Panic Attacks?

Jonathan Martin write about the behavior we're seeing at McCain-Palin rallies being the result of conservative panic. His opening paragraphs:

The unmistakable momentum behind Barack Obama's campaign, combined with worry that John McCain is not doing enough to stop it, is ratcheting up fears and frustrations among conservatives.

And nowhere is this emotion on plainer display than at Republican rallies, where voters this week have shouted out insults at the mention of Obama, pleaded with McCain to get more aggressive with the Democrat and generally demonstrated the sort of visceral anger and unease that reflects a party on the precipice of panic.

Yes, the GOP is on the precipice of a monumental loss to a Democrat, but attributing the panic to fears about losing glosses over the most important factor: race. The vitriol spewing forth in 2008 is of a different order than what we saw in 2004 or 2000. It's different than what we saw in 1992. It's important that stories like Martin's are published, but it's just as crucial that they publish the full story. What we're witnessing is decades of post-Civil Rights latent racism finding an amplifier in a presidential candidate with dark skin and a funny name.

Friday, October 10, 2008