Anger, the Waukesha Rally, and the Mainstream Media

The Washington Post is wrong.

This headline is wrong: Anger Is Crowd's Overarching Emotion at McCain Rally.

I was at the town hall meeting in Waukesha.

Anger wasn't the emotion that reigned at the event.

I don't like the spin that The Post is putting on the people of Wisconsin.

There were shouts of "Nobama" and "Socialist" at the mention of the Democratic presidential nominee. There were boos, middle fingers turned up and thumbs turned down as a media caravan moved through the crowd Thursday for a midday town hall gathering featuring John McCain and Sarah Palin.

"It is absolutely vital that you take it to Obama, that you hit him where it hits, there's a soft spot," said James T. Harris, a local radio talk show host, who urged the Republican nominee to use Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., and others against him.

"We have the good Reverend Wright. We have [the Rev. Michael L.] Pfleger. We have all of these shady characters that have surrounded him," Harris bellowed. "We have corruption here in Wisconsin and voting across the nation. I am begging you, sir. I am begging you. Take it to him."

The crowd of thousands roared its approval.

In recent days, a campaign that embraced the mantra of "Country First" but is flagging in the polls and scrambling for a way to close the gap as the nation's economy slides into shambles has found itself at the center of an outpouring of raw emotion rare in a presidential race.

...The crowds that show up for his rallies these days appear to have little appetite for the talk of bipartisan compromise that had been at the heart of his message around the Republican National Convention. During a rally outside a small airport in Mosinee, Wis., on Thursday, McCain said that "it's time we come together, Democrats and Republicans to work together. That's my record. I'll reach across the aisle."

The crowd stood silent.

This clearly is the latest spin that the lib media have decided to push.

Only McCain's supporters are angry, outraged, out for blood.

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and their supporters aren't depicted in the same manner.

When Obama's supporters express their desire to have President Bush and Vice President Cheney tried for war crimes, that's passion.

When during the VP debate Joe Biden says something as inflammatory as "Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history," that's considered a reasonable comment from an experienced lawmaker.

(I wonder if Biden has heard of SITTING Vice President Aaron Burr killing Alexander Hamilton.)

When Obama calls for his supporters "to argue with [Republicans and Independents] and get in their face," that's being a leader.

See a pattern?

It's a nauseating double standard.

The Post highlights comments from the angry pro-McCain mob:

"No, I'm not mad, I'm pissed," said Joan Schmitz, who owns a plumbing company here. She said she was frustrated with polls showing Obama surging, McCain's performance in a Tuesday night debate, Obama himself, the media, and the liberal group ACORN, which she said was registering voters fraudulently.

Noting Obama's connections with Ayers, she said that "if it was a Republican, it would be nonstop," referring to what she said was the media ignoring the controversial acquaintance.

"I can't stand to look at him, I don't trust him. I don't like the circle of friends he keeps, I don't like his policies," Schmitz said of Obama. "I'm pissed off by it. I'm beyond mad. How is he climbing up in the polls?"

No one interviewed me.

Not everyone at the rally was seething with anger.

And for those who were, I don't see why The Post doesn't use the same standards that they use to judge Obama's supporters.

Why not call them "engaged" or "passionate" or "fired up"?

On the way into the event, the Republican Party of Wisconsin handed out fliers reading "Your Vote Is Being Stolen," an anti-ACORN leaflet that concluded, "Why is vote fraud allowed? Vote fraud is allowed since it benefits Democrats."

Every American should be horrified at what is happening in regard to ACORN. Every American should be angry about ACORN's assault on voters.

The fact is ACORN is partisan. It's an extreme liberal organization that has produced fraudulent voter registrations in multiple states, swing states.

The fact is DEMOCRATS in Wisconsin have blocked efforts to ensure the integrity of Wisconsin's elections.

Our votes are being stolen. That's the reality. I suggest The Post do an investigative report on voter fraud in Wisconsin and the Democrats' refusal to address the problem.

That fact that The Post sees reaction to this as some sort of unwarranted anger indicates the news organization is part of the problem, an ACORN accomplice.

The crowd showed equal disdain for the media, fueled by comments from Palin, who encouraged the Republican supporters to take the campaign's message around the media. "I can't pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrel," she said. "It's dangerous territory whenever I suggest the mainstream media isn't asking all the questions."

Of course, Palin encouraged us to exercise our freedom of speech and speak the truth because it's being stifled by a biased media, propagandists for Obama and the Democrats.

Is there something angry about taking "the campaign's message around the media"?

Not at all. The media aren't entitled to filter what we say.

The lib media don't get that we know John McCain and Sarah Palin have to run against them as well as Obama and Biden.

We know the bias. We know they're hostile, and we react.

But don't call it anger. Call it passion. Call it a hunger for the truth. Call it speaking out against an injustice.