The story of the presidential candidate and the 1970s political radical, a convicted felon
September 8th, 2008 at 08:03am Pat Cunningham
You’re probably at least vaguely familiar with Barack Obama’s acquintanceship with William Ayers, who gained infamy in the early 1970s as a member of the radical Weather Underground, a leftist group blamed for various bombings of public or government facilities.
Ayers was never convicted of any crime, but neither has he been repentant about the Weather Underground’s nefarious doings. He’s now a professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago and a former aide to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Ayers also has been active in various community organizations, including at least one, an anti-poverty group known as the Woods Fund, in which Obama has been involved.
Right-wingers have made much of this relationship between the two men and of the fact that Ayers hosted a fundraiser for Obama in 1995 and six years later contributed $200 to his campaign for re-election to the Illinois State Senate.
Obama has denounced the actions of the Weather Underground, which occurred before he was even a teenager, but his association with Ayers, however tenuous, has been the subject of relentless attacks during this campaign year.
As I say, you’re probably familiar with much of this. You might also have misgivings or worse about Obama’s presidential candidacy because of it.
But there’s another questionable relationship between a presidential candidate and a political radical with which you may not be at all familiar. Allow me to tell you about it, beginning with a few details about the radical.
This guy, like Bill Ayers, gained his greatest infamy in the early 1970s, but, unlike Ayers, he didn’t avoid prosecution. Rather, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for various felonies. After nearly five years behind bars, he was released when President Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence.
The various unfulfilled schemes and actual criminal offenses attributed to this gentleman — all of them politically motivated in one way or another — constitute a shameful career (although he’s never expressed shame). They include murder, kidnapping, the firebombing of a Washington think tank, wiretapping, burglary and conspiracy.
He once publicly urged the shooting of federal agents who try to enforce laws he doesn’t like. “Go for a head shot; they’re going to be wearing bulletproof vests,” he said. “…Kill the sons of bitches.”
In recent decades, this fellow has become a media star and a popular public speaker. He has a talk-radio show and makes lots of money and is known to spread some of it around among politicians he favors. One such pol is John McCain, to whom he’s given $5,000 over the years, including $1,000 for this year’s presidential campaign.
McCain’s been a guest on the guy’s show and says he considers him ”an old friend” and admires his “adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.”
The political radical and ex-convict to whom we refer here, the man of such admirable principles and philosophies, is G. Gordon Liddy, of Watergate renown.
Try to remember Liddy’s friendship with McCain the next time you hear something about Obama and Ayers.
[NOTE: Sources for the information in this post are HERE, HERE and HERE.]
Entry Filed under: Bill Ayers, G. Gordon Liddy, John McCain, Barack Obama
21 Comments Add your own
1. Peter Gunn | September 8th, 2008 at 8:08 am
CRICKETS
Actually
Wing-Nut Crickets …..
2. Billybeermonicagar | September 8th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Thank God Jimmy Carter recognized that this man did not belong behind bars.
3. James | September 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am
This guy, like Bill Ayers, gained his greatest infamy in the early 1970s, but, unlike Ayers, he didn’t avoid prosecution. Rather, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for various felonies. After nearly five years behind bars, he was released when President Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence.
4. Pat Cunningham | September 8th, 2008 at 9:38 am
James: What’s your point in simply repeating three sentences from my post?
5. Kaus | September 8th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Bill Ayers blew up buildings with people in it.
Liddy…didn’t.
Must be a slow news day, Pat.
6. Pat Cunningham | September 8th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Kaus: Show me the proof that Ayers blew up buildings, and then give it to the feds. Ayers has never been convicted of a crime. While you’re at it, show me where Obama ever praised Ayers for his “adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great” as McCain has said of the ex-con Liddy. You are truly pathetic, Kaus. By the way, “buildings with people in it” is ungrammatical.
7. snuss | September 8th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
”I don’t regret setting bombs,” Ayres told the New York Times in 2001 upon publication of his memoir about that era, “Fugitive Days.” ”I feel we didn’t do enough.”
That says it all.
8. Pat Cunningham | September 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
snuss: Where’s the proof that Ayers blew up buildings? Why wasn’t he sent to prison? Why doesn’t McCain criticize Liddy, as Obama has criticized Ayers? Why does McCain praise an ex-con who hasn’t repented his offenses? Why is McCain a closer friend of Liddy (”an old friend,” he says) than Obama ever was of Ayers? Why has McCain accepted $5,000 in contributions from this criminal? Answers, snuss, answers. (Cue the crickets while snuss and Kaus find ways to change the subject because they can’t answer these questions. What will it be? Flag pins? Obama’s a Muslim? Rev. Wright? McCain was a POW? What will they come up with?)
