McCain, the GOP base, and race: Succumbing to the Dark Side
By David Neiwert Monday Oct 13, 2008 5:15pmOK, so this Maron v Seder ad is just a spoof, something along the lines of my earlier suggestions to John McCain that he simply give in to his party's inner Nativist and toss the Latino vote overboard. But it touches on something important.
Obama's candidacy has exposed one of the deep internal tensions that has always existed within the Republican Party's longtime use of the racial-fear card: One the one hand, the core of the GOP's appeals to suburban voters in particular has been predicated on preserving white privilege and blunting the advance of minority civil rights, particularly when it comes to changes in the demographic makeup of previously all-white communities. (That is, after all, the underlying nature of the Nativists' anti-Latino push.)
On the other hand, they can't appeal to those suburban voters with nakedly bigoted rhetoric -- it's been proven to be a turnoff for them. So they've been resorting to subtle dogwhistles throughout this campaign.
But in these final weeks, and as McCain stumbles into a deeper hole in the polls, the GOP is becoming increasingly frantic and desperate. And that's when the teeth are bared.
It will be important for Democrats and progressives not to become complacent at this point. For one thing, we really don't know whether or not appealing to the lizard-brain elements Outer Wingnuttia will work electorally speaking -- judging from the polls, it's more likely to drive McCain farther south. But we can't take that for granted.
More importantly, we need to be prepared for the consequences, both short- and long-term, of these kinds of appeals: Who it empowers, what demons it unleashes. As Democrats are the targets, it's important to be alert and attuned to the violent beast that's being unleashed.
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Obama’s Revenge: Whips Up Crazed Liberals
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=3955
Awesome fake ad. There were similar spoofs earlier in the campaign season, but this one is quite good.
Just came over from Youtube, where I've been reading hateful comments attached to ranting right wing videos. It's truly disturbing how many sick, sick, individuals are out there. The most recent video I saw was about Obama's "guilt by participation." The comments are over the top, and the whacknuts are rating-up the comments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YisED2Rg2Ws
I don't want to watch that crap!
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Spoof? I thought it was a real ad from the RNC. Sad when you can't tell the difference.
from RealClear has Obama/Biden at 304 (270 needed to win) to McPalin 158. This is looking more and more like a bloodletting for the Rethugs. But I agree with David, now is not the time for complacency. Obama needs to have a preemptive arsenal at the ready for ANY malicious attack. If the mind can conceive it, some reich wing nutcase will do it.
Yeah, and another reason to be out in force is that these wingnuts like to think that they are standing up for "real American values." The only way they can be convinced otherwise -- or at least have their bullshit muted -- is to kick their asses electorally.
The only people making it racial is the left-wing nuts and of course the dumacratic party.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCxlAc9erlE
I mean this one... I couldn't even believe McCain would go this far. What a dick.
Sadly, McCain's supporters would think that is quite funny, but not in a satirical way. And they'd never realize it was directed at their racism.
Totally OT, but John you've GOT to get the video of this: Rachel Maddow just took David Frum of the American Enterprise Institute TO SCHOOL for his B.S. in equating her sarcasm with McCain's supporters' calls for violence to Obama. Suh-NAP!!!
She's absolutely the best talk show host in America today!
and there are just a few days left until Americans vote. The extreme rightwing nutjobs are desperate now and things are going to get even uglier.
Really, it scares the hell out of me.
We know that Palin is "ethically challenged" but now she's proven that she's also a "pathological liar".
So Palin has the new reputation affixed to her forever: Sarah Palin is a pathological liar and an abuser of power.
She is totally and forever considered to be the biggest liar ever as a Vice Presidential candidate.
No wonder McCain's numbers are tanking.....he's got a mentally ill sidekick who lives in an "alternate reality". She doesn't have the excuse of senile dementia like he does; in her case it's clearly that she's an "evil, twisted liar who has lost total touch with reality".
This woman can never be trusted with the public trust. She's already proven that to all of us right now.
Amazingly, she continues to use the power of the candidacy to tell americans lies about the verdict of Troopergate which every newspaper carried - Governor Palin Abused her Power. No other verdict could be ascertained from these headlines and from actually reading the report which was available in pdf form.
But Sarah's evidently mentally challenged now as well and cannot decipher fact from fiction.
She's a complete sociopath.
Read this and understand her - and the rest of re-Thuglic, for that matter. We NEED her to go away forever -- branding her for what she is is GOOD.
http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html
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This whole issue of racial undercurrents and just how virulent they really are is something I've been thinking about.
On one hand, the US has obviously come an incredible way since the days of naked racism, segregation, and institutionalized bigotry--the country my mother grew up in is simply not the one I grew up in.
