Chicago Politics Writ Large

Chicago has always been known for it's brutal political battles and dubious voting legalities. This is the Chicago of ballot-box stuffing that led to JFK beating Nixon by a few votes. The birth of the old saying "vote early and often" and voter rolls filled with dead people are an intrinsic part of the Windy City's history.

Now that win at all costs attitude has hit the national stage and spread like a cancer. Barack Obama learned well from the Daley's and Ayers's and has incorporated the Chicago way into his campaign nationwide. Today, we have our example from Missouri:

KMOV aired a story last night, that stated that St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, both Obama supporters, are threatening to bring criminal libel charges against anyone who levels what turns out to be false criticisms of their chosen candidate for President.

Add to this the apprehension people have of being called a racist for even criticizing Obama and you have a toxic landscape where Americans are having that most precious of rights--free speech--curtailed by thug tactics. It's un-American in the extreme but par for the course for the Democrats who have always placed party above country and winning above anything else.

Expect a lot more of this over the next five weeks.

Update: An Instapundit poll on just this subject.