John McCain backer dropped from Virginia campaign team due to racially tinged column

John McCain's campaign has denounced and rejected a racially charged, anti-Barack Obama newspaper column written by one of the Republican campaign's organizers in Virginia,and has removed the author-activist from his post as a member of the candidate's statewide leadership team.

The column by Bobby May appeared in a southwestern Virginia newspaper,The Voice, and drew attention after it was cited in a Sunday Los Angeles Times report about how voters in that mostly white region were reacting to potentially electing the country's first black president.

May, who in July was named his county's Republican representative on the McCain statewide campaign team, offered a spoof of Obama's platfrom and plans in his recent column.

Examples: Obama would hire the rapper Ludacris (a prominent supporter) to paint the White House black. And the....

...Democrat's administration would divert more foreign aid to Africa so "the Obama family there can skim enough to allow them to free their goats and live the American Dream."

May also joked that Obama would replace the 50 stars on the U.S. flag "with a star and crescent logo," an Islamic symbol, and that his policy on drugs would be to "raise taxes to pay for Obama's inner-city political base."

McCain spokeswoman Gail Gitcho, in a written statement announcing that May was being dropped from the campaign team, said the attempts at humor "are offensive, insulting and have no place in political discourse. Mr. May's comments in no way reflect the views or opinions held by John McCain or his campaign. The McCain campaign wholeheartedly disavows Mr. May's column."

Gitcho said the campaign first learned of May's column from the author himself after he had been contacted by The Times. In interviews with the paper, May defended his column as a tongue-in-cheek parody of Obama's views and insisted it was not racist.

The McCain campaign did not see it that way.

"The moment the campaign learned of Mr. May's comments, we immediately removed him from his campaign position," Gitcho said. "Mr. May is no longer a part of our campaign organization."

Gitcho added: "Race should never ever, ever play a role in American politics."

-- Peter Wallsten

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Comments

[Straight Talk]

If John McCain removed all racists from his campaign, his candidacy would grind to a screeching halt.

[steve rodriguez]

If you think that the economy is bad now, just wait till big government, high taxes, no drilling, special interest group orriented, and 163 day US Senate experience Barrack Obama comes to Washington to take a full time 24/7 job!
Can he really handle all that?

[COL. A.M.Khajawall[Ret[]

McCain-palin tactics and temperament.
.
Dear concerned citizens of America and Mass Media of the U.S.A.
As a concerned registered independent voter, forensic psychiatrist, disabled American I made my decision to vote after taking into consideration following joint tickets attributes and characteristics.

1. Has the ticket shown adequate calmness, coolness, and connectedness's under pressure to lead our nation [Presidential Temperament]?
2. Has the ticket shown sustained sound "Judgment and Caliber"?
3. Has the ticket shown adequate understanding of depth and degree to address the crucial challenges in their their purpose, policies, and positions [ Honesty, integrity and sincerity]?
4. Has the ticket sufficient "understanding and knowledge" of inside Washington workings [Experience]"?
5. Has the ticket reservoir resilience, wisdom, and vigor to address the present and future f our beloved "Great-grand Nation"?
6. Has the ticket enough joint foreign policy experience and exposure based on " Values, Virtues, Vastness, and " [American moral soul]"?
7. Has their campaign talk, slogans, ads, plans, and programs based on facts and are they free of fear, fiction, frivolous labels, unfair attacks, negativity, and impulsively? [No "imminent danger to national
security and safety"].
8. Has the ticket genuinely kept on message of country first and politics last and avoided copying [Message change"]?
9.Has the ticket message stayed away from Culture divide and war[ Disaster prevention ]?
10. Has the ticket resisted being surrounded, supported and surrogate's by divisiveness, distortion's, and destructive characters, [ Real patriotism VS shiftiness and shameless parrot-ism]?
11. Has the ticket thoughtful, real non-partisan, & non-impulsive plans to address our current economic crisis or political tactics and temperamental statements.
I have personally and professionally concluded that OBAMA-BIDEN ticket will lift and inspire our greatgrand nation back to its greatness within and restore our global standing with the use of maximum, firm
international diplomacy and minimal force if and when indicated {" Peace thru Strenght "}.
12. The era of responsibility has to replace irresponsibility and unaccountability will change to accountability and transparency. The Wall Street greed will change to Main Street need.
13. Temperamental and Angry McCain is out to play and create a card mistrust and distress around Obama with the Vail of claim that he will bring bipartisanship in Washington DC. He is destroying him claim every by painting Obama naive. It is tragic, sad, and unfortunate that so called Maverick McCain has already generated a disdain and demeaning face off in the debates and bailout suggestion. Obama is real Presidential and he maintained a smile during the debate and while McCain had a constant grin and disdain towards Obama.
Yours sincerely,
COL. A.M.Khajawall [Ret] MD.
Forensic psychiatrist, Disabled American Veteran and Iraq
Freedom team. Grass roots California leader per Senator McCain's mailings
PS: It is sad and unfortunate that Hon, Temperamental and angry Maverick McCain has changed into bitter rather than better man. Do not blame palin, Blame McCain for his impulsiveness and self-agrandisement.

