Obama's ties to Farrakhan

How far are some of you willing to take the "guilt by association" theme?

I don't put much credence in a lot of this stuff, but it's naive to think that any politician is immune from being associated in some way with people whose views aren't shared in any number of regards.

DNC slams McCain for 'pandering to far right' on MLK day; Wesley Clark also attended Alabama governor's inauguration

Ron Brynaert and Mike Sheehan
Published: Monday January 15, 2007


Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a likely contender in 2008's presidential race, spent part of the Martin Luther King holiday at the swearing-in of a Republican governer who reportedly is a member of an organization that excludes blacks, according to a press release issued by the Democratic National Committee.

"Nearly 24 years after voting against creating a holiday honoring Martin Luther King, John McCain is spending today at the inauguration of Alabama Governor Bob Riley who is a member of an organization that has been criticized for excluding African Americans," states the DNC press release.

"The 'Grand Master' of the Grand Lodge of Alabama admits he knows of no African American members among the group's 30,000 plus membership," the release asserts, citing a Sep. 30, 2006

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Sen._McCain_once_against_King_holiday_0115.html

Huckabee endorsed by hate-group

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/15/174956/990/771/435516


Huckabee gave speech to white supremacists, has links to them ...


'Making coded appeals to white racism is nothing new for Huckabee.'

Max Blumenthal
Published: Friday January 18, 2008

As South Carolina's Republican primary election draws nearer, Mike Huckabee has ratcheted up his appeals to the racial nationalism of white evangelicals. "You don't like people from outside the state coming in and telling you what to do with your flag," the former Arkansas governor told a Myrtle Beach crowd on January 17, referring to the Confederate flag. "If somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we'd tell them what to do with the pole. That's what we'd do."

Making coded appeals to white racism is nothing new for Huckabee. Indeed, well before he was a nationally known political star, Huckabee nurtured a relationship with America's largest white supremacist group, the Council of Conservative Citizens. The extent of Huckabee's interaction with the racist group is unclear, but this much is known: he accepted an invitation to speak at the group's annual conference in 1993 and ultimately delivered a videotaped address that was "extremely well received by the audience."

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message490860/pg1

So while I'm certain I'll be accused of deflecting here, since the theme of this thread revolves in part around "guilt by association," I think any of this is relevant in keeping with that theme.

And I'm fairly certain, though I don't remember which candidate so I won't speculate by name, that one of the Republicans in the field had a staffer in South Carolina linked to a supremacist group.