Dan Rather decries Virginia Republican Ed Gillespie for 'disgusting and dangerous' campaign race-baiting

Former "CBS Evening News" anchor and veteran journalist Dan Rather lit into Virginia Republican candidate for governor Ed Gillespie for playing on racist fears in his campaign.

In a Saturday evening post on Facebook, Rather said, "When it comes to racial tensions, there are leaders and there are cowards. There are cynical instigators seeking personal gain, and there are wise voices of reason seeking a better society."

"These thoughts are in my mind this weekend as I survey a troubled landscape," Rather wrote, saying that what he's seeing in Gillespie's campaign is "disgusting and dangerous."

"The Republican candidate, Ed Gillespie, is a man who should know better. But he is running a despicable campaign of stoking fear around immigrants and race, playing to base fears and echoing the toxic rhetoric of President Trump," continue Rather.

"Gillespie was an establishment Republican who has decided he will summon the ghosts of the Confederacy and greatly misrepresent (more accurately lie about) his opponent's record. This may prove a successful tactic in the upcoming election. Fear sells, especially in the short run," he said.

"(E)ven some of Gillespie's former GOP allies are marking his descent into bigotry for what it is," Rather said, "a stain on his character and a moral millstone around the long-term reputation of the Republican Party."

Read the full post, embedded below: