HARRISBURG, PA – I’m back in Pennsylvania, a swing state in this election, and I’m learning about an e-mail that went out to some Jewish voters from a Republican organization here warning them to not vote for Barack Obama. The e-mail says that would be making the same mistake that led to the Holocaust.
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania is repudiating the mailing, which it says it did not authorize. The e-mail was signed by the Republican Federal Committee of PA – Victory 2008. CampaignMoney.com, a non-partisan site that tracks contributions to federal political campaigns, lists the group as a political action committee based in Harrisburg at 717 N. 2nd Street, the same address as the state Republican Party.
According to the Associated Press which received a copy from the Democratic Party, the e-mail reads, in part, “Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake. Let’s not make a similar one this year!”
These are politics of fear, designed to scare Jewish voters who might be inclined to cast their ballots for Obama into voting for John McCain. It, like many of the negative campaign tactics employed by members of both parties, is distasteful and reprehensible.
It’s a real shame that, with heightened interest in this presidential campaign, opportunities to address the issues have been squandered in favor of campaign slogans and character assassinations. The number of encounters I’ve had with voters who don’t even know where Obama and McCain stand on key issues is disturbing. Sadly, many people are basing their decisions on who to vote for for president on appearances and impressions rather than on facts.
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania state GOP deserves credit for quickly disavowing the e-mail and firing the person who wrote it.
Support for Paul in Pennsylvania
BERWICK, PA – Barack Obama disparagingly made the comment about people in Pennsylvania clinging to their Bibles and guns when economic times turn sour.
Well, he may have not been so far from the truth. Except, people here are proud of that.
That was one of many points made by Dan Warner as he explained why he has both a gun and a Bible in his nightstand.
Warner, who graciously invited us into his home to discuss the presidential campaign on News Talk Online, lives in Pennsylvania, a key state in this campaign.
A conservative Republican, Warner is voting for neither Obama nor John McCain. His vote, a write in, will be, he says, for Ron Paul.
Paul, who many in the media were dismissive of when he was running for the Republican nomination for president, is now a sought after interview; now that his predictions about the economy have turned true.
Someone in the virtual auditorium on Paltalk suggested that a vote for Paul would be a wasted vote. Not in Warner’s mind.
“My vote for Paul will be a vote for conscious, a vote for real change and a message to the two parties that they offer no real choice,” Warner says.
“When you get right down to it, there’s little significant difference between Obama and McCain.”
Next stop: Columbus, Ohio.
Reason to smile
Pennsylvania is considered a key swing state in the presidential election. In a race in which polls show Barack Obama leading nationwide by
8 points.
In 2004, Pennsylvania’s 23 electoral votes went for John Kerry. But just barely so. So the Republicans have believed it possible to swing the state red this year.
But the number of registrations by Democratic voters serves as an ominous precursor to the John McCain campaign.
Now, registrations don’t necessarily translate into votes on Election Day. But this has to be a number that the McCain camp is looking at with a degree of trepidation.
Today’s News Talk Online on Paltalk.com will be live from Berwick, PA at 5 PM New York time. We’ll talk about some voter attitudes in the state. To join in the conversation
CLICK HERE.
Starting tomorrow, October 17, News Talk Online will be on the road to the White House, talking to voters in and broadcasting live from two key battleground states.
First stop is swing state Pennsylvania. Then it’s west to Ohio to discuss how pivotal that state is and also concerns, there, about alleged fraud in past presidential elections and the fear of skulduggery during the November vote.
We’ll finish off our coverage with a visit to economically hard-hit southeastern Michigan.
To join in the conversation at 5 PM New York time Monday-Friday
CLICK HERE. There is no charge.
Paltalk is the largest multimedia interactive program on the Internet with more than 4 million unique users.
News Talk Online is also syndicated by CRN Digital Talk Radio to an additional 12 million households.
