Leave it to conservatives to take an ad that most normal Americans thought was funny and turn it into some liberal plot to attack black people.
Yes, and many of these same conservatives are apt to accuse black people of playing the so-called race card. For some on the right, the formula is rather simple. Mix a tempting bowl of Doritos, an attractive single mom, an overprotective (albeit funny young son), a would-be date, and the fact that they’re all black, and conservatives see a sinister plot on the part of liberals to reinforce stereotypes of black people. We are in the middle of a discussion on the topic on one of my new favorite blogs, Diversity Ink. I was about ready to go on to the next topic when I became aware of a blog you will see referred to below.
First, however, is the Super Bowl commercial in question.
Some right wingers of color have lost their minds over this commercial.
I found NOTHING funny about this superbowl commercial for Doritos.
It is white liberal condescension towards black in its most heightened form.It has white liberal disturbing humor written all over it and reinforces its messages loud and clear.
Now if you’ve been reading here long enough, you know I don’t cry racism over racial situations. I see them for the individual events they are, driven by individual idiots, no matter what their color.
However, as a reminder to those who’ve been brainwashed all these long years by liberal and Democratic white ideologies, it behooves me to speak up about this buffoonish commercial.
It goes without saying that I completely disagree with that assessment of the Doritos commercial and the attempt to use it as a weapon against “liberal and Democratic white ideologies” and to advance the tired “brainwashed” theory. This blog I am citing seems less angered by the commercial and more interested in how it can be used as a weapon to attack liberals and Democrats.
The blogger adds:
The little boy’s reaction is instant hostility and violence. When his mother leaves the room he gives this adult male – who he’ll one day grow to be – a warning slap across his face about touching his food and/or his mother.
I don’t care what intentions an adult indicates in front of a child, short of violence, children should respect authority. It is not cute or funny to have them do otherwise.
Further, the message in the (no older than five, this child) boy’s actions suggests, this is a baby-mama, single-parent household, and the boy intends to keep it this way.
These days, we see beer commercial after beer commercial of white guys drinking beer and wanting to push up on white women. Is that indicative of something bad as far as white men and white women are concerned (drinking and potentially hooking up)? I don’t see it that way. I think it was just a funny commercial and I did not see the racism at all. Even more difficult than the racism is seeing the angle about some liberal Democrat plot. That line of thinking is farfetched to say the very least.
The blogger does not see a funny commercial, a young boy protective of his mom or the kind of dating that occurs every day in our society (there are a lot of single moms … whether we like it or not).
This was a cute ad and there was no racism or liberal plot.
Most of us could care less about whether or not politicians use teleprompters or read it off a sheet of paper when giving speeches. I do find it interesting, however, the large number of people using this to attack President Obama (as if no other president has ever used a teleprompter or read a speech off sheets of paper). So, whether it’s Barack Obama, President Reagan, President Bush, President Clinton or gold ole former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, it really makes no difference to me how they deliver a speech. But, for some reason, it does seem to spark something inside of Sarah Palin who seems to be taking wild shots at President Obama (like a boxer in the final round down on points and needing a miracle knockout to win). Getting in front of the Tea Party nuts sparked something inside of her to go after the president again and prove that the Tea Party movement is little more than an extremist splinter group of the GOP.
Fox and Friends, and its Republican hosts, went on the defensive to defend Palin for using notes to deliver her speech (as just about anyone on Fox is apt to do when it comes to Palin).
Gretchen Carlson, Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade (all right wingers) go out of their way to do damage control for the Fox News newbie Palin and her campaign (which is in the silent phase aided by the network conservatives trust).
CARLSON: I think she did it on purpose.
DOOCY: You do?
CARLSON: I think she did it on purpose. Yeah, because I think it’s an exact opposite of reading off the teleprompter. Reading off complete script written for you with every word in a sentence, and here she’s just taking crib notes on her hand. It makes it look as if she can just talk off the cuff and that she just jotted down a few couple notes before she went off to give a big, long speech.
KILMEADE: I am jealous.
DOOCY: I think she did — I think she did it because she probably does it a lot. I do that all the time.
KILMEADE: I personally am jealous, because I used to get in trouble if I wrote on my palms because my mom explained to me the ink would get through my pores and I would die. So I stopped doing that in the fifth grade.
DOOCY: Really?
KILMEADE: Why doesn’t she just — there’s nothing wrong with if she had a card. Just jot a card down — energy, taxes, hope, whatever it is. But — then no one has a problem. But to sit there and look at — do the interview and then look down at her hand, I think that is — it’s, like you said, Gretchen, before, folksy, absolutely. Down to earth. I can identify. But if you’re going to write it on your hand, why not just say, staffer, can you hand me a card? And then it would have been OK.
CARLSON: Like I say, I think it was on purpose. But anyway, we may never know.
Once again, Fox News comes to the rescue of their beloved Sarah Palin.
Check out how conservatives are rushing to the aid of Palin, who quit on Alaska (to make money selling books and gain publicity for herself) and yet criticizes other leaders for their leadership.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who quit on the state of Alaska, is now lecturing President Obama on what it means to be a leader in an appalling display at the far-right Tea Party Convention.
Once again, Palin proves that she didn’t get it then and she still does not get it now as she goes around the country cashing in on her fame and promoting herself on Fox News.
Coalition to Fox News host: “America is not a country that defines citizenship or patriotism based on color, or creed, or name”
Washington, DC - Today, Media Matters for America joined six civil rights organizations in decrying Glenn Beck’s comments on President Obama’s name. Beck said “You don’t take the name Barack to identify with America,” but to identify with “your heritage,” “your father in Kenya, who is a radical.”
The coalition of organizations, which includes America’s Voice, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Center for New Community, Color of Change, NCLR (National Council of La Raza), Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, and Media Matters, released the following statement:
Glenn Beck’s comments reveal the depth of his failure to grasp the true nature of America and of the American people. Ours is a nation of immigrants. Ours is a nation of proud individuals who celebrate their heritage as surely as they love the country in which they live. Ours is a nation that draws strength from its diversity, rather than rejecting it. And America is not a country that defines citizenship or patriotism based on color, or creed, or name.
In 2004, Senator Barack Obama explained that when growing up, he possessed “the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.” And he was right. It does. Mr. Beck’s inability to accept this fundamental quality of our nation — or at the very least his willingness to pander to those who reject it — should trouble us all. He owes an apology to the people of this great country.
The coalition includes:
America’s Voice
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
Center for New Community
Color of Change
NCLR (National Council of La Raza)
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
Media Matters for America
BACKGROUND
As Media Matters noted, Beck said on his radio show yesterday:
BECK: He chose to use his name, Barack, for a reason. To identify, not with America — you don’t take the name Barack to identify with America. You take the name Barack to identify with what? Your heritage? The heritage, maybe, of your father in Kenya, who is a radical? Really? Searching for something to give him any kind of meaning, just as he was searching later in life for religion.
Every time I see one of these Fox News hacks talking about recently elected U.S. Senator Scott Brown (some Republicans believe he is their Barack Obama) it reminds me of an episode of the Boondocks cartoon when Tom DuBois is trying to get in good with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Riley Freeman (pictured) quickly tires of DuBois trying to get in good with Dr. King and lets his feelings be known:
[The Freemans have Martin Luther King over for dinner]
TOM DUBOIS: Dr King, I just wanted to say that even though you’ve been catching a lot of flak recently, were very honored to meet you. Really.
RILEY: Get off his dick.
[Huey kicks him]
RILEY: Ow! Man, Im just sayin. Mr. Dubois riding Dr. King like a rodeo show.
[Huey kicks him again]
RILEY: Ow!
GRANDDAD: Stop it.
Check out the video (of Fox News continuing to ride Brown’s jock … this time in the form of playing with dolls on national television) at the link below:
Note: Look where Fox News host Steve Doocy’s right index finger is (on the Brown doll’s body) in the early part of the video.
This is the same hypocritical network that both made fun of Barack Obama’s celebrity status and lamented his popularity in the so-called mainstream media.
Reggie Bush, the football star of the New Orleans Saints, is gracing the cover of Essence magazine.
As a result of Bush’s image on the cover of Essence, all hell has broken loose and Reggie has become a victim of what can best be termed: interracialism. First off, for those who are unfamiliar with Essence, it is a magazine largely designed for black women from their late teens to their late 40s. Reggie Bush, the cover boy for the magazine, is not being well received by many black women around the nation. The anger over the football star’s appearance on the magazine has next to nothing to do with what really should matter about Reggie Bush as a man. The anger ignited by Reggie’s appearance on the cover of the magazine is about interracialism – specifically, the fact that Bush is romantically linked to Kim Kardashian, who is perceived by people as being white.
