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Max  Blumenthal

Guess Who Came to the Palin Rally?

More evidence the fringe right is using Obama resentment for its political gain.

On Wednesday, I reported for The Daily Beast that key leaders of the white supremacist movement are seeking new opportunities to infiltrate and influence the political mainstream, particularly within the Republican base. An exclusive new video, shown here for the first time, offers new evidence of their strategic push.

In the video, shot by an amateur videographer who provided me exclusive access to his footage, an unidentified staffer from one of the country’s most popular white supremacist radio programs, The Political Cesspool, is seen promoting his show’s website at an October 13 rally for Sarah Palin in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Just feet away, Randall Terry, founder of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, hands out fliers and recruits volunteers to canvas for McCain-Palin.

Blumenthal Video: Palin Rally CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO

Though neither Political Cesspool nor Randall Terry have any known contact with the McCain-Palin campaign, their presence at the recent Palin rally presents one of the clearest portraits yet of the far right’s attempts to exploit the Republican base’s anti-Obama resentment for organizational gain.

According to its "Statement of Principles," the Political Cesspool "represent[s] a philosophy that is pro-White" and which "heartily endorse[s] and accept[s] as our own, the founding tenets of the Council of Conservative Citizens [CCC]," America’s largest white supremacist group. A 2007 article in the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report noted that, “The Political Cesspool' in the past two years has become the primary radio nexus of hate in America.”

The writings of Political Cesspool’s founder, James Edwards, offer bold evidence of the racist ideology behind his show. Here are a few revealing examples from Edwards’ blog, courtesy of Media Matters for America:

In an August 11 post, Edwards wrote: "For blacks in the Americas, slavery is the greatest thing that ever happened to them. Unfortunately, it's the worst thing that ever happened to white Americans."

In an August 6 post headlined "Jewish media reaches new heights," discussing a Slate.com article by "Jew Timothy Noah," Edwards wrote that the piece would "make sense once you understand that Jews are the ones who are always speaking in code; when they use words like 'racists', 'bigots', 'anti-semites', they simply mean white people." Similarly, in a July 9 post headlined "Great moments in Jewish journalism," Edwards referred to a column by The Washington Post's David S. Broder about former Sen. Jesse Helms as "another hatefilled Jewish attack piece."

In a July 30 post, Edwards asked: "If the WNBA [Women's National Basketball Association] is so hell bent on diversity, why don't they hire a couple of heterosexual players or coaches?"

In a June 6 post headlined "Does she hate Whitey?" Edwards wrote: "Michelle Obama, that is. Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure she does. Just like her husband. Just like about 90% of blacks."

In the footage, Randall Terry is seen nearby shouting into a megaphone, “We must do whatever it takes to stop Obama!” A Terry associate wearing a Palin t-shirt hands out fliers urging anti-abortion advocates to organize against Obama’s election. While the Political Cesspool organizer expresses no support for McCain-Palin, and seems reluctant to divulge his show’s racist politics, Terry seems openly supportive of the McCain-Palin campaign.

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October 30, 2008 | 9:55am
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arosedec

Sounds to me like Randall Terry didn't get enough hugs as a kid. It saddens me that someone has so much hate in their heart. I actually feel sorry for this guy. I hope he gets the help he needs to deal with the inadequacies he's obviously trying to make up for.

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10:24 am, Oct 30, 2008

donatello

I thought the white supremacist movement was their base.

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1:14 pm, Oct 30, 2008

Tulku2

It is as if he is sure his mother would not have had him had she had a choice. He acts like someone who could not talk a woman into having his child without intimidation and bullying. It's as if he would trust any government more than he trusts his own mother, wife, sisters, and daughter. "Those women. They love abortions." Why isn't he handing out condoms if he hates abortions so much?

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3:57 pm, Oct 30, 2008

fncliberal

Dr. Jerome Corsi, Sean Hannity's good buddy, was first interviewed on James Edwards' Political Cesspool hate radio show last summer. Corsi had scheduled a second appearance on this show, but cancelled out at the last minute when word leaked out about his appearance. Sean talks about guilt by association, but he is silent when it comes to his associations with the most vile and hateful people on the planet.

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4:48 pm, Oct 30, 2008

ttowse

Clinton's diverse comments concerning, "a few old white guys, like him, not being cut out yet." Implying food for thought. Those gentlemen he referred to fought and died for our nations freedom. The young generation that votes will need to consider they will be the next to go to war under Obama and it won't be gameboy any longer. Don't count the few old white guys out yet. Old age is earned and Obama isn't even close.

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5:13 pm, Oct 30, 2008

Carfania

It seems a little unfair to lump Randall Terry and James Edwards together. Terry is basically a single-issue voter - and McCain/Palin has made no secret of its position on abortion. We can disagree with McCain/Palin/Terry, and Terry might be a bit of a nutter, but the national debate on abortion is a legitimate one, and they're participants in it. If I remember correctly, Operation Rescue in the 1990s advocated civil disobedience - not actual violence.

James Edwards, on the other hand, is actually outside the pale of public discourse, and his presence is the more legitimately disturbing....

