California Election and Civil Rights Attorney Discusses Republican 2008 Presidential Election Tactics, Robo Calls and Negative Ads

I am deeply concerned, not just as a Civil Rights advocate, and not just as as a constitutional and first amendment lawyer and as an election attorney in California, but simply as an American at the election campaign tactics I am seeing in this 2008 Presidential election by the Republican party. Even as criticism mounts from both Democrats and Republicans, the tactics being employed by the Republican Presidential candidates are destroying any semblance of truth and fairness in the election process and using discrimination to try to gain votes.

Now we are hearing of the latest tactic by John McCain, the very candidate who previously criticized this tactic in a previous election - robo calls. Robo calls are automated telephone calls that are negative attacks on the other candidate, only instead of airing these ads on television, they come by way of the telephone, usually when you are having dinner.

John McCain only days before he began using these robo calls, criticized the Democratic candidate for allegedly spending more money than any campaign in history on negative ads. Whether this claim is true or not in terms of money, it does not appear to be true in its inference that Obama is using a greater percentage of his ads on negative ads. That would be John McCain's campaign.

In his latest tactic, John McCain has clearly crossed the line once again by using these automated calls to tell voters that Barack Obama allegedly voted against a bill that would give care to babies born alive after abortions, that Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington, that Obama places Hollywood above America, that he has worked closely with a terrorist, and that Obama lacks the judgment to lead the country.

Now add the inferences by the Republican party and/or their candidates, surrogates and the people introducing the candidates at rallies that the Democratic candidate is unpatriotic, has an arab sounding middle name, is a person to be scared of, or is a person who can't be trusted, who has a hidden agenda, or who by virtue of an association with someone who did something when the candidate was eight years old, is a terrorist. Is it any wonder that a woman, at a rally like so many others for the Republicans where hate-filled shouts have been made in recent days, told John McCain she had read that Barack Obama was an Arab?

How, after all these years of improving race relations in this country, are these tactics and election advertisements being allowed to cause civil rights leaders and members of the public fear they are taking us back to times in this country that we thought were behind us? How can a candidate who claims he puts his country first make every attempt to divide this country? We all know that John McCain, who has a long and honorable past, is a better man than what we are seeing at his rallies or on one particular news station. Yet, we continue to see actions and comments at Republican rallies and now these robo calls that have now drawn the ire not just of civil rights activists but even the concern of other Republican Congressmen and Senators. Is it any wonder that Colin Powell, a Republican who served as Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Adviser under Republican Administrations has come out in support of Barack Obama and criticized the campaign tactics of John McCain, the latest of which is to infer that Obama's policies are socialist.

In the last several elections, the focus of many of the most objectionable tactics were to pit religious voters against voters for whom religion was not an issue, based on perceived stances by one or the other candidate on religious issues. This type of insinuation has also been used this year against the democratic candidate, on the basis of an incorrect assumption by some and an intentional mischaracterization by others that since Obama was born in Kenya, he must be a Muslim.

More anger and consternation was brought to the surface this year with the strong showing by Hillary Clinton in the primaries and the selection of Sarah Palin as the vice presidential running mate of John McCain. With questions raised in particular toward Sarah Palin of whether she could be vice president and still be a good mother, women cried gender discrimination foul at the media.

Is it naive to ask why a candidate's religion ever enter into the debate? If the candidate says he won't let it interfere with his being fair and evenhanded, shouldn't that be the end of it? Why should a candidate's age be a problem if they are knowledgeable and not in bad health, if the Vice Presidential candidate is qualified as well? Why should a person's gender ever be a problem? But to many voters, these aspects of a candidate are the most if not the only reason for how they will vote.

Perhaps we, as a nation, are forced to accept that at election time, some of people's worst sides rise to the forefront in our election process, but shouldn't we be better than that, and shouldn't the persons we are asked to elect be better than that?

If the polls are any indication, this year we may just see a backlash against those who would make discriminatory inferences, and whose party would use false allegations as the basis for part of their campaigns. It may be naive, but it is hoped that based on a few comments made in the last few days by John McCain, before the election is over and with signs he is behind in the polls, John McCain will repudiate the statements made out of anger and fear by supporters at his rallies even more forcefully than in some earlier statements and again repeat that his supporters should be respectful of Barack Obama and his accomplishments. For at this time in our country's history, our country can least afford to be torn apart by campaign strategies that have little to do with solving our country's economic crisis.

If you have a civil rights or discrimination legal matter of any kind, we have the knowledge and resources to be your California Civil Rights Lawyers, and California Discrimination Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with civil rights lawyers who can represent you from Palm Springs, Malibu, Rancho Cucamonga, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Anaheim, Irvine, La Jolla, El Cajon, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Temecula, Palm Desert, Yorba Linda, Carlsbad, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Murrieta, to Indian Wells and La Quinta.

If you have a civil rights, constitutional or discrimination legal matter of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.