POLITICO REPORTS: CIVIL RIGHTS ICON, JOHN LEWIS, SAYS McCAIN/PALIN STIR HATE

Civil rights icon says McCain stirs hate

By: Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin October 11, 2008 04:21 PM EST
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14488.html

Civil rights icon John Lewis compared Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to George Wallace in a posting to Politico's forum "The Arena," accusing McCain of fostering “an atmosphere of hate” and “hostility” like the one that led to white supremacists’ 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala. Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia who has endorsed Obama, pointed in his posting to “the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign,” and said the senator and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, “are sowing the seeds of hatred and division.”

McCain, in a book he wrote with aide Mark Salter called “Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life,” had lauded the leadership of Lewis in the non-violent civil-rights movement. McCain called the accusation “shocking and beyond the pale” and called on Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to repudiate it."

Brad Woodhouse of the Democratic National Committee said on Fox News: "I don't think Senator Obama would agree with that. ... I don’t think we would agree with those comments."Lewis didn't accuse McCain of imitating Wallace, but suggested there were similarities. His sharp words may be dismissed as those of a partisan Democrat in a campaign season. But the former head of SNCC and hero of Selma is somebody who McCain has lavished praise upon over the years, including in his book on courage and bravery and repeatedly invoking Lewis's name in public appearances. Appearing with Obama at a forum at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in August, McCain included Lewis as one of "three wise men" he would consult as president. "He can teach us all a lot about the meaning of courage and commitment to causes greater than our self-interest," McCain said of Lewis. Now, Lewis is castigating McCain in the harshest of terms. "George Wallace never threw a bomb," Lewis noted.

"He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama." McCain quickly fired back hard, calling the comments “a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale.” “The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama's record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign,” McCain said in the statement.

“I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track. McCain also put the onus on Obama to distance himself from the remarks: "I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.” The full Lewis posting, sent to Politico's Fred Barbash, referee of "The Arena," with the heading “Rep. John Lewis On Hostility of McCain-Palin Campaign": “As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign. What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse. “During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better.”

Politico has asked the Obama campaign for comment.