Were Reggie Bush in a pre-approved relationship (with a black woman) then his appearance on the cover of Essence would be welcomed who would drool over his abs (the kind most guys wish they had) rather than seethe over the racial makeup of his girlfriend choice.
Thus, we have the genesis for a new “ism” today: interracial-ism.
1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
Here is a proposed definition of interracialism:
1. The belief that the racial makeup of relationships accounts for differences in character or ability and that a particular racial relationship makeup is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on the racial makeup of relationships.
The image of Bush has irritated a long-frayed nerve that is further aggravated by the fact that Essence, a magazine many black women think of as their own, made him its cover image. It’s stirred up an old debate about high-profile black men and their preference for dating white or light-skinned women.
Perhaps, as Armstrong suggests in another part of the column, Bush was making an effort to appeal to black women a little more favorably. Or, perhaps he just saw an opportunity to market himself and thought little about whether it was Essence or some other magazine. Maybe Essence thought his sex appeal would transcend interracialism and appeal to black women. Or, perhaps Essence thought the controversy would get people talking about the magazine and sell more issues.
We’re talking about Essence, aren’t we? Would we be talking about Essence this much if it was LeBron James on the cover with the same pose? No way.
“Why is there a white supremacist on the cover of Essence magazine? Because any person who thinks white women are better is indeed a white supremacists. Having this man on the cover is beyond offensive to me as an African American woman. He is just another crude reminder of all the black men who perpetuate racism against black women, by rejecting them and showing the utmost disrespect by choosing to date non-black women, Reggie Bush is even more offensive since his mate is nothing but some white trashy woman. I suspect those of you you do agree with this mess are either Aunt Jemima’s or products of an interracial relationship.”
“This Brotha don’t dig us, so why, pray tell, do we have to see his face staring back at us, on a magazine that celebrates US? This disappoints me. It’s an insult! Later for Reggie Bush and all the other Brothas who turn their back on the black woman once they are successful.”
“Why put a man who clearly prefers the bottom of the barrel of white women than a good black woman on your cover? Clearly, he has no love for the sisters. This magazine is supposed to empower black women not remind us of the disadvantages that we face in today’s society. Please don’t insult our intelligence.”
“White supremacist?” That is so nutty on so many levels it is ridiculous.
That is some powerful stuff right there. In fact, that is just downright ridiculous. The only reason I am showing this quote is to illustrate the hatred that still exists out there and the hostility that people who are in interracial relationships confront on an almost daily basis.
Now, you’ll here people say it’s not racist, it’s not hatred, it’s a magazine for black women, it’s not racial and … yadda, yadda, yadda.
Apparently, the page with comments on the Essence Web site has been taken down. From a few published reports, that number of comments had eclipsed the 1,000 mark.
It all comes back to interracialism.
There world needs a lot of things, but another “ism” is not one.
I agree w/ anonymous. I’m not offended at all. I also wonder why some folks are so angry. Just b/c Reggie is dating an Armenian woman (Armenians are NOT Anglo Saxon), doesn’t mean he has never cared for or dated a “sista”. And why does black love have to be between two black people? Isn’t black love any love that comes fr. someone who is of the black persuasion or who loves someone who is black. It’s a good thing for people to date and love outside their economic level, local community, culture, and yes race – it promotes understanding and ultimately leads to people treating each other better. We are all God’s children, so why keep buying into separatist, racist ideals of segregation? Let’s love each other as God loves us all.
WTF Said on January 14th, 2010
Ok people, I am tired of black women speaking out about black men dating outside of their races. Stop soundling like a bunch of bitter, hard-up females. Move on with your life and live your life to the fullest. Reggie does not want your black ass, he wants Kim’s white ass, so get over it. Alot of black women are coming off as jealous, insecure women. Find love yourself and move forward. It is obvious that Kim and her sister like black guys, hell have you looked at their body types, white men consider then overweight and black men will date any white woman as long as she has a pulse. So don’t get offended, it’s not your loss, because truth be told, black men have always wanted what white men have tossed aside. Think about it.