On the other, you don't have to go any farther than anonymous internet comments to find some of the vile hatred that's still out there. Then there's that large swath of people raised more or less with the concept of equality, but with some nagging fear in the back of their minds about darker-skinned folk in their communities.
What I keep wondering is: What will happen if Obama wins? Presuming he's just an average slightly-left-of-center politician, and thus the only real "issue" is his skin color, will the racists out there just give up and keep hurling the insults and looking for scandal, same as when Clinton was president? Or will something pop loose and generate actual violence from these people? Is there really a small civil war brewing, and if so, is it better to just get it over with now (a la the civil rights era), or to try and put out the coals before the fire flares up?
Similar with the extreme right-wing religious types--will they just continue to rant about the demons running rampant, or will some of them go off the deep end?
Note my presumption about him being a relatively average centrist Democrat, which I think he probably will be. In the off chance he really is a "great leader," in the sense of someone who inspires the masses to something bigger and better (and "liberal"), someone will try to kill him. Cynical, yes, but it's happened to all the leaders--elected or otherwise--in that category in this country with the possible exception of Roosevelt, who was less charismatic than populist. It comes of the fact that really bad people have no qualms about killing successful opposing leaders, while really good people almost by definition won't stoop low enough to assassinate those in the opposite direction. That lack of ends-justify-the-means willingness is the one advantage "bad" has over "good" in the world.
Anyway, half of me wants to go to a Republican rally with a hidden camera and start ranting about racist conspiracy and hatred, and see how people react to get this stuff out in the light of day--I have a sad suspicion it wouldn't be with revulsion. The other half believes these people are Americans too--misguided, but still Americans--and just need to be shown that their prejudices and fear are misguided and need to be redirected, not fanned.
The one positive thing that is coming from the virulent hatred on the right, is that they can't disguise it anymore. The veiled racism that has always been part of GOP tactics; Reagan's Cadillac welfare queen story, Willie Horton, Rove's whisper campaigns about McCain's illegitimate black child ( the sheer IRONY of that one), and many more. But what is happening now is ugly and visceral. I say: let it happen! Let them come out of their holes and show the seething hatred. As a Latino, I would rather see the Brownshirts coming. I can prepare myself for them, and not have to deal with the false smiles,their feeble attempts at appearing culturally enlightened, and the underlying contempt that they have for ANYONE who doesn't fit into their delusional world. Let them crawl out from under the rocks, and THEN we can deal with the issue of race.
Both sides, I should say all sides, resort to the dark side, but playing the race card belongs to the Republicans. It's too bad they never learned anything from Abraham Lincoln, except maybe to suspend habeas corpus.
Meanwhile, self-proclaimed pundits like Malkin are posting mugshots of past offenders from the liberal side and controversial Photoshop edits. She's all wigged out about a gun being pointed at Palin (which I agree is wrong), however she posted an illustration leading to one of her posts of a stick figure pointing a gun at another one holding a money bag with the label "Socialism." How is that any less offensive?
On the ridiculous end of her spectrum (wait... it's all ridiculous), she defends Ann Coulter and sandbags the guys who attempted to throw pies in Ann's face. Since when is THAT a crime?! We all know she needs to eat more!
Oh, gosh darn it, there I go again....
It's disingenuous, however, to equate the "dark side" of all in general with the "dark side" of the re-Thuglics. Theirs is insidious, truly dangerous and unrelenting. It's smart to keep a very, very close eye on it as this situation develops.
If we have riots - it will be because of these sociopaths.
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Any excuse will do for the bigots. Let's see--he pals with a known and unrepentant terrorist, he is a muslim, he attends church with a minister of hate America talk, he is an elitist,he is an Arab & whatever. Any excuse will do instead of just coming out and saying, "I am a bigot and will not vote for a black man." The GOP has been the haven for bigots since 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed.
And frankly, it is fine with me that the bigots left the democratic party. [Unfortunately, not all left the democratic party, but most of them did go.]
A: How can you possibly NOT be concerned about any candidates background? How did they get where they are today? Who helped or funded them? These are all important questions I want to know of any candidate.
B: I could CARE LESS if BO was purple with green spots! How dare you call me a bigot! I think you need to re-read your own rant and tell me you don't have bigotry issues. "A bigot is a person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles, or identities differing from his or her own"
C: If BO had more proven experience I might have voted for him. As it stands, he has nothing. I just can't vote for someone with such a weak background in his own state, and even less in the US Senate. Experience should matter to all of us.
i don't know how she kept from exploding when david frum turned on her - or tried to - minutes ago... such a polite creepy jerk... she did not back down and stayed true to herself... it was almost unreal...
