The Republican Party has spent the last few days in an awkward spiral of jingoism, as evidenced by a slew of controversial statements. Let’s review the events of the last few days:

Friday, 10/17:

Representative Michele Bachman (R-Minnesota) states that she is “very concerned that [Barack Obama] may have anti-American views”

Saturday, 10/18

Representative Robin Hayes (R- North Carolina) tells a crowd that “liberals hate real Americans that …believe in God.”

Sunday, 10/19

Sarah Palin levies a new line of attack against Barack Obama by implying that an Obama Presidency would be an “experiment with socialism”.

Tuesday, 10/21:

Sarah Palin is forced to apologize for earlier suggestions that some areas of the United States are “Pro-America”; and that, by association, other areas of the country are less patriotic.

My fellow Americans, this is NOT an isolated series of unrelated Gaffs. These gaffes are the embarrassing side-effect of the Republican Party’s mindset; that it can successfully use the tactics of Joseph McCarthy, a politician who gained power by publicly targeting individuals and groups as Anti-American, Communists, and Atheists.

Yes, these statements are evidence that the Republican Party is returning to the values of McCarthyism to help them win this election. They do, in fact, want to paint Barack Obama as a communist, but they can’t because they wouldn’t be taken seriously.

Instead, the Republican Party is exploiting politically convenient semantics; “socialism” is closely enough associated with “communism” to concern Americans.

What the Republican Party has risked by playing by Joseph McCarthy’s rules is the possibility of redefining the concept of the “Red Scare”.

According to The Hill, Susan Bruce, a campaign blogger for New Hampshire Representative Carol Shea-Porter, was recently forced to resign after she raised the legitimate concern about Sarah Palin’s abysmal public treatment of her children, including her down syndrome afflicted son, Trig:

“I don’t think that putting a scarlet letter on your own teenager and throwing her to the wolves in front of the whole world is something to be proud of [and] I don’t think that using a special needs baby as a prop on late night TV appearances is a value to crow about.”

Since being selected to the Republican Ticket, Sarah Palin has made a continuous spectacle of appearing at public speaking events with Trig. Likewise, Sarah Palin has cast her unwed, pregnant, teenage daughter Bristol into the spotlight in an attempt to emphasise her “traditional family” values.

There is a gratuitous example of misplaced outrage. The GOP’s complaint was that such comments wouldn’t be permissible against Barack Obama. And they’re right.

Complaints about Barack Obama aren’t permissible because Barack Obama is a responsible parent who keeps his children in school, where they belong.

The LAST thing that a pregnant teenager and a mentally challenged infant deserve is the agenda-driven overexposure to the stress of a political campaign. If the Palin Family was being investigated by Social Services, the Palin children would have been placed in protective custody by now.

Susan Bruce was forced to resign because, in the absence of social services, somebody had to raise these legitimate concerns about Sarah Palin’s parenting skills. And in the abscense of the GOPs family values, somebody had to be martyred for doing so.

Americans ought to be ashamed that today is a National Holiday dedicated to Christopher Columbus.

Columbus Day has it’s origins in the archaic and discredited myth that Christopher Columbus was a brave explorer who “discovered” America and initiated widespread contact between Europeans and Native Americans. The fact that Columbus Day is still a national holiday suggests that we, as Americans, are collectively ignorant about certain facts:

1) Christopher Columbus never actually set foot in America. His four voyages took him around present-day Cuba, Haiti/Dominican Republic, and miscellaneous Caribbean and South American countries.

2) If it is possible to discover an inhabited place, then Christopher Columbus “discovered America” 500 years after the Viking Leif Ericson.

And this is the overlooked fact that should (but evidently doesn’t) cause us National Embarrassment:

3) Christopher Columbus Tortured, Murdered, Kidnapped, Enslaved, and attempted to forcibly convert thousands of natives, many of whom died from exhaustion, disease, or starvation.

So what are we really celebrating on Columbus Day? What we’re celebrating is an unnecessary excuse for the Government and the Economic Sector to have a 3-day weekend.

A Quick Tact Quiz for My Readers:

Question: You are a prominent politicians hosting a political rally. While talking about your opponent, your supporters yell “TERRORIST!”, “TRAITOR”, and “KILL HIM!”. Which of the following choices is the right course of action:

A) Calmly ask your supporters to refrain from such inappropriate language
B) Have security remove and detain the supporter who threatened the life of your opponent
c) Accuse your opponent of supporting and attacking your supporters.

If your answer was C, then you might be affiliated with the McCain Campaign.

Yes, the John McCain campaign issued the below statement in response to Barack Obama’s offense at being jeered as a terrorist and traitor (and having his life threatened).

“Barack Obama’s assault on our supporters is insulting and unsurprising….It is clear that Barack Obama just doesn’t understand regular people and the issues they care about.”

It’s inaccurate to say that John McCain took the low road in refusing to defend his opponent against hate speech and death threats. There isn’t a road low enough to describe John McCain’s attacks on Barack Obama’s righteous indignation.

John McCain is counting on the tactics of the Klu Klux Klan to win this election: encourage ignorant peoples’ hate speech and threats against Negroes and hope that he can surf the wave of emotion this causes.