RoRo Said on January 14th, 2010
I am disappointed in the ignorance people possess when it comes to social issues. As a single “black” female I feel that most of the people that are going to have anything negative to say are bitter “black” single females who are probably single because they are ignorant, judgmental, angry, and put to much thought into what others do in their personal lives. They are just looking for excuses as to why they can’t find a man. For one Kim Kardashian is not white she is Armenian. Second is Russell Simmons “a sale out” I don’t recall him being married to a woman of full black decent, and he is one of the most successful “black” entrepreneurs I know. Now I know that this issue is to support love, weather it be black yellow purple or green, I get it but love does not have a color. I have dated outside my race have been in love with a black man and someone of a different race, I even have a child that is “biracial” as a result of my “interracial” dating. I think people are really immature when it comes to this issue. Think about it would Obama be here if his daddy wasn’t a “sell out” and dated his white mama, did they not at one point and time celebrate “Love”. Let’s be real and stop making mountains out of molehills.
Some of the hatred directed at Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian makes it seem as though the country has gone in a time machine back to the 1950s.
James O’Keefe quickly became a hero on the right wing due largely to his efforts to expose/set up ACORN (a partisan effort designed to attack President Barack Obama and other Democrats). O’Keefe proved how quickly you can fall from hero to zero (even with people you think have your back). Looking like he was on his way to a Pimps-and-Hos party, O’Keefe, who has been described by some people as a “Republican activist,” went out on a mission to throw dirt on ACORN and actually had some success as far as harming the credibility of the organization in the courtroom of public opinion. Even as O’Keefe has come under fire for his alleged crimes (that have garnered new media attention for him), conservative media are coming to his rescue while suggesting or whining about a conspiracy.
In July and August 2009, O’Keefe and 20 year old college student Hannah Giles posed respectively as a pimp and prostitute while going to a number of ACORN offices. They claimed to be seeking advice on how to run an illegal business[23] which included the smuggling of underage girls from El Salvador for use in the sex trade. Several ACORN employees gave them advice on how to evade detection by legal authorities and how to avoid paying taxes on the girls’ income. O’Keefe secretly recorded the encounters.[24] On September 10, 2009, O’Keefe published the first in a series of five videos of his ACORN investigation on Andrew Breitbart’s website, BigGovernment.com.[25][26] Excerpts were frequently aired on the Fox News Channel, but largely ignored by other major media outlets.[27] As of September 16, 2009, five exposé videos had been released which were set in ACORN offices in five cities: Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, New York, San Bernardino, California, and San Diego, California.[2]
O’Keefe said, “None of the facilities kicked us out.”[28][29] However, an ACORN spokesperson claims that O’Keefe had no success with “this sham” at ACORN’s New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles offices.[30] ACORN gave CNN a copy of the police complaint filed against the filmmakers In Philadelphia.[31] O’Keefe said, “Why does ACORN apparently think that making and publishing an after-the-fact police complaint would cover up its willingness to help our ‘prostitution business’ and its lies about what happened when we visited?”[32] In San Diego, former ACORN employee Juan Carlos Vera told O’Keefe in the video he had “contacts” in “Tijuana” to help get the underage girls across the border.[33] Vera later reported what he thought was an attempt by O’Keefe at human smuggling to a police detective.[34] Vera was fired because of what ACORN called “unacceptable conduct”, although Vera said he initially wanted to help the fake prostitute because she said that she needed to escape her controlling pimp.[35] ACORN worker Tresa Kaelke, who talked with the filmmakers, said they were “Somewhat entertaining, but they weren’t even good actors.”[36] According to CNN, the filmmakers released a transcript of their discussion with Kaelke that included a comment left out of the tape in which Kaelke said that ACORN would have nothing to do with their prostitution business.[37]
Credibility takes a hit when right-wing propaganda machine Fox News and the far right nut Andrew Breitbart are leading those coming to O’Keefe’s defense.
O’Keefe’s pimp status could not stand up to this latest blow (which you will read below).
But, since O’Keefe reached the pinnacle of hero status among our right-wing friends, he has learned a valuable lesson most famously described by the Three 6 Mafia hip-hop song, “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp.”