THANK YOU, RACHEL MADDOW!
I've been listening to Rachel for a long time, glad to see her on MSNBC and still keep her radio spot that I continue to listen to everyday. Send her a letter of support. I did this weekend.
View her "Race In The Race" report if you haven't that brings into question the Bradley Effect. This is exactly why anyone supporting Obama/Biden cannot sit back and relax. Not until Nov. 5th!
Don't forget, David Frum is the guy who gave the "Axis of Evil" line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Evil
I have to give it Rachel for controlling herself while interviewing that smarmy little worm. Hate to admit it, but I was screaming obsceneties at Frum during his half-hearted attempt to appear genteel!! What a joke. This is from the man who degraded our national discourse into a series of bad slogans and cheap rhetoric: Fight them over there, so we don't have to fight them here! Stay the course! They hate us because of our freedoms! Frum, if you want to have an intelligent conversation concerning YOUR President's failed policies, don't try and be the wounded flower because satirists are able to point out the ridiculous nature of your party's judgement and ability to govern. Thank you Rachel for showing the wisdom and temperment to expose his hypocrisy. As for me, I had to restrain myself from throwing a brick at my television when Frum was trying to defend Wolfowitz!! !@^#% &%$#!@*
I dare any behavorial analyst to compare the two. Frum barely looked up the entire time. A sure sign he was embarrassed. Why do these people continue to make fools of themselves?
Craziest McCain/Palin Cartoon you'll ever see! @
http://www.youtube.com/tomryanfilms
Considering the need to win the undecideds, I wonder why the PALIN/mccain campaign has chosen to focus on firing up the rabid portion of their base? Is it just that after appeasing this base for so long they really just can't help themselves or does someone with too much authority in the campaign really think, cheating aside, that turning off undecideds and appealing to the people who were going to vote for you anyway is a winning strategy?
You have to figure that anyone who would be swayed by McCain' strategy wouldn't be undecided by this point.
How about this? They lose the election because it was impossible to purge enough voters off the roles. They claim they actually won and were cheated (somehow - despite polls going in) -- Their base - rabid and already highly inflamed - riot in the streets.
Where does it go from there? Bush has given himself the power to suspend elections and remain in power indefinitely. Time to contest the results, almost anything -- there is no end to re-thuglic creativity when WINNING is at stake.
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She did a masterful job on the former bush speech writer. He tried this on her..."But that's not the question,the question is..." (an old diversion trick)...and then he tried to talk over her but she said: "Hold on, can I talk for a second?"..and stopped him. What woman.....
I enjoyed that interview. After it was over, Randy grinned and said "She didn't back down one inch. What a woman."
Should I be jealous? Nah, he just respects guts and the willingness to stand up for what you believe.
First, I have to admit I am a little taken with Rachel. Something about a charming, attractive, and supremely intelligent woman..WOW!! She is not only confindent and principled, but unlike another woman, Palin, who tries to project a similar tough and gritty aura, Rachel has the ability to converse and debate. She knows things, you betcha!!! Unlike Frum ( you could almost see the contempt in his eyes, " You mean, smart-ass lesbian!!) , this man over here isn't scared of a strong, capable woman. I know it's an unrequited crush on my part, but I do love ya Rachel....
Frum would be outclassed by light-years by Rachel.
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The Sad thing about this election, is that regardless of who wins, they may have the support of 51% of the nation and the resources of even less.
Scarier still, that 49% may resort to non-peaceful means to show their displeasure. sumthin' to think about, eh
Re-thug-lics -- the party of immature, voraciously rapacious, despotic, doughy white, cowardly, angry, bigots, racists, perverts, xenophobes, pedophiles, murderers, war criminals, homophobes, misogynists, self-hating women, fetid wombs and consummate chronic liars.
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However, the Rebublicans are already distancing themselves from McCain to save Party face. I think it might be better in the long run to beat them soundly, but not slaughter them- knowing these Rebubs, they'd turn it into a sympathy situation portraying themselves at the victims of Elitist Media.
The racist elements in this election are probably more visible than they've been in three decades.
http://namelesscynic.blogspot.com/2008/10/thi...
Great work! I guess this would be considered dark comedy?
Right on! LOL!
Obama really should take up smoking again after he gets in. Gets off air force one, shades on, fires up a malboro. He'd be the coolest politician ever.
Just shows how out of touch Repubs are. Few people care about race. Most care about competence. That fact should have hit them when Obama won Iowa. The Repubs need to get out more.
This is just plain stupid.Republicans have always thought the public was ingnorant. They were just talking about other republicans.They seem to be swayed to easily.Their intellect realy shines in times such as this.
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