I'm Just a Bill: Ottawa Herald's Gary Sillett - Obama is a "Muslim Fundamentalist"

h/t Wonkette

You know, fresh off of the huge turnout here in Kansas in the Democratic caucuses and finding out that the new(er) DailyKos front-pager is a Kansan too (and had very much the same experience as I did Tues night), I was just starting to think that maybe there's not so much the 'matter with Kansas' any more, and then this idiot has to come along, and not just him either. His editors took the time to attempt to hide some (but not enough) portions of his article from appearing online, but as Ken Layne points out "were too stupid to remove the entire retarded text from appearing when you click to read the comments." The entire printed version of the column can still be seen in their PDF edition here (jpg screenshot here for when they take it down) If there ever was a desperate plea for more attention, this is one. The Ottawa Herald's contact info (please do be civil): [also, see update below]

Jeanny Sharp, Editor and Publisher jsharp@ottawaherald.com
Gordon Billingsley, Managing Editor gordon@ottawaherald.com
Address: 104 S. Cedar, Ottawa KS, 66067
Web site: ottawaherald.com
Fax: 785-242-9420
Letters to the Editor: letters@ottawaherald.com

I know this is just a podunk paper in nowhere KS, kind of like where I'm currently residing, but this really pisses me off. Clearly this column is what caused Barack to capture only 74% of the Kansas vote. lol. Seriously though, there is quite a bit of this around and it's not the Democrats who voted in Tues' caucus who believe this tripe and perpetuate it. It's the Republicans here that it plays to that I'm worried about that will come out en masse in Nov and vote because of it. I did quite a bit of GOTV canvassing for Super Tues and these myths persist in great abundance here in Kansas and are hard enough to smack down without having the hometown paper spreading them.

Here's the brainless bigot's article in full:

Don’t betray your heritage for Obama’s ‘change’
By GARY SILLETT, Community Viewpoint

A couple years ago, President Bush thought it would be a good idea to turn over control of one or more vital seaports in the continental United States to an Arab-owned conglomerate. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth including from me.

How could this be? we asked. In the aftermath of 9/11, as we now remember it, that would be like handing the keys of New York City to Osama Bin Laden. I believe there are some of you who remember who he is?

The hue and cry was deafening. To suddenly find our seaports our points of entry, our gateways to the world in the hands of Muslim fundamentalists was not only abhorrent, but also frightening. Even with countless reassurances from Bush administration officials, Arab corporation executives, et al, there was no convincing us this was a good idea for us or for the future of America. That dog don t hunt.

Well, now comes another bad idea ... maybe even worse. The Democratic Party actually intends to put a Muslim fundamentalist in the White House. Yes, you read it right. They want to put a man of Muslim origins in the White House.

Barack Hussein Obama hit the campaign trail from nowhere and continues to gain momentum as his political handlers crank out generic catchphrases to lure the unsuspecting voter with words like hope and change.

Now there s nothing wrong with hope or change. It has been our tradition as a nation that when we get tired of something or someone, we exercise our constitutional rights and throw them out. That s why we asked our representatives for term limitations. But to even consider turning over the reins of government to a Muslim fundamentalist would be, as my grandmother used to say, throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Some Web sites suggest Obama will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance. He refuses to wear an American flag lapel pin. He will not face the flag during the playing of the National Anthem nor will he sing it or even mouth the words. [Editor s note: Other reputable Web sites refute each of those claims and show Obama leading the Pledge of Allegiance in the Senate.]

I know, there are some of you out there right now who are ready to say these are only symbols: Icons of days gone by; Relics of the past. You want change. We should all remember that these relics, symbols and traditions are not just representative of some coffee clache or sewing circle. These are traditions handed down from father to son, mother to daughter. They represent the deep-seated patriotism that brave men and women have given their lives to uphold for more than two centuries.

To elect Barack Obama to the highest office in the land would be nothing less than spitting on the graves of the victims of 9/11, as well as the memory of the countless thousands of American loyalists who have pledged and given their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in defense of those tired old symbols and icons of the greatest nation on earth. In many cases, these things are all that is left to families of American heroes who heard the call and stepped forward and defended not only their heritage, but the legacies of millions in foreign lands.

Hold fast to these symbols and icons, I say. Hold them up every day and pledge that they are still important to us all. Keep reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Sing the National Anthem. Place your hand over your heart in remembrance of all those who gave their lives so that we all may do so. Remember that they are the very fabric of which our nation is made. Our flag is not just a symbol. It is representative of our soul as a nation. It embodies all the hopes, dreams and aspirations of those who have gone before us, those who are defending freedom today and those who will choose to do so in the future.

Beware of wolves in sheep s clothing, it s been said. Don t betray your heritage simply for the sake of change. Heed the voices of your fellow Americans, past, present and future who call upon you to uphold the principles of the United States and protect them from pretenders like Barack Hussein Obama.

Gary Sillett is a Princeton resident and a pressman at The Ottawa Herald.