On January 25, 2010, O’Keefe along with Stan Dai, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan were arrested by the FBI for allegedly trying to interfere with the office phones of Senator Mary Landrieu.[13] The Senator’s office is located at the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans. All four individuals have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.[12] O’Keefe’s bond was set at $10,000.[11] According to an affidavit filed on behalf of Special Agent Stephen Rayes, O’Keefe admitted to “recording Flanagan and Basel” on his cell phone and aiding in the “planning, coordination, and preparation of the operation.” [54] If convicted, O’Keefe and his co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.[55][13]
The Politico reported that O’Keefe and each of the other three men arrested have been “groomed for years to be part of a new wave of activist conservative journalists by a series of influential and often deep-pocket benefactors”.[56] The Associated Press reported that three of the four defendants had founded a conservative college newspaper: O’Keefe at Rutgers, Joseph Basel at the University of Minnesota, and Stan Dai at George Washington University; with the fourth man, Robert Flanagan writing for the blog of the conservative Pelican Institute. The AP also suggested that the incident may have been a “third rate prank” related to the fact that Senator Landrieu’s office had a reputation for not returning calls from constituents.[57]
If O’Keefe and his crew did this then they’re nuts.
I know O’Keefe is a young cat, but has he not seen the movie All the President’s Men with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman? It failed then and it has failed now.
But, hey, it’s not easy out there.
With that in mind, however, I’ve decided to dedicate the video for and lyrics of “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp,” made famous in the movie Hustle & Flow, to Republican hero James O’Keefe.
It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp
You know it’s hard out here for a pimp (you ain’t knowin)
When he tryin to get this money for the rent (you ain’t knowin)
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent (you ain’t knowin)
Because a whole lot of bitches talkin shit (you ain’t knowin)
You know it’s hard out here for a pimp (you ain’t knowin)
When he tryin to get this money for the rent (you ain’t knowin)
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent (you ain’t knowin)
Will have a whole lot of bitches talkin shit (you ain’t knowin)
In my eyes I done seen some crazy thangs in the streets
Gotta couple hoes workin on the changes for me
But I gotta keep my game tight like Kobe on game night
Like takin from a ho don’t know no better, I know that ain’t right
Done seen people killed, done seen people deal
Done seen people live in poverty with no meals
It’s fucked up where I live, but that’s just how it is
It might be new to you, but it’s been like this for years
It’s blood sweat and tears when it come down to this shit
I’m tryin to get rich ‘fore I leave up out this bitch
I’m tryin to have thangs but it’s hard fo’ a pimp
But I’m prayin and I’m hopin to God I don’t slip, yeah
You know it’s hard out here for a pimp (you ain’t knowin)
When he tryin to get this money for the rent (you ain’t knowin)
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent (you ain’t knowin)
Because a whole lot of bitches talkin shit (you ain’t knowin)
Man it seems like I’m duckin dodgin bullets everyday
Niggaz hatin on me cause I got, hoes on the tray
But I gotta stay paid, gotta stay above water
Couldn’t keep up with my hoes, that’s when shit got harder
North Memphis where I’m from, I’m 7th Street bound
Where niggaz all the time end up lost and never found
Man these girls think we prove thangs, leave a big head
They come hopin every night, they don’t end up bein dead
Wait I got a snow bunny, and a black girl too
You pay the right price and they’ll both do you
That’s the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly pimpin
Gotta have my hustle tight, makin change off these women, yeah
You know it’s hard out here for a pimp (you ain’t knowin)
When he tryin to get this money for the rent (you ain’t knowin)
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent (you ain’t knowin)
Because a whole lot of bitches talkin shit (you ain’t knowin)
I think the stunning arrogance of the Republicans, who have been reading their own talking points far too much, came back to bite them in the ass in Baltimore last week. The Republicans welcomed President Obama to their annual retreat last week in Baltimore (maybe with the thought they could make him look bad on national television). It was a big mistake. One has to imagine the Republicans never knew what hit them by the time everything was said, done and written (unless you watch Fox News which still tried to spin it negatively for the president). President Obama went onto Republican turf, handled all the partisan attacks, misleading information, fear mongering and falsehoods with dignity, class and intelligence.
With relative ease, the president smacked down most, if not all, of the Republican falsehoods and misleading attacks with charm, poise and intelligence. In all honesty, President Obama made the Republicans looked like a bunch of angry obstructionists using fear, misleading information, false information and hatred as weapons of attack. The president came off looking like a good guy trying to do the right thing while the Republicans came off looking angry and politically hateful.
This is from Think Progress:
House Republicans were fired up and ready to go for their conversation with President Obama at their annual retreat today. According to the New York Times, members of the conservative Republican House Conference said they were “itching to quiz the president and present their policy ideas rather than listen to another lofty presidential address.” Although such sessions generally occur behind closed doors, Republicans agreed to open it up after the White House said it was willing to do so. However, after Obama’s strong performance, some Republicans are now regretting that decision. As Luke Russert reported on MSNBC:
RUSSERT: Tom Cole — former head of the NRCC, congressman from Oklahoma — said, “He scored many points. He did really well.” Barack Obama, for an hour and a half, was able to refute every single Republican talking point used against him on the major issues of the day. In essence, it was almost like a debate where he was front and center for the majority of it. … One Republican said to me, off the record, behind closed doors: “It was a mistake that we allowed the cameras to roll like that. We should not have done that.”
Here is the bottom line: The Republicans believed all of that garbage about teleprompters and questioned the president’s intelligence. They underestimated him (mainly his intelligence) and ended up looking REALLY bad as he handled all of their questions and attacks as if he knew what they were going to say (because he did know what they were going to say).
President Obama was right about how vulnerable these Republicans become with their own base because of how hateful the rhetoric from the far right has become. He turned on the charm and used reason to expose the anger of the far right in attacking his administration. As the president asked how can the far right work with the president when they’re buying into (initiating or advancing) the garbage that he is a fascist, a socialist, he’s trying to harm old people, he is trying to take over government and so on and so forth? They can’t unless they are willing to risk the wrath of people who hated Barack Obama from the moment they first saw him.
But, back to my main point: Republicans made a mistake.
They underestimated Barack Obama and he made them look really bad on a national stage (unless you watch Fox News in which case you would not have seen the entire exchange as they turned away to begin bashing him with right-wing talking points … disguised as fair and balanced).
It’s really not that big a surprise that the far right Fox News network was clearly disappointed that President Barack Obama destroyed the Republicans as he went to their retreat, took all of their questions and swatted them all down with relative ease. Crooks and Liars makes a great point that, instead of talking about the event, the Republicans had to punt (rethink strategy and ultimately go back to attacking the State of the Union address).
As we know, Fox News is where Republicans go to run the silent phase of their presidential campaigns (Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, etc.).
If President Obama had looked bad, Hannity and Bill O’Reilly would have hammered him with it all night long.
Instead, they pretty much ignored the beating President Obama gave the Republicans.
Here is an excerpt from President Obama’s State of the Union address on Jan. 27:
But the truth is, these steps won’t make up for the seven million jobs that we’ve lost over the last two years. The only way to move to full employment is to lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth, and finally address the problems that America’s families have confronted for years.
Since he mentioned the last two years I think the last year fits into that timeframe.
Paige Perkins, a conservative Republican, writes on Facebook: “Obama’s SoTU Checklist: Blame Republicans, Blame Republicans, Blame Bush, Encourage bi-partisanship, Declare it’s not my fault, Pat myself on the back, Deliver bad news, Repeat as necessary.”
This is an anger point for many conservatives.
Paige missed the part where President Obama talked about what his administration has added to the deficit. Pointing out the facts (about the state of the economy when President Obama took office) is not blaming.
In baseball, just because a relief pitcher comes in does not mean he assumes responsibility for the runners on base. The starting pitcher bears some responsibility.
It used to be considered noble to serve the public or to serve the government in some way, but apparently those days are gone in the eyes of some conservatives.
Jennifer Burke, a conservative in Washington, writes on Facebook: “And there it is…..let’s increase the already bloated government by rewarding those who go into government service with a forgiveness of student loans in half the time than if they choose a different career path. (No offense to those who work for the government. I just think that kind of policy is plain and simply wrong.)”
Not sure how she proved that the government being bloated would increase. Perhaps these people would be filling jobs that already exist.
Frankly, there should be nothing wrong with serving your government as a way of encouraging graduates to want to give something back after working at paying back massive student loan debt.
This strikes as criticism for the sake of criticism.
MATTHEWS: You know, I was trying to think about who he was tonight, and it’s interesting: He is post-racial by all appearances. You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. You know, he’s gone a long way to become a leader of this country and passed so much history in just a year or two. I mean, it’s something we don’t even think about.
I was watching, I said, Wait a minute, he’s an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people. And here he is President of the United States and we’ve completely forgotten that tonight — completely forgotten it. I think it was in the scope of his discussion. It was so broad-ranging, so in tune with so many problems, of aspects, and aspects of American life that you don’t think terms of the old tribalism, the old ethnicity. It was astounding in that regard — a very subtle fact. It’s so hard to even talk about; maybe I shouldn’t talk about it, but I am.
Well, Chris, we almost forgot how foolish you can be, but then you typically bring us back to reality.
Sen. John McCain always tried to portray himself as a so-called “maverick” while he was on the campaign trail. But, during and after Wednesday’s State of the Union address from President Obama, for former candidate for the White House proved that he is just another Washington insider playing the game of politics. In other words, Sen. John McCain is a politician like all the rest, as he proved again when he went on Sean Hannity’s far-right Fox News show and uttered the words below.
“What we’re hearing tonight is ‘BIOB’ — let’s call it that from now on. Blame it on Bush. Whatever has gone wrong, let’s blame it on Bush. I think the people of Massachusetts last Tuesday pretty well rejected that line of conversation.”
Voters rejected Sen. McCain’s message during the campaign and should reject it now. The campaign is over and John McCain has revealed his true self as a right-wing partisan who struggles to see any good from the other side and mistakes facts for blame.
John McCain (who wears his far-right cap when he goes on Fox News) must have missed the part where the president accepted the blame for the portion of the deficit he claimed responsibility for last night.
Also, Sen. McCain is misguided. Massachusetts voters likely rejected that Democrats have not done enough to bring the radical change they expected (we’re still in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Democrats are not standing firm on health care, etc.).
Is Sen. McCain crazy enough to think that Massachusetts are troubled by Democrats holding President Bush (whose approval ratings where somewhere around the high 20s to low 30s when he left office) accountable for what happened on his watch? Come on, now!
There are two names that one will never be called in Black America (OK – 3 now that I think about it)
“You are a left-wing extremist”
“You are carrying the water for the Democrats”
“You have sold out to Barack Obama where you care more about his political fortunes than you do your own permanent interests”.
Here are a few thoughts I had off the top of my head:
First and foremost, this is pretty much assumed of many black people (in and out of the media). Secondly, does the name Van Jones ring a bell?
Pretty much any black person who goes on television, as a liberal, is presumed to be carrying the water for the Democrats (so it doesn’t necessarily need to be spelled out explicitly).
Oprah Winfrey was nailed with this charge during the campaign by conservatives who became angry that she did not give Sarah Palin, then the vice presidential candidate, a forum on Oprah’s popular syndicated talk show.
Those are just a few examples off the top of my head.
Now, for the most part, these are indeed labels a lot of blacks do not have to fear, but that is mostly because many people simply assume all blacks are in the corner of Democrats.
A FEW SIDE NOTES: I am not sure that everyone would agree with Sen. Evan Bayh about the Democrats moving too far to the left. Some would say (considering the Dems gave in on aspects of health care, sending more troops to war, etc., that President Obama has moved too far to the middle and has upset his base). That is just something to think about with this kind of discussion. Also, keep in mind, Sen. Bayh is trying to position himself as a centrist for political purposes.
Just when you thought Glenn Beck (pictured) and Bill O’Reilly could not prove to be any nuttier, we have this (from Media Matters for America):
O’REILLY: Why do you think there’s a level of hatred against you and against me that there is? I mean, look, I was kidding about Bill Maher before. I don’t hate Bill Maher. I like –
BECK: I don’t either.
O’REILLY: I mean, he’s not my kind of guy, but I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t, you know — I’ll make fun of him. But these people want to hurt us. They want to hurt us. Why do you think that is?
BECK: I think because that’s the only way you can win the argument. Look, I mean –
O’REILLY: But they can’t win the argument.
