly swept under the rug and backtracked upon. The Alaskan Independence Party (http://www.akip.org/introduction.html) is a secessionist party that wants to proclaim sovereignty for Alaska. Their home page (above) includes a quote from their founder, "I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." When Barack Obama's pastor said something similar earlier this year, Obama adamantly decried this statement and cut ties to his pastor. Will Sarah Palin do the same for the Alaskan Independence Party (and why has the "liberal" mainstream media said absolutely nothing about this, based on their reaction to the Jeremiah Wright scandal)?
- You have repeatedly asserted that you are a registered Democrat, but oppose the socialism of the modern party. John Cornyn (R-Texas) voted for the recent baliout bill, which socializes the banking institutions. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&
;session=2&vote=00213) (Yes, I'm aware Sen. Obama did the same. I strongly disagree with him on this issue and called his campaign to tell them so. For the record, McCain voted for it too.) Rep. Rick Noriega, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, running for Senator of Texas, has opposed the legislation. I hope that Rick Noriega can count on your vote for the U.S. Senate.
I leave for New York on the first of November, but if you want to send me political materials, don't feel that you need to preface them by pretending that you care.
Wes
Just had to vent a little- thank you for listening.