The Horses Are Approaching The Starting Gate

Well Folks, time to get your snack trays in place, freshen up your drinks and get ready for the debate. We are down under half and hour, and the candidates are getting their last minute pep talks and instructions.

Things to look for:

1. Can John McCain sit this close to Obama, and still avoid looking at the man?

2. Do a shot every time John McCain says, "My Friends."

3. Does Ayars come up? If so, how does Obama respond to it?

4. In going for a knockout punch, will John McCain lose his temper tonight?

Al Austin of Tampa...is he a BIGOT? a Racist? a LIAR?

Hey Al Austin, got some questions for you.

You were the Tampa-St. Petersburg’s 2008 GOP National Convention Host Committee CHAIRMAN, and you are the CEO of Austin Companies. Do you really expect us as Americans to believe you did not READ a racist bigoted joke before you sent it out to your TOP SECRET inner circle GOP email list? You sir are a FUCKING LIAR.

Further, you sent out a joke that has both Michele and Barack Obama being assassinated! Do you find that FUNNY you sick twisted FUCK?

Tell me Mr. Pillar of the GOP, Mr. Super Republican FUND RAISER and supposedly well respected Tampa Businessman, do you hate BLACK PEOPLE?

YOU NEED TO OWN YOUR SHIT! Stop trying to act like your forwarding of that racist joke was simply a ill fated mistake on your part. Further, what kind of racist sheet wearing friends to you spend time with to have even RECIEVED THAT RACIST JOKE?

Yes, I am PISSED, and find your actions VILE AND DISGUSTING. It is my sincere hope that Tampa and the Business world sees you for what you truly are, holds you accountable for sending such a repugnant racist joke out to your friends in the Republican Party. If the reporter had ANY BALLS, he'd release the names on your inner cirlce email tree, would tell us as a nation who the other two culprits are that also were mailing this joke around in the Grand Old Republican Party. You SIR disgust me!

Al Austin

Tampa, 75, CEO, Austin Cos.

A pioneer developer of the Westshore business district in Tampa, Austin is the finance chairman for the Republican Party of Florida. He's had a leadership role in every Republican presidential campaign in Florida since 1972. A member of the Florida Electoral College in the 2000 election, Austin has achieved "super ranger" status this election cycle, collecting at least $300,000 for the Republican National Committee and another $200,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaign, according to Public Citizen. Austin serves as chairman of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority and is on the board advising Jeb Bush or military base realignments and closures.

Top GOP Official In Tampa JOKES About Obama Assassination!

Why isn't the media giving more coverage to the blatant racial attacks and race baiting being done on the part of the Republican Party. Earlier this week I shared with you the story of a blogger mocking up a picture of a Noose paired with Obama with the title, "The Fucking Solution". I was outraged. Last night I found an article where Virginia's TOP GOP GUN came right out and compared OBama to Bin Laden! Again, I was outraged.

However, when Al Austin sends out and email to his Republican CRONIES with a joke about Obama being assassinated, and even goes so far as to include Barack Obama's wife in it as well in a double MURDER, another line that should never be crossed HAS BEEN CROSSED. Republican Politicians in this election are showing themselves as RACIST BIGOTS, and the Republican Party either stands with them, or takes a stand against such HATE SPEECH and Bigoted, racist hate aimed at Obama. If there is no public outcry on the part of Republicans, then it does not exist, and the party labels itself as a bunch of back woods, racist bigoted black haters...your call Republicans!

Posted Oct 15, 2008 by William March
Updated Oct 15, 2008 at 05:58 PM

Al Austin, a longtime, high-level Republican fundraiser from Tampa, today sent to his list of political contacts an e-mail containing a joke that refers to the assassination of Barack Obama.

When asked about the e-mail, Austin said it was a mistake and apologized and that he wouldn’t knowingly have circulated it. He said he planned to send an apology and retraction to the same e-mail list.

Al Austin/ Tribune file photo

The joke concerns a group of schoolchildren discussing the definition of “tragedy” as opposed to “great loss” or “accident.” The punch line comes when one child says that if an airplane carrying Obama and his wife, Michelle, “was struck by a ‘friendly fire’ missile and blown to smithereens,” the event might be a tragedy “because it certainly wouldn’t be a great loss, and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.”

Austin acknowledged sending the e-mail to his list of political contacts but said he forwarded it without fully reading it and didn’t know what it said. That list included at least two reporters.

According to the forwarding history on the e-mail, it had gone through at least two other individuals before being sent to Austin on Tuesday.

Austin, a prominent real estate developer long known as one of the state’s leading Republican campaign fundraisers, has served in recent years as finance chairman for both the national and state Republican parties.