BECK: No, I know that. So what do you do? It is — I mean, it’s why Woodrow Wilson put thousands of Americans behind bars. If you can’t win the argument, you have to shout them down, you have to call them racist, you have to call them names. You have to do whatever it is you have to do. If that doesn’t work, the revolutionary way is as Robert Creamer – as I pointed out on the show. Here’s a guy who went to prison for embezzlement — has designed the progressive blueprint that Obama is using. David Axelrod says that. In a newspaper article when I expose him, he says that we must do whatever we have to do, whatever it takes, to shut him down. Well, what do you think that means?
O’REILLY: Yeah. No, OK, I think that’s a good answer. There’s no other reason for it — other than jealousy.
This shows that Glenn Beck is nuts.
This is the same Glenn Beck who called President Obama and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor “racist” in different rants (which is puzzling since Barack Obama is half white).
This from the same Bill O’Reilly who routinely goes on the air and calls many who disagrees with him “loons,” “pinheads,” “kooks,” etc.
This from the same Bill O’Reilly who has his tough-guy “producer” stalk women like the vacationing Amanda Terkel from Think Progress (and then later crying like a sissy because people bother poor Sarah Palin when she is on vacation).
This from the same Bill O’Reilly who routinely uses his platform to attack NBC and anything affiliated with it (to satisfy his personal vendetta).
It is becoming increasingly clear that Fox News clearly is home to Republican candidates (arguably in exile) gearing up for potential runs at the White House in 2012.
Fox News is offering its network as a platform for potential Republican candidates such as Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and others to stay in the public eye during the next two-plus years.
In reality, the network conservatives trust is allowing these high-profile (rumored) candidates to basically run a silent phase and fund-raising part of their 2012 campaigns while staying in the public eye.
First and foremost, I don’t think I will ever be able to understand how someone who is supposed to be analyzing bias in the media brings on biased partisans to discuss bias.
Yet, it seems every Sunday on CNN’s Reliable Sources, host Howard Kurtz routinely brings on biased analysts to discuss bias in the media.
But, that is just my regular beef with Kurtz.
Media Matters for America has another topic about Howard Kurtz that caught my attention.
Kurtz is either too afraid to strongly and consistently call out Fox News for its pro-conservative bias or he too is a closet conservative masquerading as nonpartisan.
Here is what Media Matters posted:
Howard Kurtz suggests Fox’s “news programming” is balanced and the Washington Post’s editorial page is liberal:
Knoxville, Tenn.: Why do so many media outlets, when mentioning “Fox News”, say “which some say has conservative views”? This seems to be the equivalent of saying “The Washington Post, which some say is a newspaper…”
Why is the rest of the press corp afraid to call a spade a spade, particularly when (as in this case) it is so virulently blatant?
Howard Kurtz: Because some say a distinction must be made between Fox’s opinion shows (O’Reilly, Beck, Hannity) and its news programming. Just as you have to make a distinction between The Post’s news pages and its left-leaning editorial page.
Even if we buy what Kurtz is selling right there it still is ridiculous. He suggests we should distinguish between the news content and commentary content of Fox News (with respect to bias). But, even the commentary is all far-right commentary when you look at Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity (all far to the right of the political mainstream). Throw in Greta Van Susteren, Fox and Friends, Greg Gutfeld, etc. … and you see the pattern that becomes all too clear. Where is the balance there?
Also, as Media Matters points out, it is insulting of Kurtz to think that we’re too stupid to see the well-documented instances of Fox News bias from its news programming (cheerleading Tea Party protests, openly promoting Republican Scott Brown in his candidacy for U.S. Senate and more).
Check out the Media Matters for America article to see the full depth and breadth of how Kurtz seems to think we’re too stupid to see the bias of Fox News that runs almost 24/7 (nevermind the garbage on Fox Nation).
Sandy Gholston
I agree w/ anonymous. I’m not offended at all. I also wonder why some folks are so angry. Just b/c Reggie is dating an Armenian woman (Armenians are NOT Anglo Saxon), doesn’t mean he has never cared for or dated a “sista”. And why does black love have to be between two black people? Isn’t black love any love that comes fr. someone who is of the black persuasion or who loves someone who is black. It’s a good thing for people to date and love outside their economic level, local community, culture, and yes race – it promotes understanding and ultimately leads to people treating each other better. We are all God’s children, so why keep buying into separatist, racist ideals of segregation? Let’s love each other as God loves us all.