48 comments

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  IP

  9 months ago

  Very Sad!
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  Cynical_Me

  8 months ago

  McCain campaign this afternoon acknowledged and "fired" an unpaid campaign staffer responsible for this letter...I will post a link shortly.
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  Nikki from CT

  9 months ago

  Wow...that is just disgusting. It amazes me that for a letter that is supposed to be about not being racist, that's exactly what it is! Shameful.....I hope Virginia is not really like that. I would have to stop visiting Bush Gardens...
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  NoVITE

  8 months ago

  Virginia IS like that, NoVA on the other hand... (Well it depends on if you consider Prince William County NoVA...)
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  Anna Reuben

  8 months ago

  Now I know why my late mother, a college professor and historian used to "fly" through Virginia while driving back to our home state of South Carolina. In fact, the only place in Virginia that she ever gave credence to was Williamsburg. When I moved here several years ago, I thought that I was down in the country in South Carolina again. OOPS, that is too disrespectful to the great state of South Carolina where hospitality and gracious living are paramount. I have seen more hicks and hillbillies in Fairfax County than I have ever seen in the "deep" South. Whoever wrote that letter, regardless of education and income falls into the above-mentioned categories.
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  steve

  9 months ago

  It's rather pathetic that it seems to be time to have all political advertising go through the FEC before being sent out. Then voters can be advised by all parties to ignore everything else as political spam.
  
  Having grown up in Fairfax, I can tell you that, despite the substantial presence of conservatives in northern Virginia, intellectual stupidity is a rather rare commodity there. Voters are not all in agreement, but most are thoughtful and informed. This will probably anger conservatives more than liberals.
  
  Nice work, Schmidt.
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  Deborah Rael-Buckley

  9 months ago

  I have been through Virginia several times and have found both subtle and obvious racism each time, so I am not at all surprised at the racism, but I am shocked at the crypto-reverse psychobabble racism in this outrageous neighborhood letter. If I had received this letter I would band all of those Obama loving neighbors together and find a way to get larger signs in the yards. I would also seek to uncover who the writers of the letter were and expose THEIR divisive and shameful involvement. They should be notified that we live in the 21st century and the war was over for them-long ago.
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  Mere

  8 months ago

  This letter prompted most people on my list serve (different than the clarendon one) who didn't have signs to get them. The NoVA area is very different than most of VA. Like the difference between being from Philly and being from southwestern PA.
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  Mark

  9 months ago

  Wow. This is completely disgusting. As if people have never liked a politician before. What a concept that you can't like his amazing speeches, his performance during debates or his policies, no. It all boils down to how you view his half black side. Thats ALL that matters. Just disgusting. I would love to talk to the person who wrote this.
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  chris

  9 months ago

  Losers- literally-
  
  You guys are so weird and embarrassing to the United States.
  
  OBAMA BIDEN 2008
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  chris

  9 months ago

  SO CLARENDON- WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS UGLY SITUATION??
  ARE YOU GOING TO LET THESE RACISTS DRAG YOU ALL DOWN WITH THEM- ITS A TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT TO OUR ENTIRE CONSTITUTION- REMEMBER
  ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL!! STAND UP AND BE REAL AMERICANS THROUGH AND THROUGH.
  VOTE OBAMA BIDEN IN DROVES!!!!!
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  Richelle

  9 months ago

  This letter is wrtten by cowards who are so ashamed of themselves that they can't sign their names. It's a shame that whomever wrote this has to try to make others feels negatively about themselves in order for them to feel good about the stupid things they say and do.
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  willia713

  9 months ago

  That's embarrassing to an extreme. I am particularly amused by the indistinct signature and the anonymous "A Clarendon neighbor". Hey, anonymous coward, if that's what you really believe, stand up and say it so people can see you. Again, coward.
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  Obama Suporter

  9 months ago

  I got this letter!!! I have an Obama sign. and guess what - I think I know who gave it to us...there was a couple of inserts inviting us to a movie...hmmmm. Guess what the movie was - Six Degress of Separation.......We will find out who sent this disgusting letter and expose them for who they are!!!
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  Anthony

  9 months ago

  Of course! I never thought of it that way, but the letter makes perfect sense! It's the pigmentation of Obama's skin that’s responsible for his popularity -- not his message, or his personality, or his demeanor, or his policies.
  
  That explains why Al Sharpton performed so well in the 2004 Presidential race. White people had to prove it to themselves that they weren't racists, so they flocked behind the Reverend Al to support him in his bid for the 2004 nomination. Oh, wait . . . Sharpton didn't do very well in 2004, did he?
  
  Never mind, then.
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  Anna Reuben

  8 months ago

  I don't remember white people voting for Al Sharpton in 2004. Get your facts straight before you completely prove yourself to be ignorant, uneducated and stupid. The republicans are so desperate that the above letter is nothing but reduction adsurdum. Grasp[ing for straws-racism is still alive abd part of the very fiber of this society; but not in those who support Obama-it dwells insiduously in the dark and devious minds of the person who wrote the letter and others who think like him. That letter was EVIL and DEMONIC. Thank God for the progressive and humanitarian ideologies of the democratic party. God is still alive!
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  flosfa

  8 months ago

  Ahem, Anthony was ironic ...
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  Susie

  8 months ago

  Please learn to recognize when people are being satirical.
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  MargaritaMercureHibbs

  9 months ago

  This is truly despicable. Enough said.
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  Pat Ryan

  9 months ago

  I celebrated my 57th birthday yesterday, so I'm old enough to remember Kennedy ,Johnson, Ford ,and so on, but my poitical awareness started with the intelligent but ineffective Carter. He was succeeeded by our first Presidency by Committee with the supremely disengaged and fact free Reagan Administration. The we got the Old Cold Warrior GHW Bush, followed by Bill Clinton, a guy who was pretty much a centrist but was incapable of keeping his pants zipped up.
  
  Now we're at the tail end of the Cheney administration, perhaps one of the worst in U.S. history for our constitution and for our standing in the world.
  
  Finally, we have an intelligent informed, curious, auto didact and family man with a loving wife and two daughters. An man who after graduating with honors from college and grad school devoted several years to helping the less fortunate and who turned to politics because he felt that he could better serve his country and its citizens from farther up the ladder.
  
  And you want me to feel guilty because he's black????
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  Nunook

  8 months ago

  This is beautiful. Thanks for writing this and happy birthday!
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  cynthia

  9 months ago

  Wow there are really desperate. So voting for Obama is now like reverse racism, give me freaking break.
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  An Arlington Neighbor

  9 months ago

  We, as a people, aer better than this.
  
  Don't waste your time trying to find the haters who wrote this. Hold this letter up high for all to see and let them know you will not be intimidated. Talk about the issues, and how Obama's solutions, though not perfect, are more in tune with our priorities than McCain's.
  
  PS -Me and my multi-racial family choose Arlington as the best community in the country to live.
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  Miriam Axel-Lute

  8 months ago

  What I want to know is what they hope to achieve at this point, with Hillary out of the running. Do they really think white liberals who might be convinced they originally/partially supported Obama out of guilt (which is bull) could be convinced that McCain was better? I guess they probably are just aiming to get the signs down.
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  Todd

  8 months ago

  So, does that mean that those people that stuck Bush/Cheney signs in their yard back in 2004 had a hidden hatred of stupid people and it was their way of making up for it?
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  DMW

  8 months ago

  Nothing new. This is precisely the kind neighborly advice handed out to any white person who was too friendly with a black man for generations in Virginia. It was often followed by a threat when not heeded.
  
  It makes me very happy to know my community makes intolerant and hateful people frustrated and angry to live among us.
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  Priscilla

  8 months ago

  Change is coming and not everyone is ready...READY OR NOT.....
  
  ...so "they" reveal themselves with acts of desperation and try to foment hate. This form of intimidation doesn't work any more, take the sheets off, it's a brand new day.
  
  From an intellectual Hispanic Woman. ;-)
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  Valerie

  8 months ago

  Oh, the writer of this letter is so wrong. I support Obama because I'm a yellow dog Democrat. I can't help myself. I compulsively and reflexively support and vote for the Democrat, even if the Democratic nominee is a yellow dog. It's just what I do. It has nothing to do with racism.
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  Gorgoth

  8 months ago

  Is this serious or a parody? I've heard that anyone who isn't voting for Obama can't because they are racist. As condescending and absurd as that is, this is just as funny. Why would anyone take this seriously? Either it is a parody of those who paint all opposition to Obama as racist, or it's just racist stupidity. One of the reasons I am still undecided even though I tend to lean a bit more right than left is the incredible job Obama has done to not play the race card and to keep those want him to or are willing to do so on his behalf at bay.
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  whatthehell

  8 months ago

  This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. The fact that this person is even writing this letter is evidence of his/her deep seeded racism. What kind of a person makes a blanket accusation like this? On the flipside, I can make the argument that voting for McCain indicates that you are a full on racist, not a closet one.
  
  This makes me a little ashamed to live in Arlington county….
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  Terence Elliott

  8 months ago

  It's "deep-seated", not "deep seeded"
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  jjrs

  8 months ago

  Open letter to that guy-
  
  This may come as a shock and surprise to you, but I don't particularly give a shit if Obama is black. People like you do. I don't spend all my time obsessing over his race. That would be boring. You do.
  
  Voting for Obama could be the end to all racism, or no change at all. It's not my concern and it doesn't make any difference to me. He gets my support because he god-damned earned it.
  
  And speaking as someone who desperately wants to see John McCain lose, its actually a bit of a relief that so many conservatives can't see that. Because if you don't see or understand the real reasons he's popular, you have no way of stopping him or fighting it.
  
  Stick to letters accusing democrats and ant-republicans of being unconscious racists, guys. Stick to thinking over half the country spends as much time thinking about black people as you do, and that anyone who has a problem with another republican administration could only have deep-rooted racial anxieties. I'd hate to see you do anything more productive than that.
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  E. Lynch

  8 months ago

  I can't imagine that anyone falls for this load of crap.
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  sasidechick

  8 months ago

  This letter is really rich. My favorite part is "I'm sorry to tell you that voting for Obama does not absolve you of racism, it may even confirm it.
  
  Yea, that's a way to screw over an African-American: do what he wants. I guess they think this reverse psychology will work. I think they should just leave us out of it and go straight to the psychiatrist himself!!!
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  Pax

  8 months ago

  Wow.....I take it these letters were sent to black neighbors as well? what a nutty world
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  mb

  8 months ago

  From www.instituteforhealingracism.org: Important Notice -- The Institute for Healing Racism has no association with a recent mailing from "A Clarendon neighbor" nor did they have the permission required to reference our Web site address in the letter.
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  xxx

  8 months ago

  Wow, "permission required to reference our Web site". Just... wow.
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  Fatmarriedwife

  8 months ago

  If I were an Arlington resident and got this letter, not olnly would it solidify my support for Barack but it would also thoroughly motivate me to fight against McCain and the nutters that are supporting him.
  
  Brilliant. You betcha gosh darnit keep em commin your moron!
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  John

  8 months ago

  Gosh darn you betcha I am a closet racist! I am a gun-totin Joe-Six-Pack and just as sure as dinosaurs roamed the land right along with, you betcha, us fellow man, I am sure that voting for Obama is going to cleanse my sins of my racism!
  
  Give me a )*&@$^@ break. I live in Sterling, VA, and I don't appreciate being called a communist by McCain's brother. Last I checked family values were anchored to the family, so what does this say of McSame himself? Hell, even during the 2000 election he referred to Vietnamese as "g00ks".
  