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8:16 pm, Oct 30, 2008

ladyhawk08

There are undoubtedly extremists among both parties who exercise their freedoms in ways that many do not approve, but such is the life in pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

It should be noted, however, that associations are quite different from alliances and partnerships. It should also be recognized that if one is in the habit of surrounding oneself with groups of individuals who all share similar beliefs, then there must be a source of motivation, as human beings rarely seek out to spend their precious time, energy and money on activities they have absolutely no interest in.

I know there is tremendous controversy over the value of discussing Ayers in relationship to Obama, but there are many questions that should be answered and deserve to be answered, as they are not formed in a vacuum.

It seems quite obvious, that an unrepentant domestic terrorist who becomes an educator has exchanged bombs for books, the capital building for the institutions of learning, and one politician for another.

Bill Ayers worked with Cuba says FBI report
By Judi McLeod Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Raul, Fidel Castro, William AyersUnrepentant terrorist former leading Weather Underground Organization (WUO) member William Ayers was aided by Fidel Castro's Cuba in the 1970s, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report.
The 400-page report, a copy of which was obtained by the New York Times, revealed that Cuban intelligence officers in the General Directorate of Intelligence (known by its initials in Spanish as the DGI, Cuba's equivalent of the CIA) set up the Venceremos Brigades in which WUO members participated.

"The ultimate objective of the DGI's participation in the setting up of the Venceremos Brigades was "the recruitment of individuals who are politically oriented and who someday may obtain a position, elective or appointive, somewhere in the U.S. Government, which would provide the Cuban Government with access to political, economic and military intelligence." (Italics CFP's).

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5860

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8:58 pm, Oct 30, 2008

WordWielder

"Though neither Political Cesspool nor Randall Terry have any known contact with the McCain-Palin campaign, their presence at the recent Palin rally presents one of the clearest portraits yet of the far right's attempts to exploit the Republican base's anti-Obama resentment for organizational gain."

If there are no know ties between the McCain/Palin troop, how can we assume that the white supremacist pictured above and the radio show he respresents has any connection to the right wing. Shall I assume that the author of this piece has ties to anti-American terrorists?

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9:37 pm, Oct 30, 2008

LeRoseyGirl

Edwards and Terry...what a waste of life!

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10:48 pm, Oct 30, 2008

Alec82

To Carfania:

Terry is not a "single issue" voter. He also hates homosexuals (and his son is one, to boot....and he has clearly screwed that poor kid up). If support for sodomy laws isn't outside the pale of political discourse, it should be, at this point. He richly deserves his lumping.

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2:02 am, Oct 31, 2008

McLaren

These fools are not on the "far right." These people are fascists, and by definition, on the Left. They wouldn't be welcome in the Republican Party any more than Michael Moore would be welcome in the Republican Party.
Fascists need not apply.

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9:23 am, Oct 31, 2008

leerenee

"Sarah Palin is sleeping with terrorists". If McCain campaign people were running the Obama campaign that is the headline you would see. Well, OK, Todd Palin is a secessionist not exactly a terrorist, and secessionists want to blow up the country figuratively not literally, but they still want to split Alaska from the US and that is not exactly patriotic. (Isn't that what the Civil War was about?) She is married to him, so I assume she sleeps with him and she spoke at their convention and told them to keep up the good work, you know, the work of becoming a foreign nation. Maybe they will take Texas with them. I also saw where she wants us to become independent of foreign oil, something I heartily agree with. Gee, I wonder if her husband and the secessionists succeed in making Alaska a separate country, will they join OPEC and will she and her husband still want us to be independent of their foreign oil and will she then be able to say "I can see a foreign nation from my house, in fact it is in a foreign nation." Oh, the questions this all raises are mind boggling. Vote Obama on Tuesday and end all the confusion.

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11:09 am, Oct 31, 2008

oldskoolgirl

I agree with LeRossey Girl, this is a sad waste of human energy.

We need every human and social group to focus on the many problems our world faces TODAY as a result of the MANY mistakes made during the centuries of slavery that existed world wide.

This generation needs us to be positively focused - to resolve the consequences of these mistakes for our present and our children's future.

Hate and negativity can't change the past, wrong or right.

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11:38 am, Oct 31, 2008

factchecker08

Ladyhawke08, please give valid sources for any such charge regarding cuba and ayers. I have been attempting to research and could not find anything in the New York Times. You source the canadafreepress article which when I researched this company and the author found it not to be a valid newspaper source. I mean she is considered fringe by the far right. So if you are going to claim that the New York times or the FBI has this information please source the original source not someones personal belief. Of course if you do give a valid source. I stand corrected... on another thing I kind of agree that just charging that far right fring groups that attend a rally does not indicate that McCain and Palin are associating with Nazi colloborators, Latin DeathSquads, or the Alaskan Independence party.

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11:43 am, Oct 31, 2008

dagdavid

That's called appealing to the base.

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12:54 pm, Oct 31, 2008
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Guess Who Came to the Palin Rally?

by Max Blumenthal

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