There coming close to crossing a line to advocating violence. When a wingnut calls a black cameraman at a McCain event a niger and someone shouts to kill Obama, then it's time to cool down the passions.
I agree, I am glad to see many conservatives renouncing this inflammatory speech and questioning whether this ticket is competent. Any intelligent conservative would never vote for people who espouse this nonsense.
US Supreme Court: Hate Speech
Unique among courts in the world, the Supreme Court has extended broad protection in the area of hate speech—abusive, insulting, intimidating, and harassing speech that at the least fosters hatred and discrimination and at its worst promotes violence and killing. The justices have consistently held that statutes punishing speech or conduct solely on the grounds that they are unseemly or offensive are unconstitutionally overly broad. Only by protecting all forms of speech can the public be assured of uninhibited, vigorous, and wide-open debate.
http://www.answers.com/topic/hate-speech
McCain and Palin Are Playing With Fire By Khaled Hosseini
"What I find most unconscionable is the refusal of the McCain-Palin tandem to publicly condemn the cries of "traitor," "liar," "terrorist" and (worst of all) "kill him!" that could be heard at recent rallies. McCain is perfectly capable of telling hecklers off. But not once did he or his running mate bother to admonish the people yelling these obscene -- and potentially dangerous -- words. They may not have been able to hear the slurs at the rallies, but surely they have had ample time since to get on camera and warn that this sort of ugliness has no place in an election season. But they have not. Simply calling Obama "a decent person" is not enough."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy.../10/10/AR2008101002456.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
And John Sweeney
"Sen. John McCain, Gov. Sarah Palin and the leadership of the Republican party have a fundamental moral responsibility to denounce the violent rhetoric that has pervaded recent McCain and Palin political rallies," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, which has endorsed Obama. "When rally attendees shout out such attacks as 'terrorist' or 'kill him' about Sen. Barack Obama, when they are cheered on by crowds incited by McCain-Palin rhetoric -- it is chilling that McCain and Palin do nothing to object.
"In a world where unspeakable violence is too often promulgated by extremists, it is no small or trivial matter to call someone a terrorist -- or to incite potentially dangerous individuals toward violence," Sweeney said in a statement. "John McCain, Sarah Palin and Republican leaders are walking a very thin line in pretending not to hear the hateful invectives spewed at their rallies. McCain should end this line of attack in the strongest possible terms. Anything less puts McCain in the same camp as the racists and extremists who are bringing their angry rhetoric to his campaign events."
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/10/labor_warns_mcc.html