  Outrageous. I was undecided before, but now, YOU BETCHA I will be voting for Obama.
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  An Educated Moderate

  8 months ago

  For someone who uses a lot of big words this person doesn't seem very educated on the candidates, issues, or campaign for that matter. Barack Obama does not evoke a subconscious need/desire to purge ourselves of racism but rather refreshing theories on how we can stray away from the politics that have paved the path to our current economic standing. Perhaps whomever posted this should examine their own personal ideals and ask themselves why they feel the need to be bringing race into an election where we should be voting based purely on issues. To you- ghost writer- I recommend that you spare yourself future embarrassment and stop harassing residents unless you intend to read up on the real bones of the most important election in history of the United States.
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  Elizabeth

  8 months ago

  This is meant to wedge off less aware voters by making them psychoanalyze their gut feelings. Of course that black people might not be a homogenous group and there couldn't possibly be generational differences between (Jackson and Bill Clinton who are older) for instance and Obama (younger) isn't discussed. This presents one side of an issue of popular voting, in that not everyone has the time or interest to follow minute details of political campaigns.
  
  Are there a lot of trendy people in arlington/clarendon? Of course you have a lot of younger overworked undergraduate students, graduate and law students and new professionals. That doesn't mean they are naive- just time starved and often a little overly enthusiastic. Something which can creep older people and more cynical people out. Is it latent racism that Obama has a better ability to communicate which people respond to? Or is it just that he happens to be more charismatic then more traditional leaders black or otherwise. A big truth that most people realize is that he has less baggage from the civil rights era, and while we all appreciate the struggles that older americans went through, we don't all remember the era. Younger people relate better to younger politicians because we live in more simular worlds. That's just human nature.
  
  Obama gets the modern way people interact with each other more on common interests and networking then on ethnicity which is why he is attractive to younger professionals. Younger people separate out on interest and class lines. Having someone rap at us about their struggles in the city would probably just get blank stares and would be a lot less effective then having an intellectual speech from a Harvard trained lawyer- that's just how things are now.
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  penalcolony

  8 months ago

  I say Michael Gerson wrote it.
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  reality

  8 months ago

  Good use of reverse psycology...
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  Barry En Em Ah

  8 months ago

  Yeah, I think majority of whites voting for Obama are doing it out of "white" guilt related to their
  racism. They feel they will absolve themselves of racism if they vote for Obama, who isn't even 100% black anyway. But, never underestimate the stupidity of the average voter.
  
  Arlington and Alexandria are full of liberal transplants from Maryland and DC and they all vote that way. So? While not communistic, will you settle for 'People's republic of Arlington/Alexandria?'
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  Izzy

  8 months ago

  Can we all say Barry En Em Ah, is a total douchebag... like his own name is??
  
  You fell for it GULLIBLE ONE.. Clearly not a person of their own thinking power but of what someone else places in their heads.
  I am white, and voting Obama... this is the stupidest analogy to suggest I am voting for him to pity him as a 1/2 black man!!! I vote for the best CANDIDATE not the GUILTY SKIN COLOR!!!
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  phil1

  8 months ago

  The letter above seems to have a signature attached; the copy that we got through the USPS had neither a signature, nor a return address. Sending an anonymous letter is an act of total cowardice. How low can McCain's supporters go? Apparently, really, really low.
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  m

  8 months ago

  whoa
  I live in Delray (Alexandria) and haven't had a prob with my Obama sign in the front yard. A McCain supporting friend did have her sign stolen (supressed... yay!) but I haven't heard of any retaliation here in the socialist burbs of Alexandria.
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  Cybercorrespondent

  8 months ago

  Questioning the American Bolshevik views
  1. Is wealth redistribution taking money from stockholders and redistributing it to those who don’t pay taxes?
  2. Is it more important to make sure that illegal votes are not disenfranchised or making sure that groups like ACORN do not nullify honest votes.
  3. Would premature U.S. withdrawal from Iraq grand jihadists a victory and make all of our accomplishments, money spent and lives lost a big waist?
  4. Can this country afford to grant socialist Democrats total control of the government and allow them to sacrifice our safety by cutting the military budget by 25%?
  Now comes the big question. How do we stop socialism from ruining our lives?
  The answer is simple. Don’t vote American Bolsheviks into power and boycott the socialist propaganda media into bankruptcy.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjvBEKrGkDI
  Cybercorrespondent
  reply