Here's the problem with the claims that McCain and Palin just don't have any control over what their supporters say, especially when they say something like "KILL HIM!!!" when McCain attacks Obama.

Say you go to a McCain event, and instead of yelling "KILL HIM!!!", you yell "STOP THE WAR!!!" or yell something even slightly progressive.

Oh, yeah. First, a chorus of local college Republican frat boys immediately drown you out with a rousing chant of "USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!" Then McCain likely does interrupt his speech so he can send a snarky remark in your direction, and finally, a dozen security goons descend on you and throw you out, possibly arresting you and beating you to a pulp in the process. I've watched enough McCain stump speeches on TV to see this happen a few times.

But if someone says "KILL HIM" when McCain mentions Obama? Gee, nothing happens. That's the thing. McCain DOES know how to control his crowds. He does know how to interrupt a bad vibe in his crowds and redirect them to a more positive direction, and he did just that after everyone called him out on his homicidal supporters. He has security personnel to deal with criminal threats in his crowds, and he even has chant teams to drown out screaming assholes. But he doesn't use them. He chooses not to.

FUCK YOU, MCCAIN!!!

rally versus a rhetorical refrain at a friendly high school football game on a Friday night.

If these people are not rebuked, removed, and questioned, it's a matter of time before you have an individual looking for vengeance on his life and goes looking for his target.

These people might see no other options. They've been told for so long that the left is a bunch of commies/traitors/terrorists/baby killers/etc. that they have mentally dehumanized us and see us simply as "The Enemy." The rather obvious conclusion for them if Obama wins (or is winning), therefore, is that they may see it as up to them to do "what is right" and "protect their country" and whatever horseshit they've been fed. To such a person, they probably would see themselves as some sort of ultimate patriot, and the more McCain, Palin, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and others demonize and dehumanize us, the more natural that reaction will become to them.

The church shooting in Tennessee was a sad example of how people might react when they get desperate enough.

The fact that now we are talking about the same thing, but with obviously coded racist elements to it just makes it that much more volatile, and considering how Obama has managed to run a pretty clean campaign which tries to stay on issue and appeal to ALL Americans instead of just his base, that much more disgusting.

With the hate ramped up like this, it won't take much to trigger assassination attempts, or even have the Timothy McVeighs and Eric Rudolphs come out of the woodwork and do some bombings...

McCain damned well could have kept his campaign's tone civil, rebuked anyone who expressed violent thoughts in his audience and calmed tensions by saying "We're gonna win, but we'll win the right way, not through violence."

Instead, he deliberately chose to cultivate hatred in his audience, and only did anything at all when he was called out on it.

What happens to our millions of early and absentee votes for Obama if they kill him? :hurts:

Certainly, they've been encouraged by the Bushies to be "selective" in how they protect their VIPs and enforce the laws. Hopefully, there are enough professionals in there to keep Obama and his family, and all the others they protect, safe.

He wants us to believe that he can't control his crowds. He wants us to let it go when he gives that "Aw shucks" shrug when asked about people screaming "KILL HIM!!!" about Obama at his rallies.

But the truth is that McCain can shut that shit down in a heartbeat if he chose. Look how fast hecklers and anti-war protesters get ejected. Look at how his volunteers immediately jump into action with those USA! USA! USA! chants when someone yells "STOP THE WAR!" or "NO BLOOD FOR OIL!" And note that when a heckler does manage to run the gauntlet and get some attention, McCain does interrupt his speech to say something snarky about the protester or question his patriotism. It's only after he got publicly called out for his supporter's behavior that he made some lip-service for civility.

In other words, if McCain wanted to shut down the hatetards screaming for Obama's death, he could do it instantly. But he chooses not to. He chooses to gain political points at the expense of civility. He prioritizes his own election over the lives and safety of Obama, his family and his supporters.

Fuck him.