Sarah Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack Obama

Sarah Palin’s attacks on Barack Obama’s patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

Palin’s tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists Photo: Reuters

The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of “palling around with terrorists”, citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling “terrorist” and “kill him” until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin’s attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: “Why would they try to make people hate us?”

The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin’s credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby

Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.

Intolerance thrives in Palin’s Pacific Northwest

Catherine McNicol Stock is chair of the history department at Connecticut College and author of “Rural Radicals: Righteous Rage in the American Grain”

Despite her efforts to portray herself as an average, small-town, “folksy” American, Sarah Palin’s political views - ardently pro-gun, pro-censorship, antichoice and antigay - make John McCain’s conservative credentials pale in comparison. What few observers have said, however, is these beliefs are not just extreme - they are radical, and even bear a comparison with some of the most notorious “rural radicals” of our time.

It has been years since groups such as the Montana Militia, the Posse Comitatus and the Sagebrush Rebels, and individuals such as Terry Nichols and Ted Kaczynski have made us wonder why so many “angry white men” populated our rural regions. Many of us have forgotten the threat once posed by domestic terrorists and instead have turned our attention to foreign terrorists. But we should never forget that in the late 20th century, ultra-Christian, antistatist and white-supremacist groups flourished in the states of the Pacific Northwest - called by many the “Great White Northwest” - the very region that Sarah Palin and her family call home.

There is no evidence that Palin was ever affiliated with white-supremacist groups during her years in Idaho or at home in Alaska. On the other hand, the beliefs of ultraconservative, evangelical churches like her family’s come dangerously close to those of the Christian Identity movement of those years. Likewise, Palin’s husband was a member of a political party whose members favored secession for Alaska, suggesting an affiliation with radical antistatism.

Klu Klux Klan leader David Duke predicts that a black president could advance white civil rights, as whites would be inspired to rise up and begin what he calls a long overdue revolution. About 200,000 Americans are thought to be members of white supremacy groups.

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Just in case you thought those days were over …

“I don’t want to sound like a doomsday prophet,” Thomas Robb said on the Klan’s WhitePride.tv. “But what will happen to this nation? “A lot of people are concerned if Barack Obama becomes president of the United States. There may be a backlash … Now in its 8th Year with Hosts Pastor Thomas Robb and Klan Spokeswoman Rachel Pendergraft - Your #1 Source for News and Commentary about issues of concern to those of European descent. This is the Klan is Now on Public Access - Midland, Michigan The Bible has an important message for the white race. Yet, this teaching is being with held by false shepherds while at the same time delivering a deadly dose of deception. Learn about the true world changing gospel of Jesus Christ, what it means for you, your family, and your racial nation.

What kind of America is this? There are still ’stone aged’ creatures marching around calling themselves Christians, wearing NAZI paraphernalia! We see what radical, hateful extremists have done to the Muslim religion, Christianity has a lot of work to do before they can call themselves a religion again. Right now, more and more see a radical, extreme, hateful group hiding under the banner of a peaceful prophet or messiah called Jesus. Where are the Christians of old? I don’t mean from the inquisition … the inquisition appears to have returned with white pointy hats and NAZI arm bands. Jesus is turning in his grave. This is not what he died for. Maybe he will come back and take his teachings back, then say, you are on your own, I failed to reach you. You weren’t ready. WWJD? He would be extremely shocked at how his message morphed.

The day after

Thursday, November 06, 2008 By Ikram Sehgal
The long lines outside the polling stations on Election Day meant unprecedented numbers and history in the making. The US woke up having made history by electing its first coloured president. What happens in the US impacts the rest of the world, to paraphrase Neil Armstrong, the first man to go the moon, “the election of Barack H Obama is one small step for Americans, it is one giant step for mankind.” John McCain, one of the most decent and deserving candidates to ever run for the US presidency (he would have made a great president anytime in US history) was not running against a person alone, but against an idea whose time had come. The founding fathers of the United States of America set down in the Preamble of their Constitution that “all men are created equal.” They could not possibly anticipate (or was it buried in their sub-conscious?) that for two centuries white human beings would be more equal than others.

The American Dream envisages that every citizen, regardless of race, colour, or religion, has equal chance in life. In keeping with what the US preaches to the rest of the world about justice and fair play in unfettered democracies, the American people have taken a significant step in convincing skeptics by putting their own house in order. Obama’s rhetoric at the Democratic Convention in 2004 singled him out for the future, 2008 put substance to that rhetoric. Obama emulated one of his political heroes in going from a freshman US senator to becoming a US president in four years. John F Kennedy Jr (whose daughter Caroline is one of Obama’s closest advisors) overcame the prejudice of sect (he was a Catholic among the majority Protestants). Obama has overcome a far greater handicap, the stigma of colour.

Fighting a losing battle against civil rights in the latter part of the previous century, it must be a black day for white supremacists to see a coloured person poised to enter the White House. Blacks make up only 12% of the US electorate. Obama crafted together a “rainbow coalition” of white and coloured, young and old. It was pathetic to see McCain, a man of great personal honour, emulating his running mate Governor Sarah Palin in making Obama’s person an issue rather than his ideas.

My apologies for some of the images on this post. The intent is to open eyes to the evil that still surrounds us. Vigilence works both ways. I endorse reaching across philosophical, political and religious lines, however, the attitude of superiority and exclusivism is none of that. These miserable people with low self-esteem, who must demonize and belittle others because of their differences, have endorsed Obama in order to instigate white backlash. Their use of media is becoming more sophisticated and reaches wider audiences. They offer scapegoats for whatever ails you … it is always one of THEM! THEM is anyone with a different heritage than you. THEM is easily recognized on the street. THEM is offered up as a target for your frustration. THEM is US. This is the most self destructive proposition any group could offer. Shrinks call racism an illness. Maybe. If this is a mental illness, then we must accept that it can be contageous under certain conditions. We must educate ourselves to recognize the subtle contamination of rhetoric that offers you a scapegoat … ready for you to take your frustrations out on. Here are some sites to educate yourself with:

Hate Groups and Extremists

Southern Poverty Law Center

Hate Crimes Research Network

FBI Jurisdiction
A hate crime is not a distinct federal offense. However, the federal government can and does investigate and prosecute crimes of bias as civil rights violations, which do fall under its jurisdiction. These efforts serve as a backstop for state and local authorities, which handle the vast majority of hate crime cases.

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