[john nk]

Hypocrisy is the name of the game. Now, I'm lost.. trying to find another name to call most of McCain's attacks against this 'uppity' called Obama, beside racism..... maybe, poor old Mccain can help.
It should be a mock apt to be rendered to tell the USA Senate to stand adjourned until Mccain comes up with a name.
And it might take forever for the grumbling old man to say something

[NM Democrat]

I commend McCain's campaign for rebuking this man's bile. Now if they could just stop playing the guilt by association game, one might be able to see what substantive reasonable things he has to offer.

The problem is, I fear, that McCain is on the losing end of every substantive issue Americans care about. Let's remember though, if we are going to boil everything down to associations-- real or imagined-- McCain loses resoundingly there too. He is better off taking his chances on real issues:

1. Charles Keating-- Keating 5 scandal (the last major economic tank out had, guess who as a central player? McCain was upbraided for his involvement). The press should have brought this up in the wake of the bank tank outs and McCain's claim of being for regulation of the industry (um. ok). This association is relevant to McCain's decisions TODAY.

2. Gordon Liddy--McCain was not 8 years old when this man was embroiled in scandal, but was, in fact, a grown up before and during the time he was palling around with this now ex-convict, Watergate key player, who has advocated shooting government officials (Bureau of ATF) in the head.

3. John Singlaub--Iran Contra embroilee and fellow board member with McCain of World Anti Communist League, an ultra conservative organization widely considered anti-semitic and racist.

4. John Hagee who aside from being a racist of the first degree with regard to Muslims AND JEWS even has said that the Catholic church is full of Nazi-loving whores and that the church is a whore (http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1393). A huge percentage of Catholics are Republican on cultural issues. Big mistake. McCain has distanced himself from this man now, but accepted his endorsement eagerly in the primaries when he was having a difficult time garnering evangelical support.

5. Todd Palin--belonged to a group that wants to secede from the United States and whose founder stated things like "I've got no use for America or Her damned institutions" and “The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government,” and“And I won’t be buried under their damn flag,” that make Reverand Wright's Black Liberation theology sermons look positively patriotic by comparison.

6. McCains Family values: a) cheating on and leaving his first disabled wife after she waited for him during the uncertain POW years; b) anecdotal and exhaustive accounts over the years of foul language, temper, misogyny, adultery, uncollegiality with his fellow senators, and general misanthropism; c) his current wife who movingly stated during the primary season that there has not been a single day in her life that she has not been proud to be an American--unlike, presumably, Michelle Obama who apparently as a black woman who grew up in the war-zone of south side Chicago is not permitted to express anything other than complete puppet like adoration for every second she has been an American even while black people were still being lynched in her lifetime--but Cindy was proud to be an American while she was stealing money, forging prescriptions, and committing fraud against the American charity for which she was working to support her drug habit.

THE HYPOCRISY. Let's talk about the issues.

[alex]

The McCain team is hinting Obama is unamerican and might want to harm this country. They are playing the racial card subtlely. This is the old George W Bush ugly politics.

[Grant]

There are some racist elements here, but I'm more offended that the McCain/Palin campaign didn't even mention the blatant homophobia displayed. While they claim that they believe that gays and lesbians are equal human beings under the law (they tolerate us!), they made no comment about May's disgusting comments aoud the GLBT Community.

I am NOT a sexual pervert. Not all gays are members of NAMBLA. Gay men and lesbians who choose to give their lives for their country are NOT sexual predators. They should be commended for being willing to live in silence and to lie about who they are just for the "right" to put themselves in harm's way every single day so that we can have the freedom of speech that May enjoys daily.

How dare he.

[Grundy Teacher]

As a resident of Buchanan County , Virginia , I would off my sincere apology to everyone that has read this horrible article

[Ronda]

Its nice that McCain fired May. Now how about cleaning house starting with some of his advisors.

[Jennifer - Prince William County]

Wow, how disappointing to see some individuals within the McCain camp stoop to such demeaning actions.
It's 2008 for goodness sake!
I'm quite sure McCain is thoroughly embarrassed!
What happened to not making personal attacks and addressing policy, political decisions?

How sad are Mays' antics?.

[Daniel Zubairi]

Its interesting that this same person who said "race should never play a role in american politics" went ahead and engaged in anti-islamic rhetoric herself by censoring muslims in leadership positions on the campaign.