Text 4618, 97 rader
Skriven 2007-06-22 15:51:40 av Alan Hess
Ärende: poisonous politics
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It's true, as we've said often:
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Boston.com     

The Boston Globe
JOAN VENNOCHI
Poisonous politics

By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist  |  June 21, 2007

IMAGINE WAVING a sign that says "McCain -- traitor" in the face of a former
Navy combat pilot who spent five years as a prisoner of war after his plane was
shot down in Vietnam.

Protesters did that recently to Senator John McCain as the Arizona Republican
walked into a New York fund-raiser. It's the price he pays for supporting
controversial immigration legislation that proposes a path to citizenship for
an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

Those placards are bad news for McCain's presidential bid. But they are also
emblematic of the poisonous immigration debate and the degraded state of
American politics.

"I'm a pretty tough guy, and I'm not asking for any sympathy," McCain said
during a recent sit-down with Boston Globe editors and reporters. But "you see
something like that and you think, Wow, what would make these women . . . think
I'm a traitor?"

Today, the streets, radio air waves, and blogosphere burst with insults and
epithets. But there is something especially crude about using the word
"traitor" to attack McCain.

When he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967, McCain's captors offered him early
release because of his family's military legacy. His grandfather and father
were both four-star admirals in the U S Navy. He declined the offer and
suffered the harsh consequences. In his book, "Faith of my Fathers," McCain
describes the torture he underwent over the next five years, which he points
out was not as severe as that experienced by some prisoners with lower
profiles. He also writes about the shame he felt over a confession he signed
after some of that torture wore him down.

And now, McCain's patriotism is questioned by conservatives who disagree with
him over immigration. Never mind his service to country in Vietnam or all those
years in Washington.

Republicans usually attack the patriotism of Democrats to score political
points. It happened to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, another Vietnam War
veteran, during his 2004 presidential bid. The White House regularly uses that
mode of attack to undermine anti war Democrats. Those who voted against funding
for the Iraq war are said to be against the troops. Now, a fellow Republican is
getting the treatment from conservatives on the campaign trail.

McCain is in a tough political place. His support for the Iraq war is unpopular
with independent voters. His support for controversial immigration legislation
is just as unpopular with conservative voters. The disconnect with the GOP base
is serious, and it could represent the end of McCain's presidential
aspirations. National polls are running against McCain, as well as those in
Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

That's current political reality, which McCain said he accepts. As he now
regularly tells interviewers, he would rather stick to principles than be
president. "I'd rather lose a campaign than lose a war," he said at the Globe.
". . . You really have to stand for what you believe in. " If you don't "Then,
what's the point of winning?"

Conservative voters have every right to search for a candidate who more closely
represents their views on immigration and other issues. And the First Amendment
affords a precious right to express support or displeasure. But calling McCain
a traitor for trying to reach consensus on a difficult political issue says
more about immigration opponents than it does about McCain.

Name-calling trumps rational debate and problem-solving. Political discourse
regularly slides past mean to ugly. In this case, it comes from the right, but
the left contributes its share, too.

Republicans and Democrats running for president are pushed to the extremes of
their respective parties. That and his billionaire status explain why New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg could drop his Republican affiliation and contemplate a
bid for the presidency as an independent.

"In prison, I fell in love with my country" writes McCain in "Faith of my
Fathers." "I had loved her before then, but like most young people, my
affection was little more than a simple appreciation for the comforts and
privileges most Americans enjoyed and took for granted. It wasn't until I had
lost America for a time that I realized how much I loved her."

Those are the words of a patriot, who knows to the core what America means. The
sign-holders are the traitors who betray the American dream.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.  
+ Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
 

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