9. Milton Waddams | September 8th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
May go with the old 9-11, what with the anniversary coming up in a couple of days. Maybe even trot out Guiliani to do the honors…
10. snuss | September 8th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Ayers and Dohrn were credibly accused, in classified testimony before a Senate subcommittee in 1974, of involvement in the murder of a police officer in San Francisco, as well as an attempted (and unsuccessful) anti-personnel bombing in Detroit. It is an aspect of Ayers’ story that the mainstream media has completely ignored and even covered up.
Ayers and Dohrn were never prosecuted for their alleged involvement in Weatherman terrorism because of government misconduct in gathering evidence against them. But Ayers has freely admitted to involvement in Weatherman bomb plots, and he has said he does not regret planting bombs. Ayers has defended his actions, arguing, “The reason we weren’t terrorists is that we did not commit random acts of terror against people.”
Read the rest: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODVlZTZlM2M5NTMxMzllMjJkODVkNzQ3YTFjMTY0NzE=
11. Peter Gunn | September 8th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Pat
How do you, “Roll the Eyes”, here ?
That’s my usual reponse to almost everything Captain SwiftBoat Post around the Web.
I could save a ton of keystrokes
12. Craig Knauss | September 8th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
“Ayers and Dohrn were credibly accused, in classified testimony before a Senate subcommittee in 1974….”
If it was “classified” how did the right-wing National Review get the information? Sounds like a crock to me.
13. Pat Cunningham | September 8th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
snuss: Where’s your proof that Ayers blew up buildings, as Kaus claims? Where’s your defense of McCain’s chumminess with a convicted felon? Why hasn’t McCain denounced Liddy’s nefarious activites as Obama has denounced Ayers’ activities? Why do you hold Obama to a different standard, especially when he was never as friendly with Ayers as McCain has been, and presumably still is, with Liddy? Why are you and Kaus such hypocrites? Answer, snuss, answers. No more, B.S. Give me a reasonable defense of McCain in this matter. You can’t, right? I’ve never defended Ayers or the Weather Underground. I abhor their activities. But you seem not to abhor Liddy’s actions or McCain’s friendship with Liddy and his acceptance of $5,000 from a criminal. Answers, snuss, answers.
14. SNuss | September 8th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Liddy served time for his crimes-Ayres didn’t. Since he paid for his crimes, that gives him a better right to participate in the political process, than the “former” terrorist, IMHO. As to his friendship with McCain, you will have to ask him.
15. Craig Knauss | September 9th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Didn’t answer Pat’s questions, did you snuss?
16. Peter Gunn | September 9th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Captain Swift Boat Don’t answer Questions
He Poses Questions, Among other things
17. Jacqueline | September 17th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Great blog, Pat. Question: Is Edward Liddy (set to be CEO of AIG after the scary government takeover) any relation to G. Gordon Liddy? I’e searched and can’t seem to find much about him. Thanks!
18. Pat Cunningham | September 17th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Jacqueline: I can find no connection between the two Liddys other than that both of them were born in New Jersey and both were raised Catholics. G. Gordon is 15 years older than Edward. I’ll keep working on it, but it seems to me that we would have heard about it already if they were brothers.
19. Jacqueline | September 17th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Thanks, Pat. Keep up the good work…spread truth AND dissent!
20. Pat Cunningham | September 17th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Jacqueline: Thanks much. I’ll do my best.
21. DingDong | September 26th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Pat: I checked your references and as a typical lazy reporter, you left out certain keys facts. The first article is about what donation Obama got from Ayers, that is not the point, it is well known that Obama spent a lot of time with Ayers. Secondly, you use Wikipedia as a source, my god, anybody can write that stuff. But I know for a fact that the like about Liddy was taken out context, I happened to be listening to him the day he said it. Surprisingly Wikipedia put it in their post:
“I was talking about a situation in which law enforced agents comes smashing into a house, doesn’t say who they are, and their guns are out, they’re shooting, and they’re in the wrong place. This has happened time and time again. The ATF has gone in and gotten the wrong guy in the wrong place. The law is that if somebody is shooting at you, using deadly force, the mere fact that they are a law enforcement officer, if they are in the wrong, does not mean you are obliged to allow yourself to be killed so your kinfolk can have a wrongful death action. You are legally entitled to defend yourself and I was speaking of exactly those kind of situations. If you’re going to do that, you should know that they’re wearing body armor so you should use a head shot. Now all I’m doing is stating the law, but all the nuances in there got left out when the story got repeated. ”
Also Pat, he actually served time unlike Ayers. I don’t really care about Ayers that much but it does go to a pattern of embracing left wing radicals. It is funny you never have mentioned Obama’s mentor Frank Marshall Davis. Look him and tell everyone how he is connected to Obama
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed