This morning I delivered a petition to Senator Elizabeth Dole’s Raleigh office. It was signed by 1,265 concerned citizens — including more than 300 North Carolinians — all requesting that Senator Elizabeth Dole use her considerable clout in her party to tell the North Carolina Republican Party’s Linda Daves to stop running the race-baiting anti-Obama ad called “Extreme.”
The bottom-feeding ad is currently running on four TV stations in the state (New Bern, Asheville, Winston-Salem and Wilmington). It attempts to draw a tenuous-at-best connection between Dem gubernatorial candidates Bev Perdue and Richard Moore (both endorsed Obama) and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. It’s crude and reflects the pathetic state of the GOP here, a party in embarrassing decline, longing for the days where everyone knew their place.
The reason Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, the crew at BlueNC and I wanted to do this is because John McCain doesn’t have the cojones to go toe-to-toe with the apparently omnipotent Linda Daves. He denounced the ad from afar but couldn’t even pick up the phone to express his dismay directly.
We figured that perhaps Elizabeth Dole, with all her party connections here, would have the gravitas necessary to take on the likes of Linda Daves. Surely she must care that fossilized Republican party in North Carolina is running racist dog whistle ads is not what he approves of. Unfortunately, her initial response wasn’t very encouraging.
“I am concentrating on getting my work done here in the Senate, and I’m just not going to get into refereeing a third party political ad that has nothing to do with my race,” she said.So that’s where the petition effort came in.
The perpetually no-show-in-NC U.S. Senator was, as expected, not in the office when I arrived in downtown Raleigh this morning. As BlueNC blogger Amy Goodale was setting up the video for me to do an intro, Dole Deputy State Director, the polite and impeccably dressed Reginald Ronald Holley, came outside to greet me. You’ll see him at the beginning of the video giving me his business card.
As we went into the Terry Sanford Building, we were told that cameras not allowed, so I had to do the delivery off camera, but there was plenty to talk about before and after. Here’s the video…
I entered the office, and signed in the senator’s guest book, Mr. Holley came out to greet me and we went to an office adjacent to where Elizabeth Dole “works” when she is in town. I sat down with Mr. Holley and asked where the senator was. He said “she’s traveling.” I didn’t get a response as to whether that was to or from NC or DC. A basic question about where my senator is while working on my dime shouldn’t be a state secret, but alas, no success on that front. I also inquired as to when Senator Dole had last been in the state. Mr. Holley said that she rode in float for a “Support Our Troops” rally of some kind last Saturday. Of course this is a rarity; Liddy Dole isn’t seen around here unless she’s campaigning.
Before departing, I requested that we receive an official response from the senator to the petition so that I could share it with readers of Firedoglake, Pam’s House Blend and BlueNC. He said he would pass that on as he took notes, also recording the number of petition signers. I asked Mr. Holley if he would like to be photographed receiving the package outside, where we could film it. He declined. I was politely escorted out of the high-security zone.
As Jane said, ¡Muy Macho! John McCain or Liddy Dole?. We’ll see. Does the NC GOP’s race-baiting dog whistle ad reflect the party of the past and the future? Senator Dole’s response will make it clear whether the GOP elders and influentials don’t care what kind of garbage is tossed out there in the name of the Republican party.
14 Responses to “Petition on the NCGOP’s race-baiting ad is delivered to Elizabeth Dole”
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Did you really mean to ask her to “sing” the letter?
If she does send the letter, how many signees will vote for her in the next election? My guess- zero. So why would she do it?
“So why would she do it?”
…after all, she only represents those who voted for her, not all of the citizens of NC, right?
And of course there’s no overall moral issue here. Alls fair in love, war, business, and politics in Dr T’s world…
Yeah, I’m sure Liddy was really touched and that letter spent many seconds in her hand before she threw it away.
Woo, good useless job!
Wow!!! Awesome activism. You are an inspiration.
And to the naysayers, yeah, I am somewhat reacting to this with the part of me that loved my high school civics class and used to regard the structure of government with wide-eyed innocence.
But damn, they will only be as good as we make them. So here’s to Pam for taking action to make them do the right thing!
-Ismone
PS–I called my senators and representatives once to ask them to put pressure on a foreign government to free a political prisoner. Months after he was freed, I received a form letter from one of them thanking me for my concern, but saying that they were sorry, but the Rep. didn’t involve herself in foreign matters. And I thought, umm, dummies, he was released because of pressure from Congress, including your Rep. What morons.
No MikeEss, I’m just being a realist. Why would anyone help you when in the same video you turn in a petition you target her for defeat in an upcoming election? I appreciate crossing the aisle, trying to work with someone who has a different approach on an issue on which you can find common ground, etc. Activisim isn’t a showboat YoutTube video. Activism is giving to get, raising issues, creating parnetships that are unexpected and unusual to accomplish a noble goal. This was performance art.
Dr. T,
Activism is also embarrassing people publicly so they back down from an untenable position. Reaching across the ailes and singing kumbaya isn’t the only way to be an activist.
And I can’t spell “aisles.” Fab.
So, Dr. T isn’t being an activist when he posts his opinions here– Troll confession!
So now it’s racist to show Rev. Wright giving a sermon? His own church sells that sermon, so he should stand up and be proud of it.
I find is laughable that Pam spends her time finding every nobody preachers in America to blast on her blog, but God forbid the democrat nominee’s preacher of 20 years gets the slightest bit of criticism.
The Rev. Wright issue is not going anywhere…except up on more 527 ads if Obama gets the nomination.
***
Isn’t Firedoglake the blog that had Lieberman in blackface? Geez, first spear throwing natives photos in Amada’s book, and now firedoglake.
Who is the one hanging out with racists here?
Seroj,
But how is Barack Obama’s preacher (who he has now completely disowned) relevant to the reelection of two politicians who endorsed Barack Obama?
The subtext here is OMG these two white people are race traitors because they endorsed a black man whose preacher is a REALLY SCARY black preacher!
If that isn’t true, why, pray tell, did John McCain, not exactly a beacon of antiracism, condemn the ad? Hmmmm?
And the reason this is different from the preachers endorsing McCain that are brought up on this blog is that 1) McCain hasn’t distanced himself from any of these preachers; 2) he still actively courts their endorsement; and 3) the MSM doesn’t cover these men, who are not guilty of just ‘intemperate rhetoric’ but whose political goals are COMPLETELY OPPOSED to those held by most Americans.
So why is this racist? Because the MSM is scrutinizing one reverend with ties to one African American cadidate even after he is repudiated him, and the ad is using THAT guilt by association to criticize people who are associated the candidate associated with the scary black man.
Whereas Pam and Amanda have identified DOZENS of controversial white politicians who WHITE politicians actively court, who say offensive things, who have political goals inimical to most of our own, and there is no MSM coverage, no outrage, and no political smear ads.
Usually, when bad things are done to POC but not white people, when they are held to a higher scrutiny, that is called racism.
-Ismone
Dozens of controversial white *ministers* who WHITE politicians actively court.
Frank Rich unpacks the double-standard with more facts and figures than I have at my disposal:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04rich.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Or there is Cenk Ugyur’s piece on alternet:
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/80253/
Pam discussed it herself when covering Obama’s speech on race:
http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2008/03/18/obama-to-take-on-race-religion-and-reconciling-difference-in-speech-today/#more-6913
As did her co-blogger, Francis Holland:
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5246
The point being, McCain has said racist things, and has deeply bigoted spiritual advisors, and courts the political support of bigots, and there is no firestorm.
Frank Rich unpacks the double-standard with more facts and figures than I have at my disposal:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04rich.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Or Cenk Ugyur’s piece:
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/80253/
Pam discussed it herself when covering Obama’s speech on race:
http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2008/03/18/obama-to-take-on-race-religion-and-reconciling-difference-in-speech-today/#more-6913
As did her co-blogger, Francis Holland:
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5246
The point being, McCain has said racist things, and has deeply bigoted spiritual advisors, and courts the political support of bigots, and there is